UCF Knights vs Cincinnati Bearcats Prediction, 2/4/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UCF Knights vs Cincinnati Bearcats

Date: Saturday, February 4, 2023

Location: Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, OH

TV: fuboTV

Fifth Third Arena is the site where the Cincinnati Bearcats (15-8) will attempt to defeat the UCF Knights (13-8) on Saturday.

The UCF Knights played Temple and went home with a loss by a final score of 77-70 in their last contest. UCF walked away from the contest having earned a 39.7% FG percentage (23 of 58) and converted 6 of their 16 three-point attempts. From the charity stripe, the Knights made 18 of their 25 tries for a rate of 72.0%. In regard to pulling down rebounds, they collected 33 with 8 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 10 assists in the matchup in addition to forcing the opposition into 17 turnovers and having 12 steals. Pertaining to defending, UCF allowed their opponent to shoot 45.6% from the floor on 26 out of 57 shooting. Temple recorded 19 dimes and had 8 steals in the game. In addition, Temple collected 35 boards (9 offensive, 26 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Temple finished the game shooting 70.8% from the free throw line by burying 17 of their 24 tries. They made 8 of 23 tries from 3-point land. With respect to fouls, the Knights walked away with 18 while Temple finished the game with 16 fouls.

Ithiel Horton is one player who was a factor for the game. He ended up with 13 points on 5 of 13 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 30 minutes played and snagged 6 rebounds. He finished shooting 38.5% from the field but wasn't able to get an assist.

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UCF heads into this contest with a record of 13-8 on the year. They average 72.0 points per contest (173rd in Division 1) while going 42.9% from the field. The Knights are shooting 36.1% on shots from 3-point land (178 of 493) and 76.3% from the charity stripe. As a team, UCF is pulling down 36.6 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 284 assists this season, which has them ranked 232nd in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession by turning the ball over 13.8 times per contest and as a group are committing 16.9 personal fouls per contest.

When they are on defense, the Knights are forcing their opponents into 14.1 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 17.6 fouls. They concede 31.3% on 3-point attempts and they are ranked 78th in Division 1 in PPG from their opponents (66.0). The Knights defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 40.8% (481 of 1,178) and they concede 33.3 rebounds per contest as a unit. They are 109th in college hoops in allowing assists to their opponents with 260 conceded so far this season.

When they last stepped on the court, the Cincinnati Bearcats took home the win by a final score of 81-55 when they played Tulsa. The Bearcats were able to snag 30 defensive boards and 11 offensive boards for a total of 41 for the game. They coughed up the ball 6 times, while getting 5 steals in the matchup. Tulsa was called for 16 fouls for the contest which got the Bearcats to the free throw line for 18 tries. They were able to knock down 10 of the free throw tries for a clip of 55.6%. When discussing 3-pointers, Cincinnati knocked down 9 of 28 attempts (32.1%). In all, the Bearcats ended up going 31 for 67 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 46.3%. The Bearcats permitted Tulsa to convert 18 out of their 52 tries from the field which had them shooting 34.6% for this contest. They shot 22.2% from three-point range by connecting on 2 of 9 and ended up going 17 out of 21 at the charity stripe (81.0%). In relation to attacking the glass, Cincinnati allowed Tulsa to pull down 31 in total (7 on the offensive glass).

Jeremiah Davenport ended up having an impact for the Bearcats in the game. He accumulated 20 points in his 24 minutes on the hardwood and added 1 assist for the matchup. He buried 6 of 11 in the matchup for a rate of 54.5%, and had 4 rebounds.

Cincinnati has a win-loss record of 15-8 this year. The Bearcats are committing 15.5 fouls per game while shooting 68.2% from the charity stripe. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 15.7 times per game (35th in D-1) and they cough up possession 10.7 times per game. Cincinnati has tallied 1,763 pts so far this season (76.7 per contest) and they pull in 37.7 rebounds per contest. When it comes to offensive execution, the Bearcats are shooting 45.0% from the floor, which has them ranked 155th in the country.

The Cincinnati defense surrenders 31.4% on 3-point attempts (132 of 420) and opponents are making 74.8% of their shots from the charity stripe. They allow 12.4 dimes and 34.0 boards per contest, which ranks them 163rd and 181st in D-1. The Bearcats on the defensive side of the court are 123rd in Division 1 in points per game surrendered with 67.5. They are forcing their opponents into 12.3 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 42.0% from the floor (104th in the country).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take UCF

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