12:03 pm
March 11

AAC Tournament: Temple v. South Florida

Who will WIN this matchup?

Temple Owls (5-10)

South Florida Bulls (8-12)

 

Current odds:

Temple Owls: (-125)

South Florida Bulls: (+105)

 

• The line for this game is Temple by 2 points.

• For the first time in Temple men’s basketball history, the Owls are set to play the same opponent three times in a row. The occasion is the opening round of the American Athletic Conference tournament at Fort Worth, Texas on Thursday. Temple (5-10 overall, 4-10 AAC) is set to play the South Florida Bulls (8-12, 4-10).

• Due to COVID-19 protocol issues, the Owls paused basketball activities on Feb. 27. Prior to that, Temple lost to USF, 83-76 on Feb. 21. Then, on Feb. 24, Temple snapped a six-game losing streak, defeating USF 65-47.

• The Owls limited USF to just 17 second-half points, and Temple played a lot of zone in the final eight minutes. Overall, Temple leads its series with USF, 12-4.

• The Bulls, unlike Temple, have played games this month. In fact, the Bulls have lost four straight games, including that defeat to Temple.

• Since Jan. 10 — a span of two months — the Bulls are 1-7 with six cancellations. A bright spot for the Bulls has been point guard Caleb Murphy, who started 18 of his 19 games and finished the regular season third on the team in scoring (8.8). His 2.8 assists rank ninth in USF history among freshmen. In addition, he was named on Wednesday to the AAC All-Freshman team, just the sixth Bulls player ever to make that squad.

• Khalif Battle leads Temple in scoring (14.7) and ranks second in rebounds (6.0). Battle has started the past three games in place of Damian Dunn (knee injury), averaging 25.0 points and 7.7 rebounds during that span.

• Other standouts for Temple are Jeremiah Williams, who is averaging 9.3 points and a team-high 4.2 assists, and Jake Forrester, who is averaging 9.4 points and is leading the Owls in rebounds (6.1).

• For the Bulls, David Collins is their lone double-figure scorer (12.2). Collins also leads the team in assists (3.5) and steals (1.4). Michael Durr, a 7-footer, leads the Bulls in rebounds (7.4) and also scored 18 points in USF’s most recent game, an 80-63 loss to Wichita State on Saturday. In that game, Collins had 14 points, and he and Durr combined to score more than half of USF’s points while shooting 12-for-22 from the floor. However, no one else scored in double figures for the Bulls.

4/10
Confidence
StreakSmarter Pick
Temple Owls
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