A win by the Explorers in the game that will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network will give them there first outright Big 5 crown since 1990, while an Owl's win will make for a split between the two schools for the crown and assuring Temple of its record 27th Big 5 Title. Temple enters Thursdays contest having gone 3-2 in their past five games with each contest being decided by one point. Temple Senior guard Khalif Wyatt enters the game leading the Atlantic 10 in scoring (19.8 PPG), and will look to lead his team to victory and add a quality win to its NCAA Tournament resume. Wyatt will face stiff competition in Explorer Senior guard Ramon Galloway who is averaging 17.3 PPG, and Junior guard Tyreek Duren who is coming off a 29 point performance against the Hawks Saturday at the Palestra. Thursday's contest will have much more than just the Big 5 crown at stake, with Atlantic 10 and NCAA Tournament ramifications as well.
The Owls who are 17-6 and 6-4 in the A-10 and the Explorers who are 18-6 and 8-3 in A-10 play will both be looking to improve their seeding for the upcoming Atlantic 10 tournament that brings with it an automatic bid to the tournaments victor. Both schools will be looking to notch a quality victory for their March Madness resumes as Temple looks to secure its sixth straight NCAA Tournament bid and La Salle looks to qualify for the first time since 1992. Temple already boasts a win over a third ranked Syracuse squad earlier in the season while La Salle has impressive wins over Butler and VCU, who were ranked 9th and 19th respectively at the time of La Salle's wins. With both teams already having a few quality wins to their name, each will look to add one more Thursday and increase their Tournament dreams. The winner of this game will very likely need to get their dancing shoes polished for March, so buckle up and get ready to enjoy what figures to be a thrilling contest Thursday night.
My Prediction: La Salle pulls out the win on the road 73-69, Explorers
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