Central Connecticut Blue Devils vs Temple Owls Prediction, 11/2/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Central Connecticut Blue Devils vs Temple Owls

Date: Monday, November 2, 2026

Location: Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, PA

TV: ESPN+

The Central Connecticut Blue Devils (18-12 last year) are en route to Liacouras Center on Monday where they will play the Temple Owls (16-16 last season).

The Central Connecticut Blue Devils stepped onto the hardwood against Wagner and ended up losing by a score of 70-60 in their last contest. Central Connecticut finished with a 37.9% FG percentage (22 of 58) and buried 6 of 17 3-pointers. From the free throw line, the Blue Devils converted 10 of their 15 shots for a rate of 66.7%. In reference to grabbing boards, they earned 30 with 9 of them being of the offensive variety. They also dished out 8 assists in this game as well as forcing 4 turnovers and earning 1 steal. In reference to defending, Central Connecticut allowed 44.8% from the floor on 26 out of 58 shooting. Wagner distributed 9 dimes and had 3 steals in the matchup. Furthermore, Wagner pulled down 32 boards (8 offensive, 24 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Wagner ended up shooting 91.7% when shooting free throws by making 11 of 12 attempts. They also made 7 out of their 20 tries from distance. Concerning personal fouls, the Blue Devils ended up with 16 and Wagner racked up 15 personal fouls.

Darin Smith Jr. is a guy who came through in this game. He scored 29 points on 8 out of 23 shooting. He saw the court for 37 minutes played and also totaled 13 rebounds. He finished shooting 34.8% from the field and also recorded 1 assist.

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Central Connecticut heads into this matchup after finishing with a win-loss record of 18-12 last season. They averaged 73.8 points per game (234th in the nation) while shooting 47.1% from the floor. The Blue Devils shot 36.8% on shots from distance (219 of 595) and 76.9% from the charity stripe. As a team, Central Connecticut grabbed 34.4 rebounds per game and earned 414 assists over the course of last season, which had them ranked 264th in college hoops in terms of passing the rock. They turned the ball over 10.6 times per game and as a team committed 13.7 personal fouls per game.

When they were on the defensive end, the Blue Devils forced their opponents into 9.4 turnovers every game while drawing 15.9 fouls. They surrendered 32.9% on shots from downtown and they ranked 97th in college in PPG from their opponents (70.9). The Blue Devils defense gave up an opponent shooting percentage of 43.0% (771 of 1,794) and they conceded 33.0 rebounds per contest as a team. They were 125th in college in giving up assists to their opponents with 420 conceded last year.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Temple Owls went home defeated by a final of 63-59 when they played Florida Atlantic. The Owls were able to pull down 16 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds for a total of 24 for the game. They coughed it up 8 times, while getting 13 steals in this game. Florida Atlantic committed 14 fouls in this contest which took the Owls to the charity stripe for 16 attempts. They were able to bury 11 of the free throws for a clip of 68.8%. With regard to shooting from beyond the arc, Temple knocked down 2 out of 9 tries (22.2%). When the final whistle blew, the Owls finished 23 for 60 from the field which had them at 38.3%. The Owls permitted Florida Atlantic to bury 25 of 50 attempts from the floor which left them with a rate of 50.0% for this game. They went 54.5% from beyond the arc by shooting 6 out of 11 and ended up shooting 7 out of 12 at the charity stripe (58.3%). In reference to rebounds, Temple allowed Florida Atlantic to pull down 34 in all (10 on the offensive side).

Derrian Ford ended up having an impact for the Owls for the matchup. He converted 6 of 15 for this game giving him a field goal percentage of 40.0%, and earned 3 rebounds. He racked up 16 points in his 35 minutes on the court, but wasn't able to earn an assist.

Temple had a win-loss record of 16-16 last season. On the offensive side of the court, the Owls hit 44.7% from the floor, which ranked them 205th in D-1. Temple scored 2,366 points over the course of last year (73.9 per game) and they grabbed 33.7 boards per game. They dished out assists 12.3 times per contest (293rd in college) and they lost possession by turning the ball over 9.0 times per game. The Owls were responsible for committing 17.3 fouls every game and they connected on 74.7% from the free throw line.

The Temple defense gave up 32.4% on 3-point shots (212 of 654) and their opponents made 70.9% of their foul shots. They surrendered 10.7 dimes and 33.6 total boards per game, which was ranked 77th and 120th in college hoops. The Owls on the defensive end were ranked 92nd in college in PPG given up with 70.8. They forced their opponents into 10.3 TO's every game and let teams shoot 44.5% from the field (200th in college hoops).

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Central Connecticut

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