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Temple Owls at Louisville Cardinals Pick Against the Spread

Louisville seeks its seventh straight win and looks to move back into a first-place tie atop the American Athletic Conference when it hosts Temple on Thursday.

The fourth-ranked Cardinals will have had five days to bask in perhaps their biggest win of the year, a 58-57 victory at Cincinnati that enabled them to move within a half-game of the Bearcats in the race for the top spot. Russ Smith's go-ahead jumper in the closing seconds was the difference as Louisville won a nail-biter after five consecutive victories by an average of 26 points. One of those blowouts was an 82-58 rout of the Owls on Feb. 14 in a game that saw Montrezl Harrell score a career-high 22 points and collect 10 rebounds for the Cardinals.

Will Cummings led Temple with 16 points in that meeting and also had 24 points and six assists in the Owls' 82-79 overtime loss at Memphis on Saturday. The matchup with Louisville is the last of five straight for Temple against AAC teams that are ranked or were ranked at the time of the encounter

Who are the Owls?

The Owls have been much more competitive against the run of high-end competition since being throttled by Louisville, upsetting Southern Methodist two days later before fading late in a 13-point loss to Connecticut and then pushing Memphis to overtime on the road. They played two of those games - the win over the Mustangs and the OT loss to the Tigers - without leading rebounder Anthony Lee, who has been hampered by a knee injury. F Devontae Watson stepped up in those affairs with a total of 17 rebounds.

House of Cards

Some wondered if the Cardinals would contend for a repeat national title once forward Chane Behanan was dismissed earlier in the season, but Harrell's stellar play has changed that perception. The sophomore has six double-doubles in conference play and entered Wednesday ranked among the top four in the AAC in rebounding, field goal percentage and blocked shots. In addition to his 22 points and 10 rebounds at Temple earlier this month, Harrell tied a career high with four blocks and chipped in two assists and a steal in a dominant 31 minutes.

College Basketball Free Sports Betting Pick

The Owls are not going to be able to keep up with the athletic Cardinals. Louisville is at home and will get a double digit victory over the Owls. Play on Louisville.