The Temple Owls head to Texas to take on the Houston Cougars in a lopsided matchup. Can Houston continue its winning ways, or will the Temple Owls play the part of spoiler Sunday? Check out our college basketball odds series for our Temple-Houston prediction and pick.
Both teams are coming off of impressive wins heading into this one, with Temple beating East Carolina by 15 and Houston beating Tulane by 20. With the spread set at 19.5 in favor of Houston, oddsmakers predict this one to be a blowout favoring the No. 1 team in the nation. While the spread may be lopsided, Temple only sits one and a half games back from conference-leading Houston in the American Athletic Conference standings. Houston is undefeated in conference play heading into this one. While the strength of schedule in the AAC is not up to par with other juggernauts like the Big Ten and Pac-12, Houston has separated itself as the clear-cut best team in the country.
The total here is quite low, leaning toward a low-scoring defensive battle. Houston is a sound defensive team and Temple can often struggle to find offense in half-court situations. Houston may come out strong, but expect the pace in this one to slow down as Houston settles in defensively. Temple will need to keep its scoring consistent if it wants to stand a chance in this one.
Here are the Temple-Houston college basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Basketball Odds: Temple-Houston Odds
Temple: +19.5 (-110)
Houston: -19.5 (-110)
Over: 131.5 (-110)
Under: 131.5 (-110)
How To Watch Temple vs. Houston
TV: ESPN
Stream: ESPN/ESPN+/fuboTV
Time: 3:00 p.m. ET/12:00 p.m. PT
*Watch college basketball LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why Temple Could Cover The Spread
The Temple Owls have gone 3-2 in their last five games. alternating wins and losses. Their last time out, they were able to cruise to a comfortable victory against conference rival East Carolina. In that game, Damian Dunn scored 22 points off the bench. They'll need contributions from all of their key players in order to hang with this Houston team. Temple is shooting right around 31% from the 3-point line, a number that will need to be higher in this game to keep it competitive. While we've already seen some massive upsets in college basketball this year, Temple will have to be especially perfect to pull this one off. Their road to covering the spread is simple: win the turnover battle and hit 3-point shots. If they do so, they should be able to keep this game within 20 points.
Why Houston Could Cover The Spread
Houston continues its run at the top of the men's college basketball rankings. Their defense, ability to score in bunches, and utilization of their big men is what has set the Cougars apart from the rest of the country. Besides their lone loss to a stingy and talented Alabama Crimson Tide team, Houston has virtually ran through the competition, often in impressive fashion. Winning their last game against Tulane by 20, they'll look to do the same on their home court against Temple. The key for Houston is defense: if they can disrupt the rhythm of Temple, they'll be able to turn defensive rebounds and turnovers into opportunities on the other end. If they can get out and run the fast break during those opportunities, they should have no issues covering the 19.5 points.
Final Temple-Houston Prediction & Pick
Temple is not a bad team by any means. However, an unranked team playing the top-ranked team on their home court usually calls for a point spread like this. Houston will win big, but the Temple Owls manage to just barely cover the spread.
Final Temple-Houston Prediction & Pick: Temple Owls +19.5 (-110)
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