UCF Knights vs Texas Tech Red Raiders Prediction, 12/31/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UCF Knights vs Texas Tech Red Raiders

Date: Tuesday, December 31, 2024

Location: United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, TX

TV: ESPN+

The Texas Tech Red Raiders (9-2) will compete against the UCF Knights (9-2) at United Supermarkets Arena on Tuesday.

The UCF Knights faced Jacksonville and notched a win by a score of 86-66 in their last game. In the matter of fouls, the Knights ended up with 14 and Jacksonville totaled 20 fouls. They buried 6 of their 20 attempts from 3-point land. Jacksonville walked away from this one shooting 77.8% from the free throw line by making 14 of their 18 attempts. Additionally, Jacksonville had 19 rebounds (5 offensive, 14 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Jacksonville doled out 11 dimes and had 12 steals for this contest. Concerning the defense, UCF allowed their opponent to shoot 41.1% from the floor on 23 of 56 shooting. They also recorded 17 assists in this game as well as forcing 16 turnovers and earning 12 steals. When talking about rebounding, they earned 30 with 5 of them being of the offensive sort. From the charity stripe, the Knights converted 22 of 25 tries for a percentage of 88.0%. UCF finished the game with a 58.7% field goal percentage (27 of 46) and converted 10 out of their 17 3-point attempts.

Keyshawn Hall is someone who was a contributor for this game. He finished 71.4% from the floor and totaled 3 assists. He played for 28 mins and also pulled down 3 rebounds. He ended up walking away with 21 points on 5 out of 7 shooting.

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UCF comes into this game with a mark of 9-2 for the year. They average 80.8 points per game (71st in the country) while connecting on 43.5% from the floor. The Knights are connecting on 34.2% on 3-point shots (90 of 263) and 77.2% from the charity stripe. As a unit, UCF is grabbing 38.7 boards per contest and has earned 173 assists on the year, which is 226th in college hoops in terms of passing. They lose possession by turning the ball over 12.5 times per game and as a team they commit 16.7 fouls on a nightly basis.

When they are on the defensive end, the Knights are forcing 14.8 turnovers per game and they draw 19.5 personal fouls. They are conceding 33.9% on three-point shots and they rank 255th in college hoops in points per game allowed (74.0). Knights defensively are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 42.0% (290 of 691) and they concede 36.0 boards per game as a unit. They are currently ranked 87th in D-1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 145 surrendered for the campaign.

For their last game, the Texas Tech Red Raiders got the victory with a final of 101-57 when they played Lamar. The Red Raiders were able to collect 26 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive boards totaling 36 in this game. They also turned it over 6 times, while earning 9 steals in this game. Lamar was called for 12 fouls in this game which took the Red Raiders to the charity stripe for 18 attempts. They were able to convert 16 of those for a clip of 88.9%. In reference to shots from downtown, Texas Tech buried 13 of their 29 tries (44.8%). When the game finished, the Red Raiders shot 36 for 65 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 55.4%. The Red Raiders allowed Lamar to make 23 of their 70 attempts from the field which had them shooting 32.9% for this contest. They finished 30.0% from beyond the arc by connecting on 6 out of 20 and walked away from this one shooting 5 out of 9 at the free throw line (55.6%). When it comes to team rebounding, Texas Tech allowed Lamar to pull down 31 overall (16 offensive).

Darrion Williams ended up being a major contributor for the Red Raiders in the game. He recorded 23 points in his 25 minutes on the hardwood and tallied 5 dimes in this game. He buried 7 out of 13 for this contest giving him a rate of 53.8%, and added 7 rebounds.

Texas Tech has a win-loss mark of 9-2 this year. The Red Raiders are responsible for committing 14.5 fouls per game and they connect on 79.4% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 18.4 times per game (15th in the nation) and they turn the ball over 10.9 times per contest. Texas Tech has accounted for 949 pts on the campaign (86.3 per game) and they grab 37.8 rebounds per contest. As an offensive team, the Red Raiders are shooting 51.7% from the floor, which is 3rd in college hoops.

The Red Raiders on defense are ranked 25th in college in points allowed per contest with 63.3. They have forced 14.2 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 39.5% from the field (45th in Division 1). The Texas Tech defense allows 34.2% from downtown (80 of 234) and opponents are connecting on 65.2% of their foul shots. They relinquish 10.6 dimes and 30.1 boards per game, which is ranked 40th and 18th in the country.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take UCF

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