The seven-seed Temple Owls are set to take on the 10-seed Penn State Nittany Lions in the West Region of the 2011 NCAA Tournament. This game will take place on Thursday, March 17th at 2:10 EST down in Tucson, Arizona. Below I preview both squads and give my prediction on the outcome in the end. According to the NCAA Tournament odds, the Owls are the favorite with a line of Temple -2.5 over Penn State.

Temple Owls - The Owls are epitomize the definition of the word “team”.  They have worked together as a team to compile a 25-7 record this season which includes three RPI Top 50 wins over Georgia, Georgetown and Richmond.  Temple has an inside-outside punch that few teams can rival.  The Owls did suffer a big blow when Michael Eric broke his right patella, and since his departure they have had to rely even more heavily on first-team all-conference selection Lavoy Allen in the post.

Allen has averaged 11.8 ppg, 8.4 rpg and 1.8 bpg to be a force for Temple inside.  The junior guard tandem of Juan Fernandez and Ramone Moore is as heady as they come.  Moore (14.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.2 apg) is one of the most explosive players in the country, and his highlight was a 30 point outburst in an upset win over Georgetown. Fernandez (10.5 ppg, 3.9 apg) has been slowed by a bone bruise in his left knee and needs to return to the form that won him Atlantic 10 Player of the Year honors last season. How far the Owls can go may depend on the health of the conference’s most improved player in Scootie Randall (11.6 ppg, 5.1 apg), who missed the last five games of the regular season and the A-10 Tournament.

Penn State Nittany Lions - The Nittany Lions are led by four senior starters who have accomplished quite a bit this season. A month ago, Penn State’s chances of making the Big Dance looked slim to none. But after winning seven of their final ten games including wins over Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan State to reach the Big Ten Tournament final, they have done more than enough to join the field. Penn State is one of six teams with 14 losses after going 19-14 this season, but their 5-8 mark against the RPI Top 50 certainly gave them a boost.

The Nittany Lions have a very young bench, which is why head coach Ed DeChellis has elected to slow the tempo down and allow his four senior starters along with sophomore Tim Frazier to log more than 30 minutes per night. Talor Battle is the heart and soul of this team, scoring 19.8 ppg and passing Jesse Arnelle as Penn State’s all-time leading scorer in the Big Ten Tournament. Forward Jeff Brooks (13.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg) is one of the most underrated players in the conference, and forward David Jackson (10.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg) gives the Nittany Lions a reliable third scoring option. Speeding the pace up is the key to beating Penn State, because they can’t seem to hang with teams once the score gets up in the 70s.

My Prediction: Temple Wins - The Owls are one of the better teams in the country that nobody is talking about. With their inside-out combination and their ability to play team basketball, the Owls can hang with anyone. Temple takes care of the basketball and when they get the lead, they rarely relinquish it. I believe the combination of Fernandez and Moore outside along with Allen on the inside will get the Owls through to the second round.

Feel free to comment on whether or not you agree with my March Madness picks on this game below. You probably shouldn’t have either of these teams as part of your Final Four Predictions as neither is likely to get through the tough West Region.