Bethune-Cookman Wildcats vs UCF Knights Prediction, 12/29/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Bethune-Cookman Wildcats vs UCF Knights

Date: Friday, December 29, 2023

Location: Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, FL

TV: BIG12|ESPN+

The UCF Knights (8-3) will go up against the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (5-6) at Addition Financial Arena on Friday.

The Bethune-Cookman Wildcats took the court against Chicago State and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 55-54 in their last game. Bethune-Cookman walked away from the contest with a 41.2% field goal percentage (21 of 51) and converted 3 out of their 14 shots from downtown. From the free throw line, the Wildcats buried 9 of their 11 shots for a rate of 81.8%. In the matter of rebounding, they compiled a total of 26 with 8 of them being offensive. They also recorded 8 dimes in the matchup as well as creating 19 turnovers and earning 11 steals. In relation to the defense, Bethune-Cookman allowed 36.0% from the field on 18 of 50 shooting. Chicago State earned 8 assists and had 11 steals for this game. On top of that, Chicago State totaled 31 rebounds (15 offensive, 16 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Chicago State ended up shooting 68.4% from the free throw line by converting 13 of their 19 tries. They also converted 6 out of their 19 shots from beyond the perimeter. In regard to personal fouls, the Wildcats ended up finishing with 20 while Chicago State recorded 16 personal fouls.

Jakobi Heady is someone who was a major factor in the matchup. He finished the game at 53.3% from the floor but had no dimes when the game ended. He played for 30 mins and also snagged 6 boards. He ended up walking away with 17 points on 8 out of 15 shooting.

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Bethune-Cookman will enter this contest with a win-loss record of 5-6 this season. They turn it over 14.7 times per contest and as a group they commit 21.7 personal fouls every game. As a team, Bethune-Cookman is pulling in 36.7 rebounds per game and is sitting with 136 dimes on the season, which has them ranked 302nd in the nation in terms of passing the rock. The Wildcats are hitting 28.5% from downtown (67 of 235) and 71.4% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 75.1 points per contest (180th in college basketball) while hitting 42.8% from the floor.

Defensively, the Wildcats are forcing their opponents into 19.9 turnovers per game and they draw 18.6 fouls. They are giving up 34.3% on 3-pointers and they are 184th in college basketball in points per game allowed (70.9). The Wildcats are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 41.3% (250 of 605) and they concede 37.4 boards per game as a unit. They rank 63rd in D-1 in allowing assists with 130 relinquished on the season.

For their last game, the UCF Knights got the victory with a final of 69-56 against Florida A&M. The Knights collected 21 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive rebounds for a total of 32 in the game. They gave up possession of the ball 12 times, while getting 12 steals in this game. Florida A&M had 21 personal fouls in this matchup which took the Knights to the charity stripe for a total of 27 attempts. They were able to convert 19 of those for a rate of 70.4%. In regard to three-point attempts, UCF buried 8 of their 24 tries (33.3%). When the final whistle blew, the Knights went 21 out of 53 from the floor which had them sitting at 39.6%. The Knights permitted Florida A&M to convert 22 out of 50 attempts from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 44.0% in this matchup. They wrapped up this game 27.8% from downtown by connecting on 5 of 18 and finished the contest at 7 of 11 at the charity stripe (63.6%). When discussing rebounding, UCF permitted Florida A&M to snag 28 in total (6 on the offensive glass).

Jaylin Sellers was important for the Knights in this game. He buried 5 of 16 in this matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 31.3%, and totaled 3 rebounds. He recorded 15 points in his 31 mins on the court and had 1 assist for the contest.

UCF has a win-loss mark of 8-3 on the season. As an offensive unit, the Knights are hitting on 43.4% from the field, which ranks 257th in college basketball. UCF has scored 845 points on the year (76.8 per game) and they snag 40.2 rebounds per game. They are dishing out assists 12.0 times per game (292nd in the country) and they are losing possession via turnover 12.5 times per contest. The Knights are committing 18.4 personal fouls per contest and they go 67.7% from the free throw line.

The UCF defense allows 31.4% on 3-point shots (71 of 226) and their opponents are connecting on 72.1% of their foul shots. They have allowed 11.5 dimes and 34.3 boards per contest, which ranks them 90th and 148th in college basketball. The Knights are ranked 56th in college basketball in points allowed per contest with 65.1. They are forcing 16.3 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 39.4% from the floor (40th in college basketball).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take UCF

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