But splitting its first four games heading into Wednesday's Great Eight game against Gonzaga shouldn't have been reason for despair.

	Mark Karcher was an effective scorer for Temple against Gonzaga.

Temple has been in this spot before -- nearly every season, recently. A year ago, the Owls were 6-6 in non-conference games and ended up going to the Elite Eight. Two seasons ago, they lost three games in December and still made the tournament. Three years ago, Temple was 3-6, but two of the three wins were over top-five Kansas and Villanova. And, yes, the Owls made the tournament.

"Last year, it was lose four, win four," Temple wing Mark Karcher said. "We didn't want to go through that again."

Playing high-profile non-conference games, especially on neutral or road courts, is common for Temple. But this season was supposed to be different. The Owls were expecting to be in an offensive rhythm early in the season, not just in late January.

Sanchez's injury forced shooting guards Lynn Greer and Quincy Wadley to play the point. Karcher had to find his own shot, rather than have the ball fed to him. He scored 33 against Wake Forest last Saturday and Greer added 22. But the Owls lost 77-72.

Something had to change if Temple were to avoid going through another anxious December. Gonzaga's shooting did the trick.

The Bulldogs got open looks in Temple's matchup zone but couldn't knock down anything in a 64-48 loss to the Owls on Wednesday night at the Great Eight at the United Center.

The Bulldogs were 6 of 37 on 3-pointers (16.2 percent), 30.6 percent overall. Guard Richie Frahm was 2 of 15 on 3s. Point guard Matt Santangelo was 1 of 9. Gonzaga's poor perimeter shooting was followed by its inability to finish inside with 22 offensive rebounds mostly ending up in Temple's hands after another miss.

Gonzaga's poor percentage allowed Temple time to get set offensively and find the openings for Karcher (19 points), Greer (14) and Lamont Barnes (10).

"This was a very important game for us to win," said Sanchez, who played in the opener against Miami (Ohio). "This helped morale. We haven't been playing well lately. We moved the ball around better. But we still don't have the rhythm we need. It's hard with the offense. But we put the ball inside more and got open shots."

Temple should be able to beat Villanova and Penn State at home and Cleveland State on the road before a trip to Wisconsin on Dec. 29. Sanchez could be back next week, as long as the inflammation is down in his ankle. But beating Gonzaga gave the Owls a sense that they can survive a little bit longer without him.

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.