Houston Cougars vs UCF Knights Prediction, 1/29/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Houston Cougars vs UCF Knights

Date: Saturday, January 29, 2022

Location: Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, FL

TV: ESPN2

The Houston Cougars (17-2) are headed to Addition Financial Arena on Saturday where they will meet the UCF Knights (12-6).

The Houston Cougars played East Carolina and went home with a win by a final score of 79-36 in their last contest. When talking about fouls, the Cougars walked away with 22 while East Carolina had 16 fouls. They also buried 1 out of their 19 attempts from three-point range. East Carolina went 67.9% from the charity stripe by making 19 of 28 attempts. In addition, East Carolina pulled down 26 rebounds (7 offensive, 19 defensive), but didn't have a block. East Carolina earned 3 dimes and had 4 steals for this game. When talking about defense, Houston allowed the other team to shoot 16.0% from the field on 8 of 50 shooting. They also doled out 20 assists in this contest while forcing the other team into 10 turnovers and earning 8 steals. When talking about hauling in rebounds, they earned 47 with 16 of them being offensive. From the free throw line, the Cougars made 11 of their 17 tries for a rate of 64.7%. Houston wrapped up the contest having earned a 47.6% field goal percentage (30 of 63) and converted 8 out of their 21 three-point shots.

Kyler Edwards is a player who had an impact in the game. He finished the game shooting 53.8% from the field and distributed 7 dimes. He was on the hardwood for 27 mins and pulled down 8 rebounds. He accounted for 25 points on 7 of 13 shooting.

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Houston will enter this game with a win-loss record of 17-2 so far this year. They have an average of 77.7 pts per contest (48th in the country) while hitting 46.9% from the field. The Cougars are connecting on 35.5% on shots beyond the perimeter (161 of 454) and 66.4% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Houston is collecting 39.7 rebounds per contest and is sitting with 301 assists this season, which is 47th in the country in terms of passing the rock. They are turning it over 10.7 times per contest and as a squad they commit 17.1 personal fouls every game.

Defensively, the Cougars are forcing 15.9 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 17.6 fouls. They rank 60th in D-1 in allowing assists with 198 conceded on the season. The Cougars defensively are allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 36.4% (363 of 998) and they relinquish 32.3 rebounds per game as a basketball team. They are conceding 28.9% on shots from beyond the arc and they rank 3rd in college basketball in PPG allowed (56.6).

The last time they took the court, the UCF Knights went home defeated by a final of 84-79 when they played Wichita State. When talking about rebounds, UCF permitted Wichita State to get 26 overall (11 on the offensive side). They shot 39.1% from beyond the arc by going 9 out of 23 and finished the game at 31 out of 40 at the free throw line (77.5%). The Knights allowed Wichita State to make 22 of their 55 attempts from the floor which gave them a percentage of 40.0% in this game. When all was said and done, the Knights ended up going 26 out of 64 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 40.6%. In terms of shots from beyond the perimeter, UCF made 10 out of 26 tries (38.5%). They were able to knock down 17 of them for a rate of 73.9%. Wichita State had 19 personal fouls in the game which got the Knights to the free throw line for 23 attempts. They also gave up possession of the ball 16 times, while recording 5 steals for this game. The Knights were able to pull down 24 defensive rebounds and 14 offensive boards totaling 38 in this contest.

Brandon Mahan was important for the Knights in this game. He recorded 20 points in his 34 minutes on the court and accumulated 2 assists for the game. He converted 6 of 14 for this contest giving him a rate of 42.9%, and accounted for 13 rebounds.

UCF has a mark of 12-6 so far this season. The Knights commit 15.8 personal fouls per game and they go 74.7% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 14.4 times per contest (108th in the country) and they turn it over 13.6 times per contest. UCF has totaled 1,307 pts on the campaign (72.6 per contest) and they collect 34.9 boards per game. On the offensive side of the court, the Knights are hitting on 44.2% from the floor, which ranks them 185th in the country.

The Knights defensively are ranked 149th in college basketball in PPG allowed with 67.7. They are able to force 15.3 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 42.0% from the floor (141st in the country). The UCF defense surrenders 30.0% on shots from beyond the arc (134 of 447) and opponents are making 73.4% of their free throw shots. They allow 13.1 dimes and 34.0 boards per game, which ranks them 217th and 146th in those defensive categories.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Houston

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