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The Temple Owls take on the East Carolina Pirates. Check out our college basketball odds series for our Temple East Carolina prediction and pick. Find how to watch Temple East Carolina.
The Temple Owls have a rich history created by former coach John Chaney and the star players he cultivated in Philadelphia. The Owls reached several Elite Eights under Chaney, doing so in different decades — the 1980s, 1990s, and the 2000s. Temple developed a robust basketball brand and made a name for itself not only in Philadelphia, but on a national level. The Owls are currently struggling to revive that brand and that history, slumping along in the AAC with a 1-6 conference record. This program needs a jolt, and it needs something to walk away from this season which will offer cause for optimism for the road ahead. Temple basketball should not be this bad, but this is the reality of the program at the moment. The next several weeks are hugely important for the Owls, to build confidence for next season and to get a greater sense of what is attainable for the program in the years to come.
East Carolina is as forgettable a college basketball program as there is in the United States. Try to identify something very specific or memorable about this program. When was the last time ECU made the NCAA Tournament? When was the last time ECU merely threatened to make the NCAA Tournament and was a bubble team near Selection Sunday? The Pirates have been very obscure and very irrelevant. They're trying to change that, and they do have a winning overall record at 12-8, which is decent, but they're not particularly close to making this year's NCAA Tournament. The Pirates need to go on a run, get hot, and stay hot. They will need to find a way to beat the top teams in the AAC in addition to handling lower-tier teams such as Temple.
Here are the Temple-East Carolina College Basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Basketball Odds: Temple-East Carolina Odds
Temple Owls: +6.5 (-110)
East Carolina Pirates: -6.5 (-110)
Over: 136.5 (-110)
Under: 136.5 (-110)
How To Watch Temple vs East Carolina
Time: 5:00 pm ET / 2:00 pm PT
TV: ESPN2
Stream: fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why Temple Could Cover the Spread
The Owls led Rice late in a recent game but allowed that game to slip away. They led South Florida — a good team which has only one loss in AAC play — at halftime of their most recent game, but they couldn't hold the lead. The point here is not that Temple is losing a lot; the point is that Temple is playing close and competitive games and is improving as a team instead of getting even worse as the season moves along. Temple can play this game close enough to cover the spread. The Owls, who lost by six to South Florida and by three to Rice, will cover the spread here versus East Carolina if they lose by six points.
Why East Carolina Could Cover the Spread
The Pirates won by 11 at Temple over two weeks ago in Philadelphia. If they can win by 11 on the road, they can beat Temple by 11, or even only seven points, at home. If they do win by seven, they'll cover the spread. Given that Temple has lost each of its last five games and is slumping by any reasonable measurement, ECU is not a bad bet to make.
Final Temple-East Carolina Prediction & Pick
Neither team is especially reliable. Temple might be worse than ECU, but East Carolina basketball has not been a pillar of dependability for bettors over the years. Stay away from this one.
Final Temple-East Carolina Prediction & Pick: Temple +6.5
