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The line on the Belmont vs. Temple March Madness game was set at Belmont -3.5 early.
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What The Line Should Be
The line on this game should be Belmont -1.5, so there is a bit of an overlay.
About These Teams
Belmont - The Belmont Bruins shared the regular-season title in the Ohio Valley Conference but fell to Murray State in the championship game. Their best wins were vs. Lipscomb, at Lipscomb, at Murray State, at UCLA but they also had some clunkers like at Green Bay, at Jacksonville State.
BPI ranked the Bruins at No. 49 as of March 11, while KenPom has them at No. 53. The NCAA's new NET ranking thinks more highly of the Bruins, slotting them at No. 45.
From ESPN.com:
Biggest strength: The Bruins are the college basketball model for supreme shot selection and offensive efficiency. They ignore midrange jump shots and thrive on a diet of assisted 3-pointers and 2-point shots attempted within the restricted area around the basket. That strategy generates the nation's second-best 2-point percentage (59.5) and 10.5 3-point field goals per game. Windler personifies the approach and ranks second nationally in true shooting percentage among players who take at least one-fourth of their team's shots.
Biggest weakness: Defense. Belmont allows opponents to hit nearly 35 percent of 3-point attempts and was average at best defending spot-up jump shots. Not pursuing offensive rebounds enabled the Bruins to play solid transition defense, but they were susceptible against a variety of plays in the half court. They are also near the bottom of Division I in forcing turnovers (16 percent of opponent's possessions).
ESPN notes that this year's edition has the star power and depth to cause bracket trouble. The Bruins will get a shot on nearly every possession, and the percentages say it will be a smart one.
Temple - The Temple Owls slid into the field with wins in six of their last seven regular-season Atlantic 10 games.
Best wins: at Missouri, vs. Davidson, at Wichita State, vs. Houston, vs. Memphis, vs. UCF. They had one bad loss against Tulsa.
Temple does have one of the best back courts with solid guards. Their inability to score in the post, so the focus for Belmont will be to contain the Owls in the back court.
The Owls are also subject to defensive lapses with lots of fouling.
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Odds to win 2019 NCAA Men's Tournament (4/8/19)
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- Don Shapiro, Gambling911.com
