Owls host Explorers in clash of local A-10 rivals

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/30/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Local rivals square off at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia today, as the La Salle Explorers and Temple Owls meet in an Atlantic 10 Conference affair.

La Salle is coming off an 80-73 win over Fordham, the worst team in the A-10, and the Explorers have now alternated wins and losses in their last four games. At 11-9 overall and 3-3 in conference, La Salle is hoping that an upset of the Owls today will help them turn the corner and make a run in what is a pretty competitive league.

Temple, which is ranked 15th in the nation this week, suffered a 74-64 loss at Charlotte on Wednesday night, snapping a six-game win streak in the process. It was only the second loss in the last 15 games for the Owls, who at 5-1 in conference, are tied with the 49ers for second place, just a half game back of first-place Xavier.

Temple is 8-1 at home this season, while La Salle is 4-4 in true road games.

Temple leads the series with La Salle by a 65-40 margin, but the Explorers won the last meeting, 70-63, at the Liacouras Center last February. Today's encounter is not an official Big 5 game.

La Salle is led by senior guard Rodney Green and rookie center Aaric Murray, both of whom have done their part in helping the Explorers get into the win column more times than not. Green ranks second in the A-10 in both scoring (18.6 ppg) and three-pointers (51). Meanwhile, Murray averages 12.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.7 blocked shots per game as one of the more productive youngsters in the league. Yves Mekongo rounds out the Explorers' active double-digit scorers with 11.3 ppg and he is also busy on the boards, coming up with 5.4 rpg. As a team, La Salle is averaging 71.8 ppg on 45.9 percent shooting from the field, which includes a 37.6 showing beyond the arc. Defensively, the Explorers are yielding 71.2 ppg, with foes hitting their field goals 43.4 percent of the time. The Explorers own a +5.8 rebounding advantage, but a -3.5 turnover margin hurts. Murray scored a career-high 24 points and set the program's record for blocks by a freshman, now with 54, as La Salle got by Fordham on the road earlier this week, 80-73. Jerrell Williams added 19 points and Green scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half for the Explorers, who drained 56.4 percent of their total shots and went 15-of-20 from the foul line.

Temple's leading scorer Ryan Brooks (16.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg), scored 20 points and Lavoy Allen logged his sixth double-double of the season with 12 points and 14 rebounds, but it wasn't enough as the Owls lost at Charlotte earlier in the week. Allen played just 22 minutes due to foul trouble, and Juan Fernandez, the team's only other double-digit scorer coming in (13.0 ppg, 3.7 apg), managed just three points as he is clearly still dealing with the effects of a head injury sustained in a recent game against Fordham. Not known for his scoring prowess, Luis Guzman (5.3 ppg) helped make up for the lack of production from Fernandez by nettings a career-high 14 points. Temple, which is averaging 65.0 ppg while allowing just 57.1 ppg, gave up 74 to the 49ers, who converted 44.2 percent of their field goal attempts, but won the game on the strength of a 24-7 edge in points from the free-throw line. The Owls, who won the battle on the boards by a narrow margin, shot just 34.8 percent from the floor, and dropped 11-of-35 three-pointers.