Round 1 West Bracket Tournament Picks- Penn St. Nittany Lions vs Temple Owls
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#10 Penn State vs. #7 Temple Matchup
NCAA Tournament Bracket- West Region
Date/Time: Thursday, March 17, 2:10
Venue: McKale Center, Tucson, AZ
Broadcast: TNT
Penn State Nittany Lions vs. Temple Owls Betting Lines from DSI
Money Line: Temple (-145) Penn State (+125)
Spread: Temple -2.5
Over/Under: 122
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It’s a showdown in the desert between two intrastate rivals from Pennsylvania! It’s ironic that two east coast rivals would be sent to the west coast together, but that is the way it has fallen. The Penn State Nittany Lions played their way into the tournament by knocking off Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan State in the Big Ten Conference Tournament. Temple fell to Richmond in the Atlantic Ten semi-finals, but their overall body of work was plenty to put them safely into the tournament as a seven seed.
Both of these teams are known for their defense, so points will likely be tough to come by in this one.
The Penn State Nittany Lions are one of the most experienced teams in this year’s tournament. Penn State starts four seniors including star point guard Talor Battle. Battle was one of the best players in the Big Ten this year. He averaged 20.1 points per game this season.
Jeff Brooks is another big reason the Nittany Lions are in the tournament this year. Brooks averaged 13.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Brooks also shot 55% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc. The Nittany Lions problem is that they often struggle to find a third scorer. When guys like Tim Frazier, David Jackson, or Andrew Jones III are scoring this is a tough team to beat.
Penn State allowed just 62 points per game this year. 
The Temple Owls had a solid regular season. They have dealt with some injury problems, but the team has stuck together and played well. Scootie Randall is a key forward for this team, and he is questionable for Thursday’s matchup against Penn State. Randall has a foot injury that has kept him out of action since the middle of February.
The Owls are a much more balanced team when Randall is healthy. Ramone Moore and Lavoy Allen are the leading scorers for this Temple team, but the team is led by floor general Juan Fernandez. Fernandez has shot the ball very poorly this year, but he is still a great passer and he takes good care of the basketball.
If Fernandez could get his shooting touch back, this Temple team could be a very tough out. Temple allowed just 62 points per game this year. The Owls defense does a good job keeping the opposition out of the paint.
NCAA Tournament Betting Trends:
Under is 10-2 in TEMP last 12 neutral site games.
TEMP are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 vs. Big Ten.
Under is 19-7 in TEMP last 26 Thu. games.
The Pick:
The Temple Owls are definitely deeper than Penn State. The Nittany Lions will need a big performance from Battle if they are going to win this one. I think this will be a grind it out type of game and I like Temple to win it and cover the spread because of their better overall balance.
Penn State vs. Temple Score Prediction: Temple 61 Penn State 55
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