Temple vs. Cincinnati – predictions and odds for Wednesday February 22 (Back Owls as underdogs)

Temple has been tough to beat in AAC, like Cincinnati last month.

The Bearcats, who are 9-6 in AAC, lost to Temple on New Years Day by 9 points on the road. Despite being ranked higher on advanced metrics sites like KenPom, Cincinnati has the same conference record as Temple, but the Owls have cooled off after a hot start that saw them 8-2 in January.

Temple has lost four of its five league games but will look to sweep Cincinnati on the road and put themselves in good stead for the AAC Tournament in less than two weeks.

The bettors do not count on it, here are the odds:

Temple vs. Cincinnati – odds, spread and total

Temple vs Cincinnati: Prediction and Player Picks

Cincinnati’s defense is built to push teams away from the 3-point line and force shots inside, which is exactly what Temple doesn’t want to do. The Owls are a strong 3-point shooting team, 36 percent on the year, and are lethal at half range, top 100 in the nation.

However, Cincinnati’s ball pressure forces teams into the inside of the arc, and the team defends the edge of the cage very well, ranking in the top 20 in shot percentage allowed. at the cage.

What the Bearcats don’t do, however, is generate turnovers, the second-lowest mark in AAC play. If the team isn’t able to topple a sloppy Owls team (second highest forfeit rate in conference play), then this game can stay close.

Temple is 8-3-1 ATS as an underdog this season and Cincinnati has struggled to win by margin against top teams in the conference.

The Bearcats have won six games by eight or more in conference play, but only one of those teams has a .500 or more conference average.

Cincinnati has few perimeter shots in the league, 36%, but Temple is a team that defends the perimeter well and gets teams inside like Cincinnati does, which is in the top 50 in 3-point rates allowed this season.

If it becomes an inside battle, I trust Temple’s defense, which has the second-best two-point defense in the conference, to keep that big gap.

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The odds of the games are updated periodically and are subject to change.