Houston Cougars vs UCF Knights Prediction, 12/26/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Houston Cougars vs UCF Knights

Date: Saturday, December 26, 2020

Location: Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, FL

TV: ESPN2

Odds/Point Spread: Houston (-7.5)

Addition Financial Arena is the venue where and the UCF Knights (3-1) will take on the Houston Cougars (6-0) on Saturday. UCF opens this game as 7.5-point dogs. The over/under opens at 134.5.

Houston will enter this matchup with a win-loss mark of 6-0 for the campaign. They average 77.0 points per contest (113th in D-1) while shooting 42.5% from the field. The Cougars are connecting on 32.6% on shots from distance (46 of 141) and 74.3% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Houston is pulling down 43.7 rebounds per contest and has racked up 72 dimes on the year, which ranks 233rd in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They turn it over 12.8 times per contest and as a group are committing 22.3 fouls on a nightly basis. When they are on defense, the Cougars are able to force 17.8 turnovers per game and they draw 21.2 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 47th in D-1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 54 conceded this season. The Cougars defense is giving up a shooting percentage of 36.7% (106 of 289) and they surrender 30.5 boards per contest as a squad. They are surrendering 22.7% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they rank 7th in college basketball in PPG from their opponents (54.7).

The Houston Cougars faced the Temple Owls and took home the win by a score of 76-50 in their last contest. Houston ended the game having earned a 48.3% FG percentage (28 out of 58) and converted 10 out of their 26 three-point shots. At the free throw line, the Cougars made 10 of 15 attempts for a rate of 66.7%. When it comes to pulling down rebounds, they collected a total of 40 with 13 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 14 assists for this game in addition to earning 9 steals and 8 blocks. When discussing defending, Houston allowed the other team to shoot 48.3% from the field on 28 out of 58 shooting. Temple distributed 10 assists and had 3 steals for the contest. Moreover, the Owls grabbed 26 rebounds (9 offensive, 17 defensive) and added 8 blocked shots. Temple finished the contest at 76.0% when shooting free throws by converting 19 of 25 attempts. They also buried 5 of their 14 shots from beyond the arc.

Quentin Grimes is one player who had an impact in this game. He recorded 22 points on 9 of 18 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 35 mins and grabbed 7 boards. Grimes finished the game at 50.0% from the floor and recorded 2 dimes. Another guy that came through in the matchup for the Cougars was Tramon Mark. He collected 2 rebounds and also totaled 4 dimes. He went 44.4% from the field for this contest by going 4-of-9 (12 points). At the conclusion of this game, Mark played 30 minutes.

UCF has a win-loss record of 3-1 for the campaign. UCF has tallied 282 points this year (70.5 per game) and they collect 32.0 boards per game. The Knights are committing 19.3 personal fouls per game and they connect on 77.5% from the charity stripe. When it comes to offense, the Knights are shooting 41.7% from the floor, which is 279th in the nation. They are earning an assist 9.8 times per game (315th in college hoops) and they are turning it over 12.3 times per contest. The Knights defensively are ranked 172nd in college basketball in points per game surrendered with 69.8. They allow 14.0 dimes and 39.5 total rebounds per game, which has them ranked 238th and 291st in the country. The UCF defense concedes 30.7% on shots from beyond the arc (31 of 101) and opponents are knocking down 62.5% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have forced 16.3 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 43.0% from the field (198th in D-1).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the UCF Knights went home victorious with a score of 75-70 against the Cincinnati Bearcats. The Knights pulled down 18 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive boards for a total of 24 for the matchup. They also turned away 4 attempts while recording 6 steals in this game. The Bearcats committed 24 fouls in the matchup which got the Knights to the charity stripe for a total of 24 shots. They were able to make 14 of the free throws for a clip of 58.3%. With respect to shots from beyond the arc, UCF converted 9 of 21 tries (42.9%). When the game finished, the Knights shot 26 out of 57 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 45.6%. The Knights permitted the Bearcats to make 23 out of their 52 attempts from the floor which had them at 44.2% for this contest. They shot 29.4% from three-point range by going 5 out of 17 and ended up going 19 out of 24 at the free throw line (79.2%). In regard to rebounds, UCF permitted Cincinnati to pull down 38 in total (10 on the offensive side).

Brandon Mahan was important for the Knights in this contest. He made 8 out of 13 for the game for a field goal rate of 61.5%, which had him finishing with 25 points. Mahan pulled down 10 boards in his 38 minutes and had 2 dimes in the matchup. Another guy that ended being a contributor for UCF was Isaiah Adams. He notched 15 points in 25 minutes on the court by going 6 out of 8 shooting in the matchup. Adams ended up shooting 75.0% from the field while also contributing 2 dimes and 4 total rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Houston (-7.5)

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