The Temple Owls (17-10) will bring the regular season to an end on their home court when they face off against the UCF Knights (11-15) at Liacouras Center. The game begins at 12:00 pm ET on Saturday, Feb. 27 and can be seen on ESW and ES3.
The Owls are hoping to rebound after their 74-55 loss to Tulsa on Tuesday. Obi Enechionyia finished with 17 points to lead the team. The Knights are coming off an awful 88-61 loss to Houston on Wednesday. Chance McSpadden led the team in scoring with 15 points.
The Owls should be expected to protect the ball well in this contest. They rank second in the nation at avoiding errors (TO% of 14.0%). Meanwhile, UCF forces the ninth-fewest turnovers in the nation (14.0%).
This is the second game of the year between these two teams, with the Owls winning the first matchup 62-60. Tacko Fall was a top player in the game with 10 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and three blocks.
The Owls come into this game 17-10 Straight Up (SU) and 14-12 Against The Spread (ATS). Over their last 10 games, they have only managed a record of 3-7 ATS. The Owls have seen a decline in scoring as of late, averaging 61.0 points during the last 10 games compared to their season average of 68.8 points per game. The Owls, sporting the 28th-best assist-to-turnover ratio in Division I (1.43), have proven themselves to be an extremely efficient offensive team. Temple has been struggling of late. The Owls have given up an average of 75.0 points to opponents in their last 10 games, well over their defense’s season average of 68.2 PPG. Teams really have to fight for three-pointers against the Owls, who have allowed only 5.0 three-pointers to opponents per game.
Across the court, UCF has a SU record of 11-15 and an ATS record of 16-9. Blocking shots is an area where UCF has excelled. The Knights average 4.7 blocks per game, making them one of the best in the nation.
Temple won the last meeting this season between these two teams, bumping its SU record to 4-2 over UCF in their most recent meetings. The teams have an even record ATS, 3-3. Temple topped the Knights in three key areas (field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers) once over the last five matchups. UCF has never had the edge in all three categories.
Predictions: SU Winner – Temple, ATS Winner – Temple
Notes
“Temple is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games “.
“Temple is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games “.
“The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Temple’s last 6 games “.
“Temple is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games at home”.
“Temple is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games at home”.
“The total has gone OVER in 6 of Temple’s last 7 games at home”.
“Temple is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Central Florida”.
Temple holds an 11-4 SU record against the American Athletic Conference Conference this season, while UCF has a losing 5-10 SU record against the conference.
In its last game, UCF lost by a margin of 27 points. Temple is 2-3 in games decided by a margin of 18 points or more. UCF has a 2-4 record in blowouts.
The Temple Owls average a field goal percentage of 40.7% this season. The UCF Knights have an underachieving record of 4-9 when opponents have a FG% of 40.7% or greater.
Temple attempts an average of 23.0 three pointers per game and UCF attempts 21.0. In games where they have 20 or more three point attempts, the Temple Owls have a 13-10 record while the UCF Knights have a 7-10 record.
UCF, the 47th-ranked team in blocked shots, registers an average of 4.7 per game. Temple does worse, ranked 222nd with 3.1.
Temple ranks 154th in offensive rebounds, while UCF ranks 40th in defensive rebounds.
Temple has forced an average turnover percentage of 16.7% this season. UCF has a losing 8-14 record when its TO% is 16.7% or higher.
