The Temple Owls (17-15) square off against the Penn State Nittany Lions (21-13) in the NIT at Bryce Jordan Center. The game can be seen on ESPNU at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 14, 2018.
The game’s Over/Under (O/U) opened at 145 points with Penn State set as a 9.5-point favorite.
Temple Owls vs. Penn State Nittany Lions Free Prediction
The Owls are hoping for a better outcome after their 89-81 loss to the No. 11 Wichita State Shockers in their last contest. Wichita State’s rebounding was their biggest advantage. The Shockers had more offensive rebounds (10 vs. three), defensive rebounds (25 vs. 21) and total rebounds (35 vs. 24). Quinton Rose was the game’s leading scorer with 25 points on 8-for-17 shooting.
In the Nittany Lions’ last game, they fell to the No. 8 Purdue Boilermakers, 78-70. Purdue’s effective field goal percentage was their largest advantage over Penn State. The Boilermakers had a rate of 0.630 (above their season average of 0.583), while the Nittany Lions posted a mark of 0.407 (below their season average of 0.527). With 33 points on 8-for-11 shooting, Shep Garner was the top scorer from either team.
Penn State appears to have the edge on the defensive side of the ball. The Nittany Lions rank 64th in effective field goal percentage allowed (0.484), while Temple is 264th in effective field goal percentage (0.494).
Temple holds records of 17-15 straight up (SU) and 17-15 against the spread (ATS). Games involving the Owls have finished over the total 53.1 percent of the time.
Meanwhile, Penn State owns records of 21-13 SU and 17-12-1 ATS. Unlike Temple, a little over half of Nittany Lions games have finished under the O/U total.
Temple Owls at Penn State Nittany Lions Free Pick
Pick: SU Winner – Penn State, ATS Winner – Penn State, O/U – Over
Notes
Betting Notes:
Penn State ranks 71st in rebounds allowed per game (33.0) while Temple ranks 270th (38.1).
The Owls rank 92nd in three pointers attempted per game (23.6) while the Nittany Lions rank 230th (19.3).
Penn State ranks 17th in blocks per game (5.2) while Temple ranks 139th (3.2).
The Nittany Lions rank 39th in steals per game (7.4) while the Owls rank 86th (6.7).
Penn State averages 13.7 assists per game, which ranks 141st in the nation. Temple ranks 146th in assists allowed per game (13.4).
Bettings Trends:
The Owls’ average margin of defeat in their last five games has been 1.6, up from 0.4 for the season.
During their last five games, the Nittany Lions have scored an average of 66.2 points per game (8.4 below their season average) and allowed an average of 70.2 points per game (3.3 above their season average).
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