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Temple attempts to knock of #13 ranked Houston in an American Athletic Conference matchup Thursday night. Houston is 6-3 all time against Temple, but lost their previous matchup this season at Temple in a 73-69 game.
Temple lost their last game out 72-68 to Cincinnati at home on Sunday. Last Saturday (1/19) they lost at home 77-70 to Penn, and last Thursday (1/24) they beat Memphis 85-76 at home.
Houston won their last game out 77-65 on Sunday at Tulsa. Last Saturday (1/19) they beat South Florida on the road 69-60, and last Wednesday (1/23) they smoked East Carolina 94-50 at home.
Temple is 8-10-2 ATS on the season, 5-3-1 ATS on the road, and 5-4-1 ATS in their last 10 games. On the season Houston is 14-6-1 ATS, 9-5-1 ATS at home, and 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games.
Bovada has Houston as 10 point favourites with an O/U total of 140.5.
Temple Owls
(15-5 overall, 5-2 on the road, 5-2 in conference)
Temple averages 75.3 PPG, 33.8 RPG, 14.7 APG, 2.3 BPG, 9.1 SPG, and 12 TPG. As a team they shoot 44.4% from the field, 33.1% from 3, and 72.9% from the free throw line. Defensively they hold teams to 70.9 PPG, 36 RPG, 45.2% shooting from the field, and 33.6% shooting from 3.
They are led by guard Shizz Alston Jr. who averages 18.5 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 5.2 APG and 1.7 SPG while shooting 38% from the field, 36.3% from 3, and 90.7% from the free throw line. Wing Quinton Rose averages 17.1 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 2.6 APG and 2.4 SPG while shooting 41.4/24.4/64.7. Nate Pierre-Louis chips in 14.0 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 2.3 APG and 1.8 SPG. Ernest Aflakpui (6.6 PPG/7.4 RPG/65.4% from the field), J.P. Moorman II (5.8 PPG/3.7 RPG/48.6% from 3), De’Vondre Perry (4.9 PPG/3.2 RPG/1.1 SPG) and Alani Moore (4.7 PPG/1.2 RPG/1.2 APG) make up the rest of their production.
Key Injuries
None
Houston Cougars
(20-1 overall, 15-0 at home, 7-1 in conference)
Houston is very well rounded, averaging 75.7 PPG, 41.7 RPG, 15.4 APG, 4.6 BPG, 7.0 SPG, and 12 TPG. As a team they shoot 43.8% from the field, 34.8% from 3 point range, and 73.7% from the free throw line. Defensively they stifle teams to 60.2 PPG, 33.5 RPG, 36.4% shooting from the field, and 26.0% from 3 point range.
They are well balanced in scoring, led by Armoni Brooks who averages 14.8 PPG, 6.4 RPG and 0.7 SPG while shooting 39.9/39.6/59.4. Fellow guard Corey Davis Jr. averages 14.6 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 3.0 APG, and 1.0 SPG while shooting 40.3/35.8/91.8. Galen Robinson chips in 8.1 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 5.4 APG and 1.3 SPG. Nate Hinton (7.9 PPG/4.6 RPG/1.3 SPG), Dejon Jarreau (7.6 PPG/3.1 RPG/2.8 APG), Fabian White (7.1 PPG/3.6 RPG/0.8 BPG), Breaon Brady (7.0 PPG/5.0 RPG/0.9 BPG) and Brison Gresham (3.7 PPG/4.5 RPG/1.5 BPG) play big minutes as well.
Key Injuries
None
Predictions
Temple is the only team to defeat Houston this season, and it was a back and forth affair the entire game, with Houston converting a layup to tie as time expired that was ultimately called a charge. They didn’t necessarily have a great shooting night, but their ability to get to the line and convert from the stripe was the ultimate difference in the game. Don’t expect Temple to shoot a gaudy 25-28 (89.3%) from the line this time around on Houston’s turf.
Houston also only got a combined 16 points from Brooks and Davis, who shot a combined 6-23 (26%). Since that game, Houston has their past 5 games by an average of 17.4 points, with 3 of the 5 coming on the road while Temple owns a +2.2 average scoring margin in their last 5 games, including a bad 77-70 loss to Ivy League Penn. Look for Houston to get back to their brand of stifling defense and stellar transition play to avenge that loss with dominating fashion at home.
Final Pick: Houston Cougars (-10)
