Last Updated on March 19, 2010 8:12 am by drew
Temple-Cornell Pick
No NCAA Tournament matchup has gotten more discussion than the Temple-Cornell contest, which takes place Friday at 12:30PM ET.
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These two teams will battle it out in the East Region with their game taking place at Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. The Owls are the No. 5 seed and the Big Red are the No. 12 seed.
Oddsmakers from online sports book SPORTSBETTING.com have made Temple 4-point favorites over Cornell on Friday afternoon. The over/under has been set at 119.
Temple is making its 28th NCAA Tournament appearance and is in the Big Dance for the third straight year. The Owls are 29-5 on the year and 14-2 in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Temple scores just 64.9 points per-game, which ranks 230th in the NCAA, but the Owls allow just 56.2 points per-game, which is the third fewest in the country. Temple has been led this season by Lavoy Allen, who averages 11.5 points and 10.9 rebounds per-game. Ryan Brooks adds 14.3 points per-game while Juan Fernandez scores 12.6 points per-game.
Cornell is appearing in March Madness for the third straight year and fifth time in school history. The Big Red are 27-4 this year and 13-1 in the Ivy League, as Cornell won the league title this season. Cornell scores 75.2 points per-game, which ranks 47th in the country, while the Big Red give up 63.3 points per-game, which ranks 49th in the NCAA. The Big Red have been led this season by Ryan Wittman, who averages 17.5 points per-game. Jeff Foote averages 12.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per-game for Cornell while Louis Dale adds 11.9 points per-game.
Both teams got the short end of the stick in seeding, but it will turn out to hurt Cornell more than Temple, as the Big Red likely could have upset someone, had it not been Temple. The Owls could arguably be a No. 2 seed in this tournament and have been playing as such. The Owls will be able to dictate tempo and Temple coach Fran Dunphy mentored Cornell coach Steve Donahue. That favors the Owls in this one. We like Temple and the over with such a low point total.
Our NCAA Tournament Free Pick for this matchup is: TEMPLE -4 and OVER 119
March Madness Betting Trends
Cornell is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Cornell is 3-7 ATS in its last 10 games
Temple is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Temple’s last 7 games
Temple is 6-0-1 ATS in its last 7 games
March Madness Injury Report
TEMPLE
No Injuries Reported
CORNELL
No Injuries Reported
March Madness Game Odds
Temple Owls -4 Over 119
Cornell Big Red +4 Under 119
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Posted: 3/19/10 8:12AM ET