Harden and Christmas have averaged a combined 40 points per game this season. Seems kind of obvious that the higher-scoring player in their opening-round tussle likely earns a spot in the second round.

The Sun Devils play good defense, take care of the ball, and prefer to play in the 60s. If an opponent can control the tempo, Arizona State frequently struggles. On the other hand, their style bothers a lot of opponents.

A lack of depth could hinder the Owls, particularly if Sergio Olmos or Lavoy Allen get in foul trouble.
The Owls are 5-0 ATS in their last five neutral site games, while the Sun Devils are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 neutral site games. Get your NCAA basketball betting in the Bodog Sportsbook.

This is only Temple’s second season in the MAC after two years in the wilderness as an independent. That makes Tuesday night’s matchup just the second ever between these two teams. Ohio won the inaugural game 23-7 as a 9-point home chalk. The Owls will be favored at home this time around.

Temple’s doing a very good job on defense, but scoring has been a problem with redshirt freshman QB Chester Stewart at the controls. The under is 12-2 in the Owls’ last 14 games.

There’s really nowhere to go but up for Temple. The defense has steadily improved in two years and change under coach Al Golden, who was the defensive coordinator at the University of Virginia before that. The offense is still a mess, but you can’t argue with the results so far: 3-0 ATS.

So perhaps the real question is, by how many points will Penn State (3-0 SU, 2-0 ATS) shut Temple out? In 2006, it was 47-0. In 2007, it was 31-0. The Nittany Lions covered both times. The Bodog Sportsbook has the latest NCAA college football odds on this matchup, and to see the minimum number of points PSU will have to score on the Owls to cover.

Raymar Morgan and Drew Naymick were celebrating today. (AP Images)

OK, the headline's a little misleading. We just couldn't imagine anything more embarrassing than the performance the Temple Owls put forth today in Denver in the South region's first NCAA tournament matchup.

Final score: Michigan State 72, Temple 61. And that's a generous score. This just in: John Chaney has rolled over in his grave. (What's that, you say? Not dead? Oh.)

To its credit, Temple made a late run but the end result was never in question. The Spartans easily covered the 7-point spread.

Raymar Morgan led the way for State with a 15-point performance, going an impressive 7-for-9 from the field. Drew Neitzel, however, struggled, hitting just two of his 11 attempts for five points.

Ryan Brooks was the high scorer for Temple with 14 points while teammate Dionte Christmas was an awful 1-for-12 from the field, including 0-for-8 from behind the arc.

Michigan State moves on to meet the winner of today's game between No. 4 Pitt (-8.5) and No. 13 Oral Roberts. In other words, the Panthers. (Jinx!)

Stay tuned for all your March Madness first round results and recaps!

March Madness odds

Dionte Christmas cuts down the net after chopping down St. Joe's. (AP Images)

Christmas came early for Temple, which earned its first March Madness berth in the post-John Chaney era on Saturday night.

The resurgent Owls got a gift-wrapped 22 points from Dionte Christmas in a 69-64 victory over arch-rival Saint Joseph’s in the Atlantic 10 championship game in Atlantic City, N.J.

Under Fran Dunphy, Temple finished 21-12. In the title game, the Owls shot 61 percent from the floor. Ryan Brooks scored 15 points in the win.

Temple beat the point spread, which favored Saint Joseph’s by two.

In other conference championship action in college hoops:

Coppin State 62, Morgan State 60: You won’t have to wonder long about where Coppin State will be seeded in the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles finished at 16-20 after upsetting the Mid-Eastern Conference’s top seed, Morgan State, in Raleigh, N.C. Morgan State was favored by 6.5.

UNLV 76, BYU 61: Wink Adams scored 23 points as the Runnin’ Rebels returned to the NCAA Tournament, where they made a Cinderella run last year, by beating the Cougars in Las Vegas. UNLV was favored by one.

Kent State 74, Akron 55: Senior forward Mike Scott had 14 points and 13 boards as Kent State covered the two-point spread to win the Mid-American title in Cleveland.

Mississippi Valley State 59, Jackson State 58: Two free throws from Carl Lucas with less than a second to play clinched the Southwestern Athletic championship for Mississippi Valley State. Underdog Jackson State beat the 2.5-point spread.

Bet on March Madness!