East Carolina Pirates vs Temple Owls Prediction, 1/7/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: East Carolina Pirates vs Temple Owls

Date: Wednesday, January 7, 2026

Location: Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, PA

TV: ESPN+

The East Carolina Pirates (5-9) are en route to Liacouras Center on Wednesday where they will go up against the Temple Owls (10-5).

The East Carolina Pirates faced Tulane and took a loss by a score of 79-70 in their last game. Concerning fouls, the Pirates ended up with 18 and Tulane recorded 17 fouls. They knocked down 11 out of their 23 tries from distance. Tulane ended up shooting 66.7% when shooting free throws by burying 18 of their 27 shots. Additionally, Tulane collected 34 rebounds (10 offensive, 24 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Tulane recorded 15 dimes and had 6 steals in this game. In terms of defense, East Carolina let their opponent shoot 47.2% from the floor on 25 of 53 shooting. They also distributed 12 assists in the matchup while forcing 11 turnovers and having 6 steals. In terms of rebounding, they compiled a total of 29 with 9 of them being of the offensive sort. From the free throw line, the Pirates made 12 of their 19 tries for a percentage of 63.2%. East Carolina finished the contest with a 40.6% field goal percentage (26 out of 64) and buried 6 out of their 20 shots from distance.

Jordan Riley is one player who was important in this contest. He ended up walking away with 21 points on 8 of 19 shooting. He played for 40 minutes and totaled 7 rebounds. He finished shooting 42.1% from the floor and also dished out 2 assists.

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East Carolina heads into this one with a record of 5-9 for the year. They cough up possession 13.5 times per game and as a team they are committing 16.9 personal fouls every game. As a team, East Carolina is collecting 36.2 boards per contest and has accumulated 150 dimes so far this season, which is 356th in the country in terms of passing. The Pirates are shooting 24.8% on three-point attempts (65 of 262) and 70.4% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 67.3 pts per contest (337th in college hoops) on 39.4% from the floor.

On defense, the Pirates have forced 12.6 turnovers per game while drawing 19.8 fouls. They are surrendering 36.3% on 3-pointers and they rank 257th in the country in PPG allowed (76.4). The Pirates defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 45.9% (373 of 812) and they relinquish 35.1 boards per contest as a squad. They are currently ranked 192nd in college in giving up assists to the opposition with 200 conceded on the year.

When they last stepped on the court, the Temple Owls went home victorious with a score of 76-57 when they played UTSA. The Owls recorded 20 defensive boards and 13 offensive rebounds for a total of 33 for the matchup. They also coughed up the ball 10 times, while getting 10 steals for the game. UTSA earned 19 fouls in this game which took the Owls to the free throw line for 23 shots. They were able to make 15 of the free throws for a percentage of 65.2%. With respect to shots from 3-point land, Temple made 9 of their 27 attempts (33.3%). When this game wrapped up, the Owls walked away from this one shooting 26 out of 64 from the field which gave them a percentage of 40.6%. The Owls allowed UTSA to bury 18 out of 55 attempts from the field which had them shooting 32.7% in this contest. They finished 19.0% from beyond the perimeter by going 4 of 21 and walked away from this one shooting 17 out of 20 from the free throw line (85.0%). When talking about rebounds, Temple allowed UTSA to collect 26 overall (6 on the offensive side).

Gavin Griffiths ended up being a factor for the Owls in this matchup. He converted 8 out of 19 in the game for a rate of 42.1%, and accumulated 5 rebounds. He totaled 23 points in his 32 mins of playing time and had 2 assists in the game.

Temple has a mark of 10-5 so far this season. As an offensive team, the Owls are hitting on 47.0% from the floor, which ranks them 106th in Division 1. Temple has accumulated 1,163 points so far this season (77.5 per contest) and they average 34.0 rebounds per game. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 13.7 times per contest (235th in the country) and they are turning it over 8.7 times per contest. The Owls are responsible for committing 16.4 fouls per contest and they shoot 72.4% from the free throw line.

The Temple defense surrenders 33.0% on three-point shots (116 of 351) and opponents are connecting on 69.8% of their free throw attempts. They surrender 13.4 dimes and 33.4 boards per contest, which is ranked 194th and 115th in D-1. The Owls on the defensive side of the court are 115th in college hoops in points given up per game with 70.5. They have forced 10.1 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 43.5% from the floor (188th in college).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take East Carolina

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