The Temple Owls will travel to Kohl Center to take on the Wisconsin Badgers. The game starts at 12:30 pm ET on Saturday, Dec. 5 and can be seen on CBS.
The Badgers come into this game on a high note after defeating Syracuse 66-58 on Wednesday. Ethan Happ fueled the Badgers, recording 18 points and 15 rebounds to notch his third double-double this season. The Owls, meanwhile, are coming off a 79-70 win over Fairleigh Dickinson on Wednesday. Quenton DeCosey was the team’s top scorer, posting 22 points on 7-for-11 shooting.
Wisconsin is an eight-point favorite against Temple and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is 128 points. The Badgers have gone 5-3 Straight Up (SU) and 2-6 Against The Spread (ATS). The Badgers are an exceptional shooting team from the line with a .750 free throw percentage, one of the highest marks in Division I. Wisconsin is known to control the offensive glass, where it racks up an impressive 15.6 offensive rebounds per game.
As for their opponent, the Owls head into the game with records of 4-1 ATS and 3-3 SU. The Owls convert their free throws at a high percentage, ranking 32nd in the nation at .752. The Owls rarely make costly errors handling the ball. They have the 13th-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the country at 1.70. The Temple defense has been a problem for competitors, allowing only 6.0 field goals from three-point range per game.
Wisconsin and Temple have not played one another in a regular season matchup in recent years.
Predictions: SU Winner – Wisc, ATS Winner – Temple, O/U – Over
Notes
Wisconsin is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games.
Wisconsin is 16-4 SU in its last 20 games.
Wisconsin is 7-13-1 ATS in its last 21 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Wisconsin’s last 5 games at home.
Temple averages 71.2 points per game, placing the team just 236th in the nation. Wisconsin ranks 92nd in points allowed, giving up 66.5 points per game.
The Wisconsin Badgers average a field goal percentage of 41.5% this season. The Temple Owls have split their games this season (1-1) when opponents have a FG% of 41.5% or greater.
The Wisconsin Badgers rank higher based on their field goal percentage (268th) than their effective field goal percentage (284th). The Temple Owls rank higher based on their effective field goal percentage (281st) than their field goal percentage (304th).
The Temple Owls rank 13th with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.70, while the Wisconsin Badgers rank outside the top 100 at 164th with an A/TO of 1.08.
Wisconsin is one of the best teams in the country when it comes to offensive rebounds, ranking 19th. Temple ranks just 215th in defensive rebounds.
Opponents have had an average turnover percentage of 18.5% when playing Wisconsin this season. Temple is undefeated (1-0) when its TO% is 18.5% or higher.
