West Virginia Mountaineers vs UCF Knights Prediction, 1/23/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: West Virginia Mountaineers vs UCF Knights

Date: Tuesday, January 23, 2024

Location: Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, FL

TV: BIG12|ESPN+

The UCF Knights (11-6) will play the West Virginia Mountaineers (7-11) at Addition Financial Arena on Tuesday.

The West Virginia Mountaineers faced off with Kansas and went home with a win by a final score of 91-85 in their last game. West Virginia finished having earned a 51.8% field goal percentage (29 out of 56) and converted 12 out of their 21 3-point attempts. When they shot from the free throw line, the Mountaineers made 21 of 25 tries for a percentage of 84.0%. In the matter of grabbing rebounds, they compiled 31 with 9 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 19 assists for this game in addition to creating 7 turnovers and having 3 steals. In the matter of the defense, West Virginia allowed 53.3% from the floor on 32 of 60 shooting. Kansas recorded 22 assists and had 8 steals in this contest. In addition, Kansas snagged 22 rebounds (5 offensive, 17 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Kansas walked away from this one shooting 77.8% from the charity stripe by knocking down 14 of their 18 attempts. They also knocked down 7 of 23 attempts from 3-point range. Concerning personal fouls, the Mountaineers ended up finishing with 18 while Kansas accumulated 19 personal fouls.

Raequan Battle is one player who came through in the matchup. He finished 50.0% from the field and also distributed 2 dimes. He was on the court for 30 minutes played and also grabbed 9 rebounds. He accumulated 23 points on 7 of 14 shooting.

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West Virginia will enter this matchup with a win-loss record of 7-11 this year. They are losing possession via turnover 12.1 times per contest and as a basketball team are committing 14.7 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, West Virginia is collecting 34.9 boards per game and is sitting with 227 dimes this year, which has them ranked 273rd in the country in terms of passing. The Mountaineers are hitting 31.8% on shots from downtown (119 of 374) and 73.4% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 68.9 points per game (306th in D-1) while going 41.5% from the floor.

On the defensive end, the Mountaineers are able to force 10.6 turnovers per contest and they draw 18.7 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 217th in the nation in allowing assists to their opponents with 246 relinquished on the season. The Mountaineers defensively are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 43.4% (478 of 1,102) and they relinquish 36.0 boards per game as a group. They are giving up 33.8% from 3-point land and they are ranked 214th in college hoops in points per game from their opponents (72.7).

When they last stepped on the court, the UCF Knights took a loss by a final score of 57-42 when they played Houston. The Knights were able to collect 28 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive rebounds totaling 37 for the game. They coughed up the ball 14 times, while earning 6 steals in this matchup. Houston committed 23 fouls for the matchup which got the Knights to the charity stripe for 33 attempts. They were able to make 24 of the free throw tries for a clip of 72.7%. In relation to shots from downtown, UCF buried 4 of 21 tries (19.0%). When all was said and done, the Knights shot 7 out of 44 from the field which had them at 15.9%. The Knights allowed Houston to convert 20 out of their 58 attempts from the field which had them shooting 34.5% in this matchup. They shot 33.3% from distance by connecting on 6 out of 18 and walked away from this one shooting 11 out of 16 from the free throw line (68.8%). In relation to rebounds, UCF allowed Houston to pull down 38 in total (10 on the offensive side).

Thierno Sylla was important for the Knights for the matchup. He made 2 out of 6 for the matchup giving him a rate of 33.3%, and added 5 rebounds. He accumulated 8 points in his 17 mins on the court, but didn't record an assist.

UCF has a win-loss mark of 11-6 for the season. When it comes to executing on offense, the Knights are shooting 41.5% from the field, which has them ranked 319th in Division 1. UCF has scored 1,237 pts this season (72.8 per contest) and they grab 39.8 boards per game. They are assisting teammates 11.9 times per game (291st in the nation) and they are turning it over 13.1 times per game. The Knights commit 17.3 fouls per game and they hit 69.6% from the free throw line.

The UCF defense allows 32.5% on shots from beyond the perimeter (115 of 354) and their opponents are converting on 72.2% of their shots from the free throw line. They concede 12.4 assists and 34.1 total rebounds per game, which is 143rd and 136th in Division 1. The Knights on the defensive end are ranked 34th in D-1 in points per game surrendered with 64.6. They are able to force 15.7 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 40.0% from the field (36th in the country).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take UCF

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