[7:00 PM] La Salle @ Temple

Who will WIN this matchup?

La Salle Explorers (0-0)

@ Temple Owls (0-0)

 

Current odds:

La Salle Explorers: (-135)

Temple Owls: (+120)

 

• ESPN simulations have Temple as 95% favorites to win the game.

• XX% of sports bets are currently on La Salle to win as (-135) favorites.

• Three of Temple’s top four scorers from last season have graduated and the team’s fifth-leading scorer, point guard Josh Brown, is iffy for this contest after tearing his Achilles’ tendon in the spring. That leaves junior forward Obi Enechionyia (11 points per game last season) as the focus of the Owls’ offense.

• The Explorers are coming off a rough season in which they started 4-1 before losing 17 of their next 18 games. Jordan Price had another strong campaign with averages of 19.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and three assists.

• An overtime loss to Iowa in the first round of the NCAA Touranment left a sour taste in the mouths of the Owls, who are picked to finish sixth in the American Athletic Conference. Enechionyia and senior guard Daniel Dingle will be joined in the starting lineup by three underclassmen, including freshman guard Alani Moore.

• Jordan Price had another strong campaign with averages of 19.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and three assists. La Salle should also get a boost from three transfers – B.J. Johnson (Syracuse), Pookie Powell (Memphis) and Demetrius Henry (South Carolina), all of whom have starting experience from their previous schools.

• The Explorers shot 34 percent – Price was 4-of-21 – in last year’s 62-49 loss to the Owls.

 

StreakSmarts Pick: La Salle Explorers

Confidence: 4/10

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