The selection committee must have forgotten the Temple Owls when they gathered during the 2015 tournament’s Selection Sunday, but that should only fuel Fran Dunphy’s team to get better this season. Hopefully for the Owls, that’s enough gas for them to upset the preseason No. 1 North Carolina Tar Heels later tonight. The Tar Heels are set to open their season minus Marcus Paige, though they still have the weapons to stave off Temple’s challenge.
Read on for more about this showdown. You can also see our preview of Northern Colorado vs. Kansas.
[sc:MarchMadness ]North Carolina Tar Heels vs. Temple Owls Preview
Where: U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis
When: Friday, November 13, 7:00 PM ET
Line: North Carolina Tar Heels vs. Temple Owls – view all NCAA Basketball lines
Betting on the North Carolina Tar Heels (0-0)
[sc:NCAAB240banner ]The Tar Heels are looking to open the season with aplomb. Unfortunately for North Carolina, their best player in Marcus Paige won’t be on the floor later tonight, when they face a game Temple squad that should serve as a good test for Roy Williams’ boys.
Paige is arguably the best point guard in the nation, but he’s set to be sidelined for the first three weeks of the season because of a hand injury sustained in practice. With Paige out, the Tar Heels will have to call on guards Joel Berry and Nate Britt to handle the playmaking duties early this season. The pair combined for 9.7 PPG and 3.0 APG last season.
The Tar Heels’ overall talent and experience should still be too much for Temple to handle. Other than Berry and Britt, North Carolina also sees the return of key players Justin Jackson, Brice Johnson, and Kennedy Meeks. Johnson and Meeks are expected to dominate the rebounding battle against the Owls. Johnson averaged 12.9 last season while leading the team with 7.8 RPG. Meeks, on the other hand, wasn’t far behind with 11.4 PPG and 7.3 RPG. Overall, the Tar Heels were second in the nation with 41.0 RPG.
As for Jackson, the sophomore forward is also expected to contribute on both ends of the floor. He chipped in 10.7 PPG, 3.7 RPG, and 2.3 APG in his freshman year.
The over is 4-1 in the last five games of North Carolina, which mustered 77.9 PPG last season.
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Betting on the Temple Owls (0-0)
It was disappointing for the Owls not to get an invite to the Big Dance last March despite finishing with a very respectable 26-11 record. What’s more frustrating was that the snub came on the last season of leading scorer Will Cummings, whose departure is a big blow to the Owls.
Cummings would’ve given Temple a great hand in trying to upset North Carolina in day one of the new college basketball season. But with him and his 14.8 PPG average gone, it’s clear that seniors Quenton DeCosey and Jaylen Bond must lead this team, beginning with the tussle in Annapolis on Friday.
DeCosey was the team’s leading second-leading scorer last season, averaging 12.3 PPG to go along with 4.6 APG, while Bond had 7.6 PPG. Also in the mix is Josh Brown, who chipped in 6.3 PPG and 3.1 RPG.
Beating North Carolina is no easy task for any team in the nation, and even if the Owls’ offense clicks, Temple still needs to cover its bases on defense. Containing the Tar Heels’ attack is no picnic, but if the Owls could avoid getting massively outrebounded, they’ll have at least a fair chance of keeping the game closer than most people think. Temple wasn’t too shabby beneath the glass last season, averaging 37.9 boards a game, good for 28th in the nation.
Bond, who led the team with 7.9 RPG, should get help from sophomore Obi Enechionyia. Enechionyia is expected to make a significant leap following a freshman season in which he averaged 5.3 PPG and 3.6 RPG in 18.7 MPG.
Temple is 3-1 SU and 2-2 ATS in its last four games overall.
Writer’s Prediction
North Carolina wins 69-55.
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