It's been a really tough year for the AAC. The conference's best team, SMU isn't eligible for the NCAA Tournament, and there's still a legitimate possibility that this could end up being a one-bid league to the dance if enough goes wrong between now and Selection Sunday. One thing that could change the perception of the AAC though, is if it scored a major victory out of conference, and the Temple Owls have a shot to do that on Wednesday against the Villanova Wildcats in a Big Five showdown.
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HOW THE VILLANOVA WILDCATS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
Temple isn't a particularly big team, and it isn't a deep one either. That could really play into the hands of Daniel Ochefu in this game. Ochefu had a field day against St. John's on Saturday, scoring 25 points with nine boards in one of the best games of his career, and he legitimately has a chance to put together a similar showing on Wednesday night.
Still, Jay Wright knows that it's defense which is going to have to grit it out in a game where points should be at a premium. The Wildcats allow just 61.0 points per game, and opponents only shoot 38.4 percent. In the rough and tumble Big East, Villanova knows what it's like to have to slug out games in the 60s, and this might not be an exception.
If the Wildcats embrace that and force Temple into more bad shots than good ones, they'll get out of the Liacouras Center with an easy 'W'.
HOW THE TEMPLE OWLS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
The Owls have to not overplay this moment. With five straight wins, Temple has eked its way back into the discussion for the dance. It’s already logged wins over SMU, UConn and Cincinnati here in the City of Brotherly Love, and all of those games came in close calls.
Still, Temple has this tendency of coming out shooting the ball far too often from long range. Quenton DeCosey can make those shots, but if he's too amped up, he isn't nearly as effective. As the only legitimate 20+ point scoring threat, DeCosey is going to have to take this game over for the Owls if they have any legitimate hopes of springing an upset.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
Temple is going to be a dog in this game for sure, and we're going to want the points on our side. There's been a huge rash of late of Top 25 teams getting beaten by unranked foes, and there isn't an unranked team which needs a win like this one more than Temple.
Villanova though, isn't as prone as some of the other top teams in the land. The Owls are really just a one-man bunch as we see it, and there aren't many teams out there who play better team basketball, particularly on offense than the Wildcats.
Expect to see Ryan Arcidiacono put forth a great effort in this game, and he and Ochefu should end up doing enough to escape a possible trap.
Villanova 64, Temple 61
Access live betting lines from your mobile device or tablet at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker's live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here, so starting betting with BookMaker today! The matchup between the Villanova Wildcats and the Temple Owls will go down on Wednesday, February 17, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. ET at the Liacouras Center. You can watch the game live on ESPN2.
