Iowa State Cyclones vs UCF Knights Prediction, 3/2/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Iowa State Cyclones vs UCF Knights

Date: Saturday, March 2, 2024

Location: Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, FL

TV: BIG12|ESPN+

The UCF Knights (15-12) will compete against the Iowa State Cyclones (22-6) at Addition Financial Arena on Saturday.

The Iowa State Cyclones faced off with Oklahoma and earned the victory with a final of 58-45 in their last game. Iowa State walked away from the contest with a 33.3% field goal percentage (21 of 63) and converted 4 of their 16 three-point attempts. When they shot from the free throw line, the Cyclones knocked down 12 of their 17 tries for a percentage of 70.6%. With regard to pulling down rebounds, they compiled a total of 35 with 11 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 12 assists for the contest in addition to forcing the opposition into 14 turnovers and having 8 steals. Regarding the defense, Iowa State allowed the other team to shoot 32.6% from the field on 15 out of 46 shooting. Oklahoma distributed 10 dimes and had 2 steals for this game. Moreover, Oklahoma snagged 33 rebounds (7 offensive, 26 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Oklahoma went 63.2% at the free throw line by converting 12 of their 19 attempts. They also made 3 of their 17 tries from three-point range. When talking about personal fouls, the Cyclones left the arena with 19 while Oklahoma accumulated 18 personal fouls.

Demarion Watson is a guy who was a contributor in the matchup. He scored 15 points on 7 out of 7 shooting. He played 23 mins played and snagged 9 rebounds. He finished the contest at 100.0% from the field but wasn't able to get a dime.

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Iowa State steps onto the court with a mark of 22-6 so far this year. They are turning it over 10.9 times per contest and as a team are committing 16.6 fouls per game. As a unit, Iowa State is collecting 34.8 boards per game and has accumulated 455 dimes on the season, which is 37th in the country in terms of passing the rock. The Cyclones are shooting 35.4% on 3-pointers (186 of 525) and 69.3% from the free throw line. They have an average of 77.2 pts per contest (81st in the nation) while connecting on 46.8% from the field.

On defense, the Cyclones are able to force 17.8 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 18.6 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 133rd in Division 1 in giving up assists with 347 surrendered this season. The Cyclones defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 40.5% (579 of 1,429) and they surrender 32.3 boards per game as a unit. They are conceding 33.3% on three-point shots and they are 7th in the country in PPG allowed (62.3).

When they last stepped on the court, the UCF Knights got the win with a final of 77-71 when they faced Oklahoma State. The Knights corralled 24 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive rebounds totaling 34 for the game. They also coughed up the ball 16 times, while earning 7 steals for this game. Oklahoma State was called for 28 fouls for this contest which took the Knights to the free throw line for a total of 36 attempts. They were able to convert 27 of those for a percentage of 75.0%. Regarding 3-point attempts, UCF made 6 of their 16 attempts (37.5%). Overall, the Knights shot 22 for 52 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 42.3%. The Knights allowed Oklahoma State to bury 21 out of 52 tries from the field which had them at 40.4% in the matchup. They finished 25.0% from downtown by hitting 5 out of 20 and ended up shooting 24 of 30 at the charity stripe (80.0%). Regarding cleaning up the glass, UCF allowed Oklahoma State to pull down 25 in all (6 on the offensive glass).

Darius Johnson pitched in for the Knights for the contest. He converted 6 of 11 for this contest for a field goal percentage of 54.5%, and accumulated 1 rebound. He recorded 20 points in his 24 minutes on the court and had 3 dimes for the game.

UCF has a record of 15-12 so far this season. The Knights commit 18.0 personal fouls every game and they connect on 70.7% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 11.9 times per game (289th in college hoops) and they lose possession via turnover 12.3 times per contest. UCF has totaled 1,949 pts this season (72.2 per game) and they grab 38.0 rebounds per game. As an offensive unit, the Knights are hitting on 41.8% from the field, which is 316th in Division 1.

The UCF defense allows 32.8% on shots from 3-point land (185 of 564) and opponents are making 73.7% of their free throw shots. They relinquish 12.6 dimes and 34.9 rebounds on a nightly basis, which is 154th and 188th in the nation. The Knights defensively are ranked 50th in D-1 in points given up per game with 66.9. They are forcing their opponents into 14.5 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 40.6% from the floor (30th in D-1).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Iowa State

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