UCF Knights vs Temple Owls Prediction, 3/2/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UCF Knights vs Temple Owls

Date: Thursday, March 2, 2023

Location: Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, PA

TV: ESPN+

Liacouras Center is the location where the Temple Owls (15-14) will attempt to beat the UCF Knights (16-12) on Thursday.

The UCF Knights stepped onto the hardwood against Tulsa and walked away with a win by a score of 68-49 in their last game. UCF finished the game with a 43.9% FG percentage (25 of 57) and buried 7 of 27 shots from downtown. When they shot from the free throw line, the Knights converted 11 of 14 shots for a rate of 78.6%. When talking about getting rebounds, they collected 33 with 10 of them being of the offensive variety. They also distributed 14 dimes in the game in addition to forcing the other team into 16 turnovers and having 13 steals. When it comes to the defense, UCF let their opponent shoot 35.6% from the floor on 16 of 45 shooting. Tulsa totaled 11 assists and had 8 steals for the game. In addition, Tulsa snagged 26 rebounds (6 offensive, 20 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Tulsa finished the game shooting 75.0% from the charity stripe by converting 12 of 16 attempts. They also buried 5 of their 18 tries from 3-point land. When discussing fouls, the Knights ended up walking away with 13 while Tulsa accumulated 10 fouls.

Taylor Hendricks is one guy who was a factor in the game. He left the arena with 25 points on 10 out of 16 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 31 minutes played and also totaled 8 boards. He ended up going 62.5% from the field and distributed 1 assist.

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UCF will take the court with a record of 16-12 so far this year. They average 72.1 pts per game (172nd in Division 1) while hitting 42.7% from the field. The Knights are hitting 36.3% on shots from distance (252 of 694) and 76.4% from the free throw line. As a unit, UCF is snagging 35.2 boards per game and has accounted for 394 assists this year, which ranks 177th in college basketball in terms of passing the rock. They cough up possession 13.4 times per contest and as a unit they are committing 16.8 fouls every game.

On defense, the Knights are forcing their opponents into 14.9 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 16.9 fouls. They are giving up 31.0% on 3-point attempts and they are ranked 69th in Division 1 in points per game allowed (65.9). The Knights defensively are allowing a field goal percentage of 42.2% (648 of 1,534) and they surrender 33.4 boards per game as a unit. They are currently ranked 102nd in college basketball in allowing assists to the opposition with 345 conceded for the campaign.

The last time they took the court, the Temple Owls took a loss by a score of 88-83 when they played Cincinnati. The Owls earned 23 defensive boards and 5 offensive boards totaling 28 in the matchup. They coughed up the ball 7 times, while earning 5 steals for the contest. Cincinnati earned 21 personal fouls for this contest which got the Owls to the free throw line for a total of 23 tries. They were able to bury 17 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 73.9%. With respect to shooting from downtown, Temple buried 10 out of their 23 attempts (43.5%). When this game wrapped up, the Owls ended up shooting 28 for 59 from the floor which gave them a rate of 47.5%. The Owls allowed Cincinnati to knock down 26 out of their 57 attempts from the field which gave them a rate of 45.6% in the game. They shot 36.4% from three-point range by shooting 8 out of 22 and ended up going 28 of 30 from the charity stripe (93.3%). In the matter of how they rebounded, Temple permitted Cincinnati to grab 28 in total (5 on the offensive glass).

Damian Dunn ended up being a factor for the Owls for the matchup. He buried 9 of 21 for the contest for a field goal percentage of 42.9%, and earned 3 rebounds. He totaled 34 points in his 42 mins on the court and totaled 3 dimes in the matchup.

Temple has a record of 15-14 on the campaign. On the offensive side of the ball, the Owls are hitting on 43.0% from the field, which is ranked 281st in the nation. Temple has 2,034 points for the campaign (70.1 per contest) and they pull down 35.0 rebounds per game. They are assisting teammates 14.0 times per contest (119th in college hoops) and they cough up possession 13.7 times per contest. The Owls commit 16.9 fouls per game and they go 76.2% from the charity stripe.

The Owls on the defensive side of the court are 179th in the nation in PPG given up with 69.8. They have forced 11.4 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 42.9% from the field (123rd in college hoops). The Temple defense allows 33.0% on shots from beyond the perimeter (187 of 567) and opponents are connecting on 69.0% of their shots from the free throw line. They surrender 12.9 assists and 34.9 total rebounds per game, which ranks them 199th and 238th in those categories on the defensive end.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take UCF

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