Houston Cougars vs UCF Knights Prediction, 1/25/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Houston Cougars vs UCF Knights

Date: Wednesday, January 25, 2023

Location: Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, FL

TV: fuboTV

The Houston Cougars (18-2) are en route to Addition Financial Arena on Wednesday where they will meet the UCF Knights (13-6).

The Houston Cougars faced Temple and took a loss by a final of 56-55 in their last game. When talking about personal fouls, the Cougars ended up walking away with 19 and Temple recorded 16 personal fouls. They buried 8 out of their 24 shots from distance. Temple finished 90.9% at the charity stripe by making 20 of 22 shots. Furthermore, Temple snagged 32 boards (4 offensive, 28 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Temple doled out 11 dimes and had 2 steals for this game. In relation to defense, Houston let their opponent shoot 31.1% from the field on 14 out of 45 shooting. They also distributed 9 assists for this game while creating 11 turnovers and having 8 steals. Concerning rebounding, they collected 37 with 11 of them being offensive. At the charity stripe, the Cougars made 11 of 21 attempts for a rate of 52.4%. Houston ended with a 33.9% field goal percentage (19 out of 56) and converted 6 of their 17 3-point shots.

Jamal Shead is someone who came through for the contest. He scored 13 points on 4 out of 16 shooting. He saw the court for 33 mins and pulled down 5 rebounds. He finished 25.0% from the floor and also recorded 1 assist.

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Houston comes into this matchup with a record of 18-2 this year. They average 75.1 pts per game (108th in the nation) while hitting 46.5% from the field. The Cougars are shooting 35.6% on 3-pointers (154 of 432) and 70.3% from the free throw line. As a unit, Houston is pulling down 39.5 rebounds per game and has 287 dimes on the year, which ranks 112th in Division 1 in terms of passing. They are losing possession via turnover 10.0 times per game and as a unit are committing 15.7 fouls per game.

When they are on the defensive end, the Cougars are forcing their opponents into 15.4 turnovers every game while drawing 15.8 personal fouls. They currently rank 13th in college basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 184 conceded so far this season. The Cougars defensively are giving up an opponent FG percentage of 34.2% (352 of 1,029) and they surrender 31.9 boards per game as a group. They are surrendering 25.4% from beyond the arc and they are 1st in Division 1 in PPG allowed (53.4).

The last time they took the court, the UCF Knights took a loss by a final score of 85-72 when they played South Florida. The Knights recorded 20 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive rebounds totaling 26 in the matchup. They gave up possession of the ball 11 times, while recording 8 steals in the game. South Florida committed 20 personal fouls for the matchup which got the Knights to the free throw line for a total of 25 tries. They were able to make 18 of them for a clip of 72.0%. In regard to three-point shots, UCF buried 8 out of 22 attempts (36.4%). When the final whistle blew, the Knights went 23 out of 55 from the floor which gave them a rate of 41.8%. The Knights allowed South Florida to convert 27 of their 61 attempts from the field which had them shooting 44.3% for the contest. They shot 35.5% from downtown by going 11 of 31 and walked away from this one shooting 20 out of 22 at the free throw line (90.9%). With respect to team rebounding, UCF permitted South Florida to collect 35 in all (10 offensive).

C.J. Kelly ended up having an impact for the Knights for the matchup. He had 18 points in his 34 mins of playing time and accumulated 4 dimes in the game. He made 6 of 13 for this contest for a field goal percentage of 46.2%, and accounted for 5 rebounds.

UCF has a win-loss record of 13-6 for the season. The Knights are committing 16.7 personal fouls per contest and they connect on 76.2% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 13.7 times per game (151st in college basketball) and they are losing possession via turnover 14.1 times per contest. UCF has earned 1,370 points so far this season (72.1 per game) and they grab 37.3 boards per contest. As an offense, the Knights are hitting on 43.0% from the floor, which ranks them 268th in college hoops.

The UCF defense gives up 30.5% on shots from behind the 3-point line (129 of 423) and opponents are connecting on 73.6% of their foul shots. They have allowed 11.7 dimes and 32.9 boards on a nightly basis, which is ranked 113th and 109th in college hoops. The Knights on the defensive end are ranked 59th in college basketball in PPG allowed with 64.5. They are forcing 14.2 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 40.0% from the field (38th in the nation).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Houston

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