The Tulsa Golden Hurricane (18-9) will wrap up the regular season when they compete against the Temple Owls (17-9) at Donald Reynolds Center. Action starts at 7:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Feb. 23 and can be seen on ESW and ES3.
The Golden Hurricane defeated UCF 75-67 on Sunday. Pat Birt was the game’s leading scorer with 26 points on 8-for-16 shooting. The Owls are coming off a 69-66 win over Houston on Sunday. Obi Enechionyia was the game’s top scorer, registering 26 points on 10-for-20 shooting.
Over the last five games, Birt has really been playing well for the Golden Hurricane, averaging 21.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.6 steals, and 4.0 three-pointers.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Owls won the first game 83-79. Birt had a standout performance with 22 points, six rebounds, one assist, two steals, and five three-pointers in the loss.
The Golden Hurricane enter the game with records of 17-9 Straight Up (SU) and 14-9-2 Against The Spread (ATS). Tulsa is very careful and attentive with the ball, averaging the 35th-fewest turnovers per game at only 11.1.
As for their opponent, the Owls have records of 14-11 ATS and 17-9 SU. The Owls are the better of the two teams when it comes to assist-to-turnover ratio, ranking 25th in Division I at 1.45. The Temple defense as a whole has been firing on all cylinders so far, ranking 33rd in Division I with only 67.9 points allowed per road game. Teams don’t seem to hit many three-pointers against the Owls, who are 23rd in the country in terms of three-point field goals allowed at 150 this season.
With the Owls’ last win against the Golden Hurricane, Temple is still behind in the head-to-head record, 1-2 SU. Additionally, Tulsa leads the matchup ATS with a record of 2-1.
Predictions: SU Winner – Tulsa, ATS Winner – Tulsa
Notes
Tulsa averages 73.6 points per game, placing the team just 138th in the nation. Temple ranks 71st in points allowed, giving up 67.9 points per game.
Tulsa scores just 74.4 points per home game (ranked 165th). Temple ranks 33rd in points allowed on the road, giving up 67.9 points.
Temple won its last game by a three-point margin. In games decided by a margin of three points or less, Tulsa is 2-2. Temple is 4-3 in close games this season.
The Tulsa Golden Hurricane average 68.6 possessions and 1.073 points per possession in games this season. The Temple Owls average fewer possessions with 66.4, as well as fewer points per possession with 1.044.
The Tulsa Golden Hurricane average an effective field goal percentage of 50.5% this season. The Temple Owls have split their games this season (4-4) when opponents have an eFG% of 50.5% or greater.
On average, the Tulsa Golden Hurricane attempt 20.0 three point field goals per game and the Temple Owls attempt 23.0. In games where they attempt at least 20 threes, Tulsa has a 10-7 record and Temple has a 13-9 record.
On average, Tulsa makes 7.0 steals per game. Temple has a winning 2-1 record when it gives up at least 7 steals.
