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Belmont vs Temple Betting / Live Stream / TV Channel, Date / Time & March Madness First Four Pick

Written by on March 18, 2019

NCAA Basketball Betting News

Kudos to the NCAA selection committee for giving a very good Belmont team an at-large bid to the Big Dance. The No. 11 Bruins play No. 11 Temple of the AAC in First Four action Tuesday from Dayton, with the winner then an NCAAB betting underdog in the first round against No. 6 Maryland.

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Belmont vs Temple Betting Lines & March Madness First Four Pick

Why Bet on Belmont?

Belmont missed out on earning an automatic berth by losing to Murray State 77-65 in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament championship. The Bruins couldn’t stop Ja Morant, the OVC Player of the Year, who played the entire 40 minutes and will be a very high draft pick this summer. He was 13-for-25 shooting and added seven rebounds and three assists. He scored eight successive points down the stretch in the second half to help withstand a rally by Belmont (26-5), which saw its 15-game winning streak end.

Belmont, which secured its 10th conference regular season championship in 14 years, earned the first NCAA Tournament at-large bid in program history, and the second in Ohio Valley Conference history (Middle Tennessee, 1987). This will be Belmont’s eighth NCAA Tournament appearance (2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2019).

The Bruins rank top 25 nationally in 12 statistical categories, including first in assists per game and total assists, second in scoring offense and assist to turnover ratio, fifth in field goal percentage, and sixth in offensive efficiency and defensive rebounding.

Belmont postseason invitations 13 of the last 14 seasons, including eight berths to the NCAA Tournament. The Bruins have won 17 conference championships since 2006 – third-most nationally over that span (Gonzaga, Kansas). Belmont is one of only six NCAA Division I programs outside the Power 5 to post Top 100 RPIs eight consecutive seasons (BYU, Gonzaga, Saint Marys (CA), San Diego State, Wichita State). Belmont is one of only nine NCAA Division I programs to win 19 or more games 14 consecutive seasons (BYU, Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Louisville, Michigan State, North Carolina, San Diego State).

The Bruins’ star is senior Dylan Windler. The 6-8 swingman emerged as one of the top two-way players in college basketball. Windler has posted 35 career double-doubles, including in 10 of his last 13 games. He ranks among OVC leaders in 10 statistical categories, namely third in scoring (21.4) and first in rebounding (10.7) – a category he led for a second consecutive season. Windler is the only player in America averaging at least 20.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.

He has led Belmont (26-5) to 93 victories and three conference championships in his three-plus seasons, including Power 5 victories over UCLA, Georgia, and Vanderbilt. The Bruins have also earned national Top 25 poll votes in three of Windler’s four seasons. Windler ranks sixth on Belmont’s NCAA Division I era scoring list with 1,647 points.

Team Stats

Offense
  • Total Score: 87.42
  • Field Goal Percentage: 49.95
  • Three-Point Percentage: 37.36
  • Free Throw Percentage: 73.79
  • Total Rebounds: 38.87

Defense

  • Total Score: 73.87
  • Field Goal Percentage: 42.49
  • Three-Point Percentage: 34.33
  • Free Throw Percentage: 70.15
  • Total Rebounds: 35.03

Why Bet on Temple?

Temple finished tied for third in the American Athletic Conference regular-season standings. The Owls, though, lost their AAC Tournament opener, 80-74, to Wichita State, putting their NCAA Tournament hopes in jeopardy.

Over three 4-5 minute stretches at various times of the Wichita State game, Temple was scoreless or made only free throws. The third of those came to close out the game as the Owls missed their final five field-goal attempts. Temple led for most of the first half and early in the second, but after the third tie of the second half with 11:48 remaining, Wichita State took the lead for good.

Senior Ernest Aflakpui dominated on the boards, grabbing a career-high 19 rebounds to go with 16 points for his fourth double-double of the season. Ten of Aflakpui’s rebounds came on the offensive glass. The Owls’ scoring leader was Shizz Alston, Jr. with 20 points, while junior Quinton Rose added 17 points, six rebounds, and three steals. Sophomore Nate Pierre-Louis also finished in double figures in scoring with 11 points.

Belmont vs Temple is one of the best games scheduled for Tuesday Night.

Alston leads the AAC with 19.7 points per game and is on pace to be Temple’s first conference scoring leader since Khalif Wyatt in 2013. He also ranks first in free-throw percentage (.907), first in minutes played (37.1 per game), second in assists per game (5.0), and fourth in three-pointers made per game (3.0). Alston, a three-time AAC Player of the Week and four-time Big 5 Player of the Week this season, was named to the AAC First Team and the USBWA All-District II Team.

Junior guard Quinton Rose (AAC Second Team) ranks second on the team and ninth in the AAC with 16.5 points per game, while sophomore Nate Pierre-Louis (AAC co-Most Improved Player) is third on the team with 13.3 points per game and second with 5.7 rebounds per game.

The Owls are making their 33rd NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2016. Head coach Fran Dunphy, in his 13th and final season with Temple, is making his 17th career trip to the NCAA Tournament to tie legendary Owls’ coach John Chaney for the most NCAA appearances with a Philadelphia Big 5 school (nine at Penn, eight at Temple).

Team Stats

Offense
  • Total Score: 74.84
  • Field Goal Percentage: 43.85
  • Three-Point Percentage: 33.06
  • Free Throw Percentage: 73.11
  • Total Rebounds: 34.28

Defense

  • Total Score: 71.16
  • Field Goal Percentage: 44.09
  • Three-Point Percentage: 32.67
  • Free Throw Percentage: 67.68
  • Total Rebounds: 37.16

Belmont vs Temple 2019 March Madness Betting Trends

  • Temple is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games
  • The total has gone OVER in 4 of Temple’s last 6 games
  • Belmont is 5-1-1 ATS in its last 7 games
  • Belmont is 14-1 SU in its last 15 games

Expert Final Prediction for Belmont vs Temple

Belmont advances.

2019 March Madness Expert Betting News

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