Belmont vs. Temple Prediction: March Madness First Four Odds
The winner of this East Region games faces No. 6 Maryland on Thursday – and both are more than capable of knocking off the Terps.
There would have been a huge outcry if the NCAA Tournament selection committee left Belmont out as the Bruins were regular-season co-champions at 16-2 in the Ohio Valley Conference with Murray State and lost to the Racers in the conference tournament title game. Belmont is not joke – just ask UCLA, which lost at home to the other Bruins on Dec. 15. Belmont also played Purdue tough during the non-conference schedule.
Belmont vs. Temple NCAA Tournament Point Spread and Betting
Temple finished tied for third at 13-5 in the American Athletic Conference regular-season standings. The Owls’ at-large hopes were very perilous, though, after falling 80-74 to Wichita State in their conference tournament opener. Temple’s best wins this season were over AAC teams Houston and UCF, also both in the NCAA Tournament.
It’s the first meeting between these schools.
Belmont Bruins
It’s the eighth all-time NCAA Tournament appearance for Belmont and the first time it has gotten an at-large bid (only second time an Ohio Valley Conference school has gotten one). The Bruins, one of nine Division I programs to win at least 19 games in 14 straight seasons, have yet to win a game in the Big Dance. It’s a very good offensive team, ranking second nationally in scoring at 87.5 points per game, fourth in shooting at 49.9 percent and first in assists at 19.9 per game.
Senior Dylan Windler is the player to watch as he leads the team in scoring (21.4 ppg) and rebounding (10.7 rpg). He’s the only Division I player averaging at least 20.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.
Temple Owls
Temple’s next loss will be the last game in Coach Fran Dunphy’s tenure as he’s retiring and will be replaced by former Owls star and NBA player Aaron McKie, who has been on Dunphy’s staff since 2014. It’s the 33rd all-time NCAA Tournament appearance for Temple and 17th for Dunphy to tie former Temple coach John Chaney for the most NCAA appearances with a Philadelphia Big 5 school (nine at Penn, eight at Temple).
Senior guard Shizz Alston Jr. leads the AAC in scoring at 19.7 points per game and free-throw shooting (90.7 percent) while ranking second in assists per game (5.0).
