There are five teams in the American Athletic Conference with one league loss right now. Four of them are Temple and Temple’s next three opponents: Memphis, Cincinnati and Houston.
Since Nov. 20, Temple is 0-3 against Big 5 teams and teams with a 7-foot-6 center (UCF) . . . and 10-0 against everybody else. A share of the city series title would have been a nice thing for out-going head coach Fran Dunphy, but a favorable NCAA seed and a long run into March would be even nicer. The next three games will go a long way to seeing that through.
In their last three AAC games, the Owls have outscored their opponents by 113-78 in the first half. None of those teams are at the top of the league standings right now, but after five days to stew on the loss to Penn, we think Shizz Alston , Quinton Rose and company will have the hammer down from the get-go.
Pick: Temple First Half -3 (-104)