Jacksonville Dolphins vs UCF Knights Prediction, 12/21/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Jacksonville Dolphins vs UCF Knights

Date: Saturday, December 21, 2024

Location: Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, FL

TV: ESPN+

The Jacksonville Dolphins (6-5) are on their way to Addition Financial Arena on Saturday where they will attempt to defeat the UCF Knights (8-2).

The Jacksonville Dolphins played East Tennessee State and notched a win by a score of 60-52 in their last contest. Concerning fouls, the Dolphins ended up with 15 and East Tennessee State totaled 15 fouls. They also made 8 of 24 shots from beyond the perimeter. East Tennessee State shot 28.6% at the charity stripe by knocking down 4 of their 14 attempts. Moreover, East Tennessee State totaled 29 rebounds (9 offensive, 20 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. East Tennessee State distributed 10 assists and had 8 steals for the contest. With regard to the defense, Jacksonville allowed 34.5% from the floor on 20 of 58 shooting. They also dished out 8 dimes for the game as well as forcing the opposition into 13 turnovers and having 9 steals. Concerning grabbing boards, they earned 33 with 11 of them being of the offensive sort. From the free throw line, the Dolphins knocked down 8 of 11 attempts for a rate of 72.7%. Jacksonville ended the game having earned a 41.1% FG percentage (23 out of 56) and buried 6 of their 20 shots from beyond the arc.

Robert McCray V is one player who was a major contributor for the matchup. He accounted for 22 points on 8 out of 15 shooting. He was on the court for 36 mins and also totaled 5 rebounds. He finished shooting 53.3% from the field and also dished out 3 assists.

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Jacksonville will take the court with a record of 6-5 on the year. They are turning it over 15.2 times per game and as a team they are committing 18.0 fouls per contest. As a unit, Jacksonville is pulling in 36.8 boards per game and has accumulated 152 assists on the season, which ranks 221st in the nation in terms of passing the ball. The Dolphins are connecting on 32.8% on shots from 3-point land (82 of 250) and 67.5% from the free throw line. They have an average of 71.2 points per game (275th in Division 1) while shooting 42.5% from the field.

On defense, the Dolphins are forcing 14.4 turnovers per game while drawing 16.2 fouls. They are 219th in college hoops in giving up assists to their opponents with 151 conceded on the season. The Dolphins defense is giving up a FG percentage of 45.8% (294 of 642) and they surrender 34.4 boards per game as a team. They relinquish 34.2% on shots from downtown while they are 249th in college in PPG from their opponents (73.6).

When they last stepped on the court, the UCF Knights went home victorious with a score of 88-75 when they faced Tulsa. Regarding rebounding, UCF allowed Tulsa to grab 29 in all (8 offensive). They wrapped up this game 42.9% from three-point range by shooting 9 of 21 and finished the game at 18 of 26 at the charity stripe (69.2%). The Knights permitted Tulsa to make 24 of 57 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 42.1% in the matchup. Overall, the Knights ended up going 31 for 67 from the floor which had them sitting at 46.3%. When discussing shooting from beyond the arc, UCF knocked down 8 out of 22 tries (36.4%). They were able to make 18 of the free throws for a percentage of 75.0%. Tulsa earned 19 personal fouls for this game which took the Knights to the free throw line for 24 tries. They gave up possession of the ball 4 times, while recording 5 steals for the game. The Knights recorded 22 defensive boards and 11 offensive boards for a total of 33 in this game.

Dallan Coleman ended up being important for the Knights in the matchup. He knocked down 6 out of 8 for the contest for a field goal rate of 75.0%, and accumulated 9 rebounds. He tallied 20 points in his 33 mins on the court and had 2 dimes in the game.

UCF has a mark of 8-2 for the season. The Knights are committing 17.0 fouls every game and they go 76.1% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 15.6 times per game (96th in the nation) and they are turning it over 12.0 times per game. UCF has accounted for 803 pts this year (80.3 per game) and they average 39.5 boards per contest. When it comes to executing on offense, the Knights are hitting on 42.4% from the floor, which ranks them 293rd in college hoops.

The UCF defense concedes 34.3% on shots from beyond the arc (87 of 254) and opponents are connecting on 70.9% of their free throw shots. They have surrendered 13.4 dimes and 37.2 boards every game, which ranks them 211th and 303rd in Division 1. The Knights on defense are ranked 267th in college in points given up per game with 74.8. They are forcing their opponents into 14.6 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 42.0% from the field (129th in the country).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take UCF

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