Wichita State vs Temple Prediction College Basketball Picks 1/3/25

The Wichita State Shockers and the Temple Owls meet Friday in college basketball action from the Mohegan Sun Arena. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Wichita State vs. Temple prediction.

Wichita State Recap

The Wichita State Shockers come into this game looking to build on their 87-72 win over subdivision Friends University to improve to 10-3 on the year. After this game, Wichita State will head home for a date with the USF Bulls.

Shockers Win Back-To-Back Games

Justin Hill leads the Shockers in scoring and assists with 14 PPG and 3.2 APG along with 3.4 RPG while Xavier Bell has 13.7 PPG with 3.2 RPG. Corey Washington has 12.9 PPG with 6.9 RPG to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for Wichita State up to this point in the year. Quincy Ballard has 9.8 PPG with a team-high 7.8 RPG to lead Wichita State in rebounding while Harlond Beverly has 9.8 PPG with 3.8 RPG and 2.8 APG. Bijan Cortes has 3.2 APG as well for the Shockers so far this season. As a team, Wichita State is averaging 78.2 PPG on 45.8% shooting from the field, 31.4% from behind the three-point line, and 73.9% from the foul line so far this season.

Why the Wichita State Shockers will win

• Wichita State has won eight of its last nine night games.
• Temple has lost seven of its last eight games against the American Athletic Conference at Liacouras Center.

Temple Recap

The Temple Owls come into this game looking to build on their 91-71 win over Buffalo last time out to improve to 8-5 on the year. After this game, Temple will head on the road to take on East Carolina.

Owls Win Fourth In Their Last Five

Jamal Mashburn Jr. leads the Owls in scoring with 20.1 PPG while Steve Settle III has 12.1 PPG with a team-high 6.8 RPG to lead Temple in rebounding so far this season as well as 2.2 APG to lead the way in assists. Zion Stanford added 11.3 PPG with 3.4 RPG to round out the group of double-digit scorers for Temple so far this season. Quante Berry’s also chipped in 8.6 PPG with 5.1 RPG and Elijah Gray’s added 7.5 PPG with 4.1 RPG. As a team, Temple is averaging 78.5 PPG on 45.1% shooting from the field, 33.1% from three, and 71% from the foul line so far this season.  

Why the Temple Owls will win

• Temple has won each of its last five games at Liacouras Center.

Total Points Facts

• Each of the last six games between Wichita State and Temple has produced a total of 144 or fewer points.
• Six of Wichita State’s last seven night games have produced a total of 152 or fewer points.

Wichita State vs. Temple Prediction

I’m on Temple here. Wichita State’s just left a lot to be desired in their few road spots this season and I’m not a fan of backing the Shockers on the road as they’re a team that plays their best on home soil. Temple’s looked decent in some of their recent games and I think this is a Temple team that can get it going and get themselves another win and cover at home here. Give me the Owls here.