NCAA Tournament Betting: Cornell vs Temple

Two of the bettors favorite NCAA Tournament teams will square off in the betting odds Friday afternoon. That’s when Atlantic 10 champions Temple play the Cornell Big Red, winners of the Ivy League.

No. 12 Cornell Big Red (27-4 SU, 16-10 ATS) vs. No. 5 Temple Owls (29-5 SU, 22-11-1 ATS): NCAA Tournament First Round
Friday, March 19: 12:30 p.m. CBS

NCAA Betting Odds: Temple -4

Here are some NCAA Betting Trends which may impact this game:

Cornell: 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games
Cornell: 5-0 SU in their last 5 games

Temple: 8-1-1 ATS in their last 5 games
Temple: 10-0 SU in their last 10 games

Temple comes into this game as one of the hottest teams in the betting odds, as they’ve covered the point spread in eight of their last 10 games and ripped through the Atlantic 10 tournament last weekend. And while it isn’t flashy, they did it on the strength of their defense. The Owls have one of the nation’s best, as they rank in the top five nationally in both total defense, and defensive field goal percentage.

On offense, they hardly miss a beat either, thanks to a cast of several underappreciated players. They feature a pair of guards, Ryan Brooks and Juan Fernandez who are as good as anyone nationally. On the season, these two combined to score over 26 points a game, with Fernandez leading the team in assists as well. Lavoy Allen has been a beast down low, averaging 11 points and almost 11 rebounds a game.

As for Cornell, they come into this tournament as one of the most underrated teams in the country, and almost upset No.1 overall seed Kansas in December. They are led themselves by a pair of guards, including one who is as good as anyone, Ryan Wittman. Wittman is the son of NBA great Randy Wittman, but is quickly making a name for himself. On the season, he averaged over 17.5 points a game. And down low for the Big Red is center Jeff Foote. While legit seven footers are rare in the Ivy League, Foote is an exception and averaged 12 and 10 this season.

But as we enter this game, the question becomes this: Against this vaunted Temple defense can Cornell score enough to win? It’s hard to say.

Honestly, as nice as winning in the Ivy League is, this is an entirely different ball-game as we enter the NCAA Tournament. The level of competition is better, and the play is tougher. Also, remember this interesting thing as well. For all the talk about Cornell almost beating Kansas (losing by five), they also lost to Syracuse by 15 as well. So with those two differing results, who are the real Big Red?

The pick here is Temple. We entered by saying that nobody is hotter in college basketball, and that will continue in Friday afternoon’s betting odds. They should be your play here, and going forward until they give you a reason otherwise.