Showdown in the Liacouras Center Temple vs Penn State

The A 10 champion Temple Owls will take on the NIT champion Penn State Nittany Lions on Saturday. Temple is 5-2 this season and they are lead by senior guard Ryan Brooks who averages 13.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Temple is also lead by 1st team all A 10 selection Lavoy Allen who averages 12.1 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. Temple however seems to be priding themselves on defense this year averaging 56 points against per game. This could be due to the fact that they no longer have Dionte Christmas, who was one of the most legendary scorers in A 10 history, to rely on to score 20 points a night. The defensive scheme seems to be working for Temple who is 5-2 this season, both losses being by single digits, one a last second heart breaker to 20th ranked Georgetown. However holding Penn State to a low score could be a challenge for Temple.

Penn State is lead by their very talented junior guard Talor Battle who averages 20.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. Battle is a very creative player who doesn't just produce for himself, but also produces for his teammates. Penn State is a quick team who plays at a quick tempo and likes to get fast break opportunities. They also like to shoot a lot of 3s. 37% of Penn State's shots are from behind the arc. Penn Sate is very dangerous offensively. They are the opposite of Temple. They are better at offense and aren't a tough defensive team.

These are possibly the two most under rated teams in college basketball. Both teams are very talented but neither are picked by the experts to make the NCAA tournament. Both teams have a lot of talented players and can be dark horses in their conferences. This game is very important for both teams. Both teams are 5-2 and have tough games in the future. Both teams will be playing very hard trying to get a win. It will be a very entertaining game and should produce some exciting plays.

Prediction

Both Teams will be playing with a lot of intensity. The game will come down to who can make a shot under pressure. Both teams have proven to be good in big games so it should be a very close game.
Final Score
Temple 67
Penn State 64