Charleston Cougars vs Temple Owls Prediction, Odds, Best Bets - Week 2

Charleston has opened 2-0 by outscoring everyone, and now visits a Temple team that has scored just 60.5 points a game through two outings. The Owls are a short home favorite at the Liacouras Center, but the Cougars bring the better offense and the deeper set of scorers.

The Matchup

Charleston visits Temple on Wednesday evening at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, on ESPN+, with Temple a 1.5-point home favorite, a total of 153.5, and the Owls priced at -115 on the moneyline against the Cougars at -105. The line says coin flip in Temple's building; the scoring numbers say Charleston has been the better team by a wide margin.

Charleston is 2-0, and its start needs honest framing: the Cougars have scored 111.5 points a game and allowed 60.5, but that is a two game number built against overmatched early opposition, so read it as a hot start, not a scoring average that survives November. What is real is the balance.

Eli Ellis leads Charleston at 15.5 points a game, Tavari Johnson leads it at 4.5 assists a game, and Braden Pierce leads it at 6.0 rebounds a game, and no Cougar has to star for the offense to hum. Temple is 1-1, scoring just 60.5 points a game and allowing 67.5, and Cam Scott leads the Owls at only 10.0 points a game, with Jordan Marsh at 3.0 assists a game and Baboucarr Njie at 8.0 rebounds a game. Ellis and Scott carry no injury designation.

Last season is where Charleston's edge holds up best. The Cougars went 21-11, scored 75.4 points a game, and allowed 73.4, a proven winning program in the CAA. Temple went 16-16, scored 73.9, and allowed 70.8, a .500 team that played close games all year. So even after discounting Charleston's two game scoring burst, the Cougars were the better team over a full season, and Temple's current scoring slump, with no player above 10.0 a game, is the problem the Owls have to solve tonight.

Key Factors

Temple's offense is the central issue. A home favorite whose leading scorer sits at 10.0 points a game has no reliable way to answer runs, and Charleston will make the Owls score in bunches at some point in this game. Marsh has to create more than he has, and Njie's rebounding has to turn Temple misses into second chances, because the Owls will not win a half court scoring contest playing the way they have through two games.

Charleston's depth of scoring is its protection on the road. Ellis leads a group rather than carrying it, Johnson keeps the ball moving, and Pierce finishes trips on the glass, so a cold night from one Cougar does not stall the offense. Against a Temple defense allowing 67.5 a game, that balance is how a road team in a near pick'em builds the small lead the spread cannot survive.

The honest counterpoint is the building and the discount on Charleston's start. The Liacouras Center is a hard road environment, Temple defended well enough last season to allow 70.8 a game, and the Cougars' 111.5 points a game will come down hard against American Conference athletes. If Temple drags this into the sixties and Scott finally has the scoring night his role promises, the short home favorite wins the kind of grind it is built for.

Every pick is published with its line before the game. Odds via consensus sportsbooks at time of writing and move constantly. Must be 21+. If gambling is a problem, call or text 1-800-GAMBLER.