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The Villanova Wildcats are looking to stay undefeated and grab another Philadelphia Big 5 Title on Wednesday. Villanova has not dropped a game to its inner-city rivals in the past five years and will look to keep that streak alive against the Temple Owls. Temple has already notched some nice wins this season and won the Puerto Rico Tip-Off last month. This will be Villanova’s toughest test yet, but Jay Wright’s boys are always up for the challenge.
This war on the floor will go down Wednesday, December 13, 2017, at 7 p.m. ET at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The game will be televised live on ESPN2. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Wednesday schedule.
Opening College Basketball Odds at BookMaker.eu
Villanova come into this game 10-0 and looking like one of the best teams in the nation once again. The Wildcats are 7-3 ATS on the year, but have not been tested, even at the Battle 4 Atlantis. Their lowest margin of victory all year long was eight points and they hammered Gonzaga last Tuesday. They have covered five of their last six with the one loss coming on Sunday as they couldn’t cover a lofty number against La Salle.
The Owls turned some heads at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. Whereas other schools had at least one game against a patsy before the tournament, Temple started its season in Conway and knocked off Old Dominion, Auburn, and Clemson on its way to the title. This team has also picked up wins against South Carolina and Wisconsin, giving it a very impressive resume. However, they have not been good on the road with losses to George Washington and La Salle in games where Temple was favored.
Key Stats
Coming into this game, Villanova is the best team in the country according to Ken Pomeroy’s metrics. It’s not hard to see why either and the AP will probably agree by the time the next poll comes out.
The Wildcats are the best of the remaining undefeated teams and the most well-rounded by a mile. Villanova is extremely efficient on the offensive end. This is the third-best offense in the country according to Pomeroy and they have the basic numbers to prove it. Nova is hitting 50 percent of its field goals and more than 40 percent of its threes this season, despite playing a somewhat difficult schedule.
Defensively, this team has been great too. Villanova is holding opponents to just 63.3 PPG. The perimeter and interior defense have both been solid and they don’t allow teams to get offensive rebounds either.
Player to Watch
For Temple to have a shot of pulling off the upset here, it needs its best player to get hot.
Shizz Alston has been one of the more underrated players in the country this season. His numbers don’t leap off the page, but he is incredibly efficient from a performance standpoint.
He spent a lot of time this offseason refining his shot and shot selection and it paid off. Alston hit just 40.8 percent from the field and 34.5 percent from beyond the arc in 2016-17, but this year is knocking down 48.9 percent of his field goals and is nailing 53.5 percent of his three-point attempts. He has been stellar from the line too, going 25-26 from the stripe.
Alston has the potential to catch fire and that’s the best chance Temple has to stun No. 1.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
Villanova might be a double-digit road favorite in this one considering what we have seen out of this team, but I think that would be too much. Temple is going to have a raucous crowd and has played well at home. If it’s that high, I expect the Owls to cover, but not get the win.
College Basketball Odds: Villanova 74, Temple 70
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