SMU Mustangs vs Temple Owls Prediction, 12/30/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: SMU Mustangs vs Temple Owls

Date: Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Location: Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, PA

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: SMU (-8)

Liacouras Center is the site where and the Temple Owls (1-1) will play the SMU Mustangs (5-0) on Wednesday. The spread on this contest has SMU as 8-point favorites. The over/under has been set at 139.5.

SMU enters this game with a mark of 5-0 for the year. They currently have an average of 85.2 pts per contest (28th in D-1) while going 47.5% from the floor. The Mustangs are hitting 37.9% on shots from downtown (44 of 116) and 80.0% from the free throw line. As a team, SMU is snagging 41.4 rebounds per game and has earned 93 dimes for the season, which is 174th in college basketball in terms of passing. They cough up possession 14.6 times per contest and as a unit they commit 15.6 personal fouls per game. When they are on defense, the Mustangs are forcing their opponents into 17.2 turnovers per contest while drawing 20.0 personal fouls. They give up 31.4% on shots from beyond the arc and they are 55th in college basketball in PPG from their opponents (63.0). The Mustangs defense is allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 38.2% (110 of 288) and they surrender 31.8 rebounds per game as a squad. They are 77th in college hoops in giving up assists to their opponents with 68 surrendered this season.

The SMU Mustangs took the court against the East Carolina Pirates and took home the win by a score of 70-55 in their last contest. SMU finished the contest having earned a 45.0% FG percentage (27 of 60) and knocked down 9 of 25 3-point attempts. From the free throw line, the Mustangs buried 7 of their 11 attempts for a rate of 63.6%. With respect to grabbing rebounds, they earned a total of 34 with 8 of them being offensive. They also distributed 16 assists for the game in addition to earning 6 steals and 6 blocked shots. In reference to the defense, SMU allowed the other team to shoot 45.0% from the field on 27 of 60 shooting. East Carolina recorded 13 dimes and had 4 steals for this game. Furthurmore, the Pirates had 30 rebounds (5 offensive, 25 defensive) and got 6 blocked shots. East Carolina finished the game at 55.6% when shooting free throws by making 5 of 9 shots. They made 6 of their 16 tries from beyond the arc.

Kendric Davis is one player who played a role for the contest. He notched 17 points on 7 of 12 shooting. He played 32 minutes and also pulled down 3 rebounds. Davis finished shooting 58.3% from the field and also earned 6 assists. Another guy that was a major factor in the matchup for the Mustangs was Darius McNeill. He pulled down 2 rebounds and also had 3 dimes. He finished the contest at 55.6% from the field in this contest via 5-of-9 (13 points). When the final whistle was blown, McNeill played for 29 minutes.

Temple has a win-loss record of 1-1 for the season. The Owls are responsible for committing 18.5 personal fouls per contest and they hit 74.5% from the charity stripe. Their rate of earning assists is at 13.0 times per contest (213th in college basketball) and they are losing possession via turnover 17.5 times per contest. Temple has accounted for 122 pts for the campaign (61.0 per contest) and they snag 38.0 rebounds per contest. When it comes to offensive execution, the Owls are hitting on 35.0% from the floor, which has them ranked 353rd in college basketball. The Owls on the defensive side of the court are 138th in Division 1 in PPG given up with 68.0. They have conceded 12.0 assists and 38.0 boards per game, which is ranked 130th and 267th in D-1. The Temple defense allows 34.1% on shots from behind the 3-point line (15 of 44) and their opposition makes 70.4% of their free throw attempts. They are forcing 14.0 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 40.8% from the floor (117th in Division 1).

The last time they took the court, the Temple Owls took a loss by a final score of 76-50 when they played the Houston Cougars. The Owls were able to collect 17 defensive boards and 9 offensive boards for a total of 26 in the matchup. They also blocked 2 shots while earning 3 steals for the matchup. The Cougars were called for 23 fouls in this game which took the Owls to the charity stripe for a total of 25 shots. They were able to convert 19 of them for a percentage of 76.0%. Pertaining to shots from downtown, Temple made 5 out of 14 attempts (35.7%). When the final whistle blew, the Owls ended up shooting 13 out of 45 from the floor which gave them a rate of 28.9%. The Owls permitted the Cougars to knock down 28 of 58 attempts from the floor which left them with a rate of 48.3% in the game. They shot 38.5% from distance by going 10 of 26 and walked away from this one shooting 10 out of 15 at the free throw line (66.7%). Concerning how they attacked the glass, Temple permitted Houston to collect 40 overall (13 on the offensive side).

J.P. Moorman was important for the Owls in the game. He converted 5 out of 10 in this contest giving him a rate of 50.0%, which earned him 12 points. Moorman totaled 2 boards in his 34 mins played and totaled 2 dimes in this contest. Another guy who came through for Temple was Brendan Barry. He racked up 9 points in his 32 minutes on the hardwood via 3 of 6 from the floor in this contest. Barry ended the game having shot 50.0% from the field in addition to contributing 3 assists and 2 rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take SMU (-8)

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