SMU Mustangs vs UCF Knights Prediction, 1/23/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: SMU Mustangs vs UCF Knights

Date: Saturday, January 23, 2021

Location: Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, FL

TV: ESPNU

Odds/Point Spread: SMU (+14)

The SMU Mustangs (7-2) travel to Addition Financial Arena on Saturday where they'll meet the UCF Knights (3-5). The odds on this matchup have UCF as 14-point favorites. The over/under opens at 144.

SMU will play this contest with a win-loss mark of 7-2 for the season. The Mustangs are hitting 35.9% on shots from distance (74 of 206) and 71.8% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 79.2 pts per contest (57th in the country) while hitting 46.4% from the floor. They turn it over 13.2 times per contest and as a basketball team are committing 16.6 fouls every game. As a team, SMU is snagging 39.6 rebounds per game and has totaled 154 assists on the campaign, which is 190th in college hoops in terms of passing. On the defensive end, the Mustangs are able to force 14.6 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 19.0 personal fouls. They give up 33.2% on shots from distance and they rank 97th in D-1 in opponents PPG (67.1). The Mustangs are allowing a shooting percentage of 39.1% (210 of 537) and they relinquish 35.2 rebounds per game as a basketball team. They are 92nd in D-1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 125 surrendered this season.

The SMU Mustangs faced the Temple Owls and walked away with a win by a score of 79-68 in their last game. SMU ended the contest with a 42.6% field goal percentage (26 out of 61) and made 11 out of their 28 shots from distance. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Mustangs converted 16 of their 22 shots for a rate of 72.7%. In reference to pulling down boards, they compiled 41 with 13 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 14 dimes in the matchup while getting 3 steals and 3 blocks. Regarding defense, SMU allowed their opponent to shoot 42.6% from the field on 26 of 61 shooting. Temple distributed 14 dimes and had 4 steals in this contest. In addition, the Owls pulled down 26 rebounds (7 offensive, 19 defensive) and had 3 blocks. Temple finished the game shooting 66.7% from the free throw line by converting 16 of 24 shots. They made 8 out of their 22 attempts from beyond the arc.

Kendric Davis is one guy who was a major contributor for the matchup. He scored 20 points on 6 out of 13 shooting. He played 36 mins played and totaled 4 rebounds. Davis went 46.2% from the field and earned 8 assists. An additional guy that had an impact in the matchup for the Mustangs was Feron Hunt. He pulled down 11 rebounds and also had 2 assists. He ended up going 42.9% from the field in the game by shooting 6-of-14 (18 points). Overall, Hunt played 28 minutes.

UCF has a mark of 3-5 this season. UCF has earned 510 pts this year (63.8 per game) and they grab 34.3 rebounds per contest. The Knights are responsible for committing 18.5 fouls per contest and they go 73.3% from the free throw line. As an offense, the Knights are connecting on 40.7% from the floor, which ranks them 311th in college hoops. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 10.0 times per game (333rd in the nation) and they turn the ball over 14.3 times per contest. The Knights on defense are ranked 132nd in college basketball in PPG given up with 68.4. They are forcing 13.9 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 42.0% from the floor (137th in D-1). The UCF defense concedes 32.3% from downtown (62 of 192) and their opponents are knocking down 64.4% of their foul shots. They have allowed 13.3 assists and 37.1 boards on a nightly basis, which ranks 198th and 266th in Division 1.

In their last game, the UCF Knights walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 75-58 when they played the Houston Cougars. The Knights snagged 21 defensive boards and 11 offensive boards totaling 32 in the matchup. They rejected 5 shots while recording 4 steals in this matchup. The Cougars were called for 21 personal fouls for this contest which took the Knights to the free throw line for 19 tries. They were able to bury 12 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 63.2%. In regard to 3-point shots, UCF converted 4 of 19 attempts (21.1%). When the final whistle blew, the Knights finished 21 for 48 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 43.8%. The Knights permitted the Cougars to knock down 28 out of their 66 attempts from the field which gave them a rate of 42.4% in the matchup. They shot 32.0% from beyond the arc via 8 out of 25 and walked away from this one shooting 11 out of 16 from the free throw line (68.8%). Regarding cleaning the glass, UCF permitted Houston to pull down 32 in all (15 on the offensive side).

Jamille Reynolds ended up being a factor for the Knights in the matchup. He converted 5 out of 7 in the game for a field goal rate of 71.4%, which had him sitting at 14 points. Reynolds snagged 4 rebounds in his 25 minutes and earned 2 dimes for this game. Someone else that was important for UCF was Dre Fuller. He racked up 12 points in his 34 minutes on the court by going 4 of 7 from the floor in the game. Fuller finished going 57.1% from the field while also contributing 2 assists and 2 rebounds.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take UCF (-14)

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