NCAAB: Tulsa vs. Temple AAC Conference Tournament Pick & Prediction

Derek Mountain Sports Betting Expert

8 minute read

It's the best time of the year for college basketball fans as Championship Week is well underway. College fans can tune into the American Athletic Tournament in Fort Worth, Texas. 

Memphis is the heavy favorite, and is really the only lock to make the NCAA Tournament. But this league has plenty of "Bid Thief" potential as UAB will look to defend their title; North Texas is a formidable contender, and don't forget about the Temple Owls from North Philly.

Updated on 7/31/25

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The Owls had one of the more shocking runs in Championship Week last year as they went 12-19 in the regular season and miraculously won 4 games in 4 days before falling just short of a title, ultimately losing to UAB.

Tonight, they face off against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. Check out our prediction below.

For the second round of the AAC Tournament, Temple is the 7-seed and will face off against the 10-seeded Golden Hurricane of Tulsa. The winner will face off against the 2-seeded North Texas Mean Green tomorrow at 7 pm EST.

Temple and Tulsa split the season series as each road team won by single digits.

Led by Jamal Mashburn Jr., Temple started conference play on a really strong note with a 6-3 record. However, they stumbled down the stretch as they lost their next six. Among those six losses, two were in overtime, and another was a 2-point loss versus Florida Atlantic.

This was in the midst of Mashburn Jr. missing time as he's been sidelined for over a month with a lower body injury.

But, even without their star, they've been able to regroup as they've won their last three, including a 4-point win at Tulsa last week.

Led by  Zion Stanford, Temple is anchored with strong guard play as they are just outside the top 100 (101st) in KenPom's adjusted offensive efficiency.

Be sure to check injury updates before tip-off as Mashburn Jr. could suit up in this one in a limited fashion.

The Owls have struggled on the defensive end, but Tulsa isn't exactly the team to take advantage as they rank in the bottom quadrant of KenPom's adjusted offensive efficiency.

With or without Mashburn Jr., Temple should be able to take care of business here. Bart Torvik has this line set at Temple -4.8, and we're in agreement. Temple is trending up and has the guards to make a run, just like last year.

PICK: TEMPLE -3.5

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Derek Mountain

Derek Mountain works in the Boston area as an SEO Performance Associate for Better Collective. Derek is a recent graduate of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA where he played football for five years as well as walking on the basketball team his freshman year. Derek has experience writing and editing casino content for nearly four years. More from Derek Mountain