The Temple Owls (16-15) battle the Cincinnati Bearcats (20-11) in the 2nd round of the AAC Tournament Friday. Tip from Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, is set for 3 p.m. ET (ESPN2). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Temple vs. Cincinnati odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
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Temple lost 88-83 at Cincinnati on Feb. 22, but covered the 9-point spread. The Owls beat Cincinnati 70-61 at home Jan. 1, so they are 1-1 straight up and 2-0 against the spread (ATS) in this matchup.
The Owls have lost 6 of their last 8 yet are 4-3-1 ATS in that span. They are 18-11-2 ATS on the season and 16-14 O/U. Their strength is defense, ranking 128th in opponents field goal percentage (43%).
The Bearcats have covered 7 of their last 10 games and have won 3 of their last 4 games outright. Cincinnati is 20-10 ATS this season and 16-13 O/U.
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Temple vs. Cincinnati odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday at 11:29 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Temple +170 (bet $100 to win $170) | Cincinnati -220 (bet $220 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Temple +4.5 (-105) | Cincinnati -4.5 (-115)
- Over/Under (O/U): 140.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)
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Temple vs. Cincinnati picks and predictions
Prediction
Cincinnati 72, Temple 70
Moneyline
SKIP.
I like Temple on the spread given the trends. It hasn’t consistently won this season like it has covered, so I would avoid the (+170) moneyline odds.
Against the spread
BET TEMPLE +4.5 (-105).
Temple was the best team in the American at covering against conference opponents.
It was 12-6 ATS while Cincinnati was 11-7 ATS. It was also 7-3-1 ATS on the road this season along with going 2-0 ATS against the Bearcats.
Standout G Khalif Battle is the real deal and should be able to keep pace with the high-tempo Bearcats offense. Cincinnati is also 1-2 ATS in its last 3 games as a favorite.
Back TEMPLE +4.5 (-105).
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Over/Under
LEAN OVER 140.5 (-115).
Cincinnati has gone Over in 6 of its last 7 games and has scored at least 85 points in 2 of its last 3 games. It has scored at least 70 points in 9 straight games as well.
It should want to push this pace and keep the Owls on edge. The Bearcats average 77.9 points per game this season. These teams were a combined 19-16-1 O/U in conference games.
Back the OVER 140.5 (-115).
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