The Temple Owls take on the Florida State Seminoles in Uncasville, CT, as part of the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
The Noles are favored by 4.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -200. The total is set at 147.5 points.
Here’s my Temple vs. Florida State predictions and college basketball picks for November 22, 2024.
Temple vs Florida State Prediction
My Pick: Florida State -5.5 or Better
My Temple vs Florida State best bet is on the Noles spread, with the best odds currently available at BetMGM. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
Temple vs Florida State Odds, Spread, Pick
| Temple Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+4.5 -110 | 148.5 -110 / -110 | +170 |
| Florida State Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-4.5 -110 | 148.5 -110 / -110 | -205 |
- Temple vs Florida State spread: Florida State -4.5
- Temple vs Florida State over/under: 148.5 points
- Temple vs Florida State moneyline: Florida State -205, Temple +170
- Temple vs Florida State best bet: Florida State -5.5 or Better
My Temple vs Florida State College Basketball Betting Preview
Temple limped into this season, still feeling the ripples of last season's inquiries into gambling activity around certain Owl games.
ESPN is now reporting that the investigation is focused on former Owl Hysier Miller, who led Temple in scoring last season before leaving for Virginia Tech.
With Miller gone, it's possible the program has shaken off the bad vibes lingering from last spring, as the Owls have impressed early on. Temple has three wins over inferior competition and it narrowly lost on the road at Boston College.
The headliner for the Owls has been Jamal Mashburn Jr., a transfer from New Mexico. The son of the former NBA star scored over 1,600 points at New Mexico and now takes the reins as the go-to-guy in North Philadelphia.
He has topped 20 points in every game this season, hitting 62% of his looks from outside the arc so far.
He is surrounded by a very experienced group of role players, even with fellow transfer (and son of a former college hoops star) Lynn Greer III suspended for the season's first nine games.
Mashburn and company have been sharper offensively than expected, yet the defensive end has been a struggle. Temple has been weak on the glass, is not forcing turnovers and allows far too much dribble penetration.
If the Owls are going to continue to outperform expectations heading into conference play, they will need to pick up the slack of expected shooting regression with some added defensive stops.
Florida State Basketball
Like Temple, Florida State has looked better than expected in the season's early days.
Leonard Hamilton's team had the second worst odds to win the ACC prior to the season, and while they haven't looked good enough to compete with the teams at the top of the conference, the Seminoles have certainly looked more like a competitive team that will jockey in the middle of the pack than slide to the ACC's cellar.
The Noles' lone loss came to rival Florida, a team expected to earn an NCAA Tournament at-large bid. In four games against lesser competition, Florida State has looked solid, especially defensively.
Hamilton has always fielded big, physical rosters, and this team is no exception. The Noles rank second in KenPom's average height metric, with four contributors 6-foot-10 or taller and lengthy players playing on the perimeter, as well.
Offensively, it's been slower going for Florida State. Jamir Watkins leads the team in scoring at 18 points per game, but he has not had much help from a frequently rotating supporting cast.
The Noles are playing fast, attacking the paint and drawing fouls, but they have not shot well enough to complement that downhill, driving style.
The four Seminoles with previous college basketball experience and 2.0 attempts from deep per game this season are all shooting at or worse than their previous career shooting mark.
Freshman Daquan Davis has started his college career 2-of-15 from long range.
This team was not expected to outshoot opponents, yet it can't survive shooting like this.
Temple vs Florida State Betting Analysis
The shooting regression red flags are waving wildly for this matchup.
Temple is hitting 41.8% from long range, top-20 in the country. Temple hasn't finished a season in the top 100 of 3-point shooting percentage in over a decade, and while this season's team has welcomed transfers, last year's Owls shot an ugly 31.7% from long range.
As mentioned, Florida State has been the opposite. In the Seminoles' first three games, they have shot 13-of-62 from outside, just 20.9%. They have seen some improvement — even as the level of competition has improved — yet there is plenty of room for that to continue to balance.
Beyond the shooting splits, the tenacious Florida State defense should be the difference maker in this game. Temple has been largely a one-man show, with Mashburn on center stage. Florida State has a handful of players able to frustrate him with length and pressure.
Unless another Owl can really pop in this game, I expect the Seminoles to bottle up Mashburn and win this one by at least a few possessions.
