SMU Mustangs vs UCF Knights Prediction, 3/9/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: SMU Mustangs vs UCF Knights

Date: Thursday, March 9, 2023

Location: Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, TX

TV: ESPNU

The SMU Mustangs (10-21) are headed to Dickies Arena on Thursday where they will try to beat the UCF Knights (17-13).

The SMU Mustangs took the court against Cincinnati and ended up losing by a score of 97-74 in their last contest. SMU ended the contest with a 40.3% field goal percentage (25 out of 62) and made 3 of their 10 three-point shots. At the charity stripe, the Mustangs buried 21 of their 26 shots for a percentage of 80.8%. When discussing grabbing rebounds, they collected 28 with 11 of them being offensive. They also recorded 10 dimes for the contest while forcing the other team into 8 turnovers and earning 4 steals. In the matter of defending, SMU allowed their opponent to shoot 55.6% from the field on 35 of 63 shooting. Cincinnati earned 20 assists and had 4 steals in this matchup. In addition, Cincinnati snagged 32 rebounds (10 offensive, 22 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Cincinnati finished shooting 66.7% at the charity stripe by burying 16 of their 24 tries. They also made 11 of their 25 attempts from beyond the perimeter. Regarding personal fouls, the Mustangs walked away with 18 and Cincinnati finished the game with 20 personal fouls.

Zhuric Phelps is a guy who played a role in this matchup. He ended up scoring 17 points on 6 out of 15 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 29 minutes and totaled 4 rebounds. He finished 40.0% from the floor and also recorded 1 assist.

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SMU enters this one with a record of 10-21 on the year. They currently have an average of 70.3 points per game (210th in the nation) while connecting on 42.2% from the field. The Mustangs are hitting 31.1% on shots from downtown (195 of 627) and 66.8% from the charity stripe. As a unit, SMU is snagging 34.9 boards per contest and has totaled 417 assists on the year, which ranks 164th in college hoops in terms of passing the ball. They turn it over 12.9 times per game and as a squad they are committing 17.5 personal fouls on a nightly basis.

Defensively, the Mustangs are able to force 13.6 turnovers every game while drawing 17.8 personal fouls. They rank 339th in college basketball in allowing assists to the opposition with 476 surrendered for the year. The Mustangs defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 45.3% (836 of 1,847) and they surrender 37.7 rebounds per contest as a squad. They give up 34.7% from beyond the arc and they are 323rd in college hoops in PPG from their opponents (75.5).

The last time they took the court, the UCF Knights went home victorious with a score of 84-58 against East Carolina. The Knights were able to snag 26 defensive boards and 8 offensive boards totaling 34 in the game. They turned the ball over 12 times, while earning 9 steals for this game. East Carolina earned 14 personal fouls for this contest which took the Knights to the free throw line for a total of 20 shots. They were able to make 17 of those for a clip of 85.0%. When talking about shooting from downtown, UCF knocked down 9 of 26 tries (34.6%). When all was said and done, the Knights ended up going 29 out of 57 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 50.9%. The Knights permitted East Carolina to knock down 17 out of their 47 tries from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 36.2% in this game. They went 31.6% from 3-point land by connecting on 6 out of 19 and ended up going 18 out of 26 from the free throw line (69.2%). In relation to team rebounding, UCF permitted East Carolina to get 23 in total (6 on the offensive side).

Taylor Hendricks ended up being a factor for the Knights for the matchup. He knocked down 9 of 15 in this game giving him a rate of 60.0%, and accumulated 10 rebounds. He earned 25 points in his 32 minutes of playing time, but didn't get an assist.

UCF has a win-loss mark of 17-13 this season. As an offensive team, the Knights are shooting 42.9% from the floor, which ranks 287th in the nation. UCF has totaled 2,159 points for the year (72.0 per game) and they pull down 34.9 rebounds per contest. Their rate of earning assists is at 14.0 times per game (110th in college basketball) and they are turning it over 13.3 times per contest. The Knights are responsible for committing 16.9 fouls per contest and they go 77.2% from the charity stripe.

The Knights on defense are ranked 47th in college basketball in PPG given up with 65.3. They are forcing their opponents into 14.8 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 41.9% from the floor (69th in college basketball). The UCF defense concedes 30.8% on 3-point attempts (197 of 639) and opponents are connecting on 72.1% of their foul shots. They allow 11.9 dimes and 33.3 rebounds per game, ranking them 121st and 125th in college hoops.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take UCF

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