Temple vs. La Salle Prediction and Odds for Wednesday, November 30 (Fran Dunphy Revenge Game Favors Explorers)
By Ben Heisler
In his first year on the job for the La Salle Explorers, it's only taken seven games for head coach Fran Dunphy to get his "revenge game" against the school he spent 13 seasons at from 2007-2019.
La Salle takes on the Temple Owls at the historic Palestra in tonight's Big 5 Doubleheader, leading up to Penn and St. Joseph in the late window at 8:30 p.m. ET. It's also a familiar setting for Dunphy at The Palestra, where he first coached at Penn back in 1989 where he won 310 games in his career.
It's a duel homecoming of sorts, but do the Explorers have enough firepower to handle the Owls?
Here are the latest odds for tonight:
Temple vs. La Salle Odds, Spread and Total
Temple vs. La Salle Prediction and Pick
The betting lines for tonight's matchup have been all over the place, but throughout the day, the odds have shifted further towards the Explorers from it's opening number of +6.5.
KenPom has this as a three-point loss for La Salle, despite the Owls being 98 teams higher ranked than the Explorers. Why might that be the case?
I think it's two-fold. Turnovers are a problem for Temple, ranked in the bottom 100 in the country in turnover percentage. Conversely, La Salle ranks 74th in the nation in opponent turnover percentage, giving way to easy baskets in transition.
On the flip side, La Salle doesn't turn it over, averaging just over 17% per game, good for 85th in basketball. Temple's defense also can't force the ball out, coming in bottom 50 in the country in that category.
The Owls have the advantage for both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency, and they'll get their points and make some stops, but La Salle can keep it close with their ability to force Temple to make mistakes, leading to a cover of the 5.5-points still available.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.