Cincinnati Bearcats (15-9) vs. Central Florida Knights (13-10)
February 17, 2024 4:00 pm EDT
The Line: Central Florida Knights +1; Over/Under: +135.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Cincinnati Bearcats and the UCF Knights meet in college basketball action from the Addition Financial Arena on Saturday afternoon. Who comes out on top in this Big 12 matchup? Let’s dive in and find out with our Cincinnati vs. UCF Prediction.
Cincinnati Team Preview
The Cincinnati Bearcats come into this one looking to rebound from back-to-back losses after a 68-59 loss to Iowa State last time out. Dan Skillings Jr. leads the Bearcats in scoring with 12.2 PPG and 6.2 RPG while Viktor Lakhin has 10.7 PPG with a team-high 6.7 RPG to lead the Bearcats on the glass. Day Day Thomas has 10.4 PPG with a team-high 3.1 APG to lead Cincinnati in the assist department while rounding out the trio of double-digit scorers for Cincinnati up to this point in the year. John Newman III has 9.7 PPG with 5.5 RPG and Simas Lukosius has 9.6 PPG with 3.1 RPG and 2.8 APG as well. As a team, Cincinnati is averaging 75.6 PPG on 44.2% shooting from the field, 33% from three and 68.8% from the foul line this season.
UCF Team Preview
The UCF Knights come into this game looking to rebound from back-to-back defeats after a 90-88 loss to BYU last time out. Jaylin Sellers leads UCF in scoring with 17 PPG and 4 RPG while Darius Johnson has 13.5 PPG with a team-high 3.9 APG to lead the Knights in the assist department and to round out the pair of double-digit scorers for UCF so far this season. Marchelus Avery has 8.6 PPG with 4.3 RPG while Ibrahima Diallo also has 6 RPG to lead the Knights on the glass. As a team, UCF is averaging 72 PPG on 41.8% shooting from the field, 31.8% from three and 69.9% from the foul line this season.
Cincinnati vs. UCF Prediction
I’m on the under here. UCF is a defense first team to begin with and Cincinnati’s been less effective on the road for the better part of conference play this season. These are also two of the worst offensive units the Big 12 has to offer this season and I could easily see this being the first to 65 wins. Give me the under.
