The Wichita State Shockers are lurking near the top of the American Conference standings, hoping a strong finish can help them surpass Cincinnati for the regular season title. Wichita State has shaken off a recent lull with two straight wins and will aim for a third when it hits the road to face off against the Temple Owls.
Despite playing on the road, Wichita State is the vastly superior team and should be a sizable favorite. Temple has been up and down this season and will need to play close to a perfect game in order to pull this upset.
The home court advantage helps but the Owls have the inferior talent.
At 7 p.m. ET, tune into ESPN2 for live Center coverage of this NCAA basketball game on Thursday, February 1, 2018, at the Liacouras Arena.
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Odds Analysis
Wichita State is 17-4 straight up and 9-10 against the spread. The Shockers have covered in half of their six games on the road this season. They have been favored in every game this season and that will remain the case in this one as well.
Temple is 11-10 straight up and 9-12 against the spread. The Owls have only covered in two of their nine games at home this season and must improve on that. Temple is 5-4 against the spread as the underdog on the year.
Key Stat
7.0. That’s the number of steals per game Temple is averaging this season, one of the few categories in which it is superior to Wichita State. The Shockers shoot better from the field and are better at passing, so they figure to have the advantage on the offensive end.
The Owls’ best shot at hanging around and making this a game is by dominating the turnover battle. It won’t be easy against a Wichita State team which is solid defensively, but if Temple can get its hands on loose balls this game may be closer than expected.
If the Shockers can take care of the ball, there isn’t much likelihood of Temple pulling off the upset.
Player To Watch
Landry Shamet -- The player that helps Wichita State go is its sophomore point guard. Shamet is averaging a team-high 14.6 points and 5.2 assists on the season, hitting on 49.8 percent of his shots from the field and 44.8 percent from three-point range.
Shamet has struggled of late, scoring only 17 combined points in the team’s past three games. He hit only 5-of-27 shots from the floor in that stretch and made only 1-of-18 from three-point range.
While that is an unwanted lull, Shamet is too talented to stay that cold for long. He has proven to be a sharpshooter and Temple must keep an eye on him because Shamet could very well break out and put together a huge performance in this showdown.
Free NCAA Men’s Basketball ATS Picks
The Owls are a mediocre team, and even the home court advantage isn’t enough to push this game in their favor. Wichita State is two losses behind Cincinnati in conference play but gets the Bearcats two times down the stretch.
They want to stay within striking distance and should keep pace with a victory in this matchup against Temple. Look for the Shockers’ defense to dominate this one for the majority of the contest.
The spread could be pretty high but Wichita State should still be a consideration to cover as it should be able to win in going away fashion. Consider the “under” depending on where the scoring total comes in for this matchup.
NCAA Men’s Basketball Odds: Wichita State 76, Temple 64
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