Cincinnati Bearcats vs UCF Knights Prediction, 2/17/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Cincinnati Bearcats vs UCF Knights

Date: Saturday, February 17, 2024

Location: Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, FL

TV: BIG12|ESPN+

The UCF Knights (13-10) welcome the Cincinnati Bearcats (15-9) at Addition Financial Arena on Saturday.

The Cincinnati Bearcats took the court against Iowa State and took a loss by a final of 68-59 in their last game. When discussing personal fouls, the Bearcats walked away with 14 while Iowa State had 15 personal fouls. They also converted 5 out of their 18 tries from downtown. Iowa State walked away from this one shooting 87.5% at the charity stripe by converting 7 of their 8 attempts. Additionally, Iowa State collected 23 boards (8 offensive, 15 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Iowa State doled out 12 dimes and had 12 steals for the contest. In the matter of defense, Cincinnati allowed the other team to shoot 47.5% from the floor on 28 out of 59 shooting. They also dished out 11 assists for the matchup while forcing the other team into 11 turnovers and getting 6 steals. In relation to hauling in boards, they compiled 37 with 15 of them being of the offensive variety. From the free throw line, the Bearcats converted 12 of 17 tries for a percentage of 70.6%. Cincinnati wrapped up the game with a 38.0% field goal percentage (19 of 50) and made 9 out of their 23 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Jizzle James is someone who played a role for this contest. He finished the contest at 60.0% from the floor and earned 3 dimes. He was on the hardwood for 25 mins played and also pulled down 5 rebounds. He ended up with 16 points on 6 of 10 shooting.

Get all of our NCAA Basketball Betting Picks

Cincinnati comes into this contest with a win-loss mark of 15-9 on the season. They are turning it over 12.0 times per contest and as a group they are committing 14.8 personal fouls per game. As a team, Cincinnati is snagging 40.9 rebounds per game and has totaled 363 assists on the year, which ranks 97th in the nation in terms of passing. The Bearcats are connecting on 33.0% from downtown (175 of 530) and 68.8% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 75.6 pts per contest (135th in Division 1) while hitting 44.2% from the floor.

On the defensive end, the Bearcats are forcing 11.8 turnovers per game and they draw 16.7 fouls. They are conceding 32.2% on shots from beyond the arc and they rank 56th in college basketball in PPG from their opponents (66.9). The Bearcats defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 41.4% (582 of 1,406) and they relinquish 31.8 boards per game as a squad. They rank 120th in D-1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 298 relinquished on the year.

The last time they took the court, the UCF Knights took a loss by a final score of 90-88 against BYU. In the matter of rebounding, UCF permitted BYU to snag 33 in total (7 offensive). They wrapped up this game 34.8% from beyond the arc by going 8 out of 23 and ended up shooting 40 of 46 from the free throw line (87.0%). The Knights allowed BYU to make 21 of 47 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 44.7% for the game. Overall, the Knights finished the game shooting 34 out of 67 from the field which gave them a percentage of 50.7%. When talking about shots from downtown, UCF converted 6 out of 22 attempts (27.3%). They were able to convert 14 of those for a rate of 53.8%. BYU was called for 19 personal fouls for the contest which took the Knights to the charity stripe for a total of 26 shots. They also turned the ball over 8 times, while recording 10 steals in the matchup. The Knights were able to corral 17 defensive boards and 10 offensive boards for a total of 27 for this contest.

Darius Johnson pitched in for the Knights in this contest. He converted 6 of 11 for this game giving him a field goal percentage of 54.5%, and tallied 1 rebound. He totaled 20 points in his 24 mins on the hardwood and accumulated 3 assists in the matchup.

UCF has a win-loss record of 13-10 on the campaign. The Knights commit 17.6 personal fouls every game and they hit 69.9% from the free throw line. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 12.1 times per contest (279th in the country) and they are turning it over 12.7 times per contest. UCF has scored 1,656 pts on the season (72.0 per game) and they grab 38.3 rebounds per game. On the offensive side of the court, the Knights are hitting on 41.8% from the field, which is ranked 315th in college basketball.

The Knights on the defensive side of the court are 40th in the nation in PPG surrendered with 66.1. They are forcing 14.8 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 40.4% from the floor (30th in the country). The UCF defense gives up 33.2% from downtown (158 of 476) and their opponents are knocking down 74.4% of their free throw shots. They have given up 12.8 assists and 34.4 total rebounds per game, which ranks them 175th and 161st in Division 1.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take UCF

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here