Villanova Hosts Temple in NCAA Hoops

Temple Poses Tough Test for Villanova

The Temple Owls and the Villanova Wildcats will both be trying to pick up a win on Wednesday when they battle at Villanova Pavilion. The No. 21 Wildcats passed its first Big 5 challenge of the season.

The Big 5 is an annual round-robin between five Philadelphia area schools. The Wildcats are actually slated to play four consecutive Big 5 games this month. The run continues on Wednesday against the fast-starting Owls.

TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1.

LINE: Villanova 8; O/U: 143.

Villanova has won 23 straight Big 5 games. It includes Saturday's 85-78 win against La Salle. The defending national champions continue to win local matchups despite losing many key players to the NBA.

Eric Paschall and Phil Booth are two of the returning players from the title team. They combined for 46 points against the Explorers. The duo hopes to match or exceed that number against the Owls.

Nova' is 6-2 on the season. The Wildcats shot 55.1 percent from the field against La Salle. They made 12-of-21 from 3-point range and connected on 19-of-23 foul shots. it is one of their best performances since dominating Michigan in last season's NCAA Tournament title game.

Paschall is averaging 21.3 points in the last three games and 15.8 overall. He is just behind Booth, who is at 16.9 ppg.  Collin Gillespie is at 11.3 ppg and has 32 points over the last two outings. He is shooting 41.9 percent from 3-point land this season.

In his last four games, Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree is 14-of-15 from the floor.

Temple improved to 7-1 with a Big 5 win of its own Saturday, recording a 77-70 road triumph against Saint Joseph's.

The Owls are 7-1 this season. They received 15 points apiece from Shizz Alston Jr. and Quinton Rose against St. Joe's. They are continuing their best start since 2012-13 when the team started 8-1.

Alston and Rose average 17.1 points apiece and combine for 8.4 assists and 3.9 steals out of the backcourt.

Nate Pierre-Louis averages 11.3 points per game and scored in double digits in each of the first five games but has not reached the 10-point mark in three straight contests.

PREDICTION: Villanova 93, Temple 90

NCAA Basketball Betting Odds & Trends

Temple Owls
Temple is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Temple's last 9 games
Temple is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Temple is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Temple's last 15 games on the road
Temple is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Villanova
Temple is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing Villanova
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Temple's last 5 games when playing Villanova
Temple is 2-8 ATS in its last 10 games when playing on the road against Villanova
Temple is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Villanova

Villanova Wildcats
Villanova is 13-5 ATS in its last 18 games
Villanova is 17-2 SU in its last 19 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Villanova's last 7 games
Villanova is 15-5 ATS in its last 20 games at home
Villanova is 22-3 SU in its last 25 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 17 of Villanova's last 25 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Villanova's last 6 games at home
Villanova is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Temple
Villanova is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Temple
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Villanova's last 5 games when playing Temple
Villanova is 8-2 ATS in its last 10 games when playing at home against Temple
Villanova is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Temple

 

Next up:
Temple home to UMass Wednesday, December 12
Villanova home to Saint Joseph's Saturday, December 8

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