Villanova Wildcats vs. Temple Owls Predictions, Picks, Odds and NCAA Basketball Betting Preview – February 17, 2016

Something’s gotta give. No. 1 Villanova and Temple will put their five-game winning streaks on the line when they lock horns in a mouth-watering NCAA clash tonight. Both teams are playing some terrific basketball of late so expect a top-notch encounter between these two bitter rivals.

Read on below for an in-depth breakdown of this pivotal matchup and while you’re at it, you can check out our previews of No. 20 Duke vs. No. 5 North Carolina and No. 3 Oklahoma vs. Texas Tech.

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Villanova Wildcats vs. Temple Owls Preview

Where: Liacouras Center, Philadelphia

When: Wednesday, February 17, 7:00 PM ET

Line: Villanova Wildcats (-8) at Temple Owls (+8) – view all NCAA Basketball lines

TV Broadcast: ESPN2

Betting on the Villanova Wildcats (22-3, 12-1 Big East)

The Villanova Wildcats extended their winning streak to five games with a 73-63 victory over St. John’s on Saturday night. Daniel Ochefu led the way for the Wildcats, scoring a career-high 25 points. Ochefu has been solid on both ends of the floor for Villanova, averaging 10.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game this season. He’s one of five players who are averaging in double-figures for Villanova.

Key to the Wildcats’ resurgence has been their excellent play on the defensive end. They are allowing an average of just 58.6 points over their last five games. That impregnable defense was in full display Saturday against St. John’s where they held the Red Storm to a horrid 44.4 percent shooting from the field. The Wildcats are currently eighth in the nation in scoring defense, surrendering just 61.0 points per contest this season.

Next up for the surging Wildcats is a clash with AAC powerhouse Temple. Jay Wright’s men will fancy their chances against the Owls as they have fared extremely well against them of late. The Wildcats have won their last two games against the Owls, beating them by an average of 19.5 points. The Wildcats shot 52.7 percent while limiting the Owls to 35.5 in those two encounters.

The Wildcats are 9-1 SU and 5-5 ATS in their last 10 road games.

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Betting on the Temple Owls (16-8, 10-3 AAC)

The Temple Owls stretched their unbeaten run to five games with a convincing 77-65 victory over the South Florida Bulls on Sunday. Jaylen Bond scored 18 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for the Owls who now own a half-game lead atop the AAC standings. The Owls were simply sizzling against the Bulls, shooting 48 percent from the field, including going 9-of-24 from beyond the arc.

Things are bound to get tougher, though, for the Owls as standing in their way tonight are the red-hot Villanova Wildcats. The Big East leaders are averaging 76.4 points during their current five-game win run. That’s a major concern for the Owls who are 77th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 67.4 points per contest this season.

That being said, the Owls will fancy their chances against the Wildcats as they have excelled against top-caliber opponents this season. They have won their last three games against top-25 teams this campaign. For the Owls to continue that impressive streak, they will need to get another huge performance from Quenton DeCosey. He’s posting monster numbers for Temple this season, averaging a team-best 16.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game this campaign.

The Owls are 8-2 SU in their last 10 home games.

Writer’s Prediction

Villanova (-8) wins, 72-61.

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