The Cincinnati Bearcats and the UCF Knights meet Sunday in college basketball action from CFE Arena. Cincinnati enters this matchup at 17-10 overall. The Bearcats fell to East Carolina in their last game. As for UCF, they’re 15-10 following a loss to Memphis on Thursday. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Cincinnati Bearcats
Cincinnati posted a pretty decent 14-6 run over their first 20 games this year. The Bearcats have since gone just 3-4 however, losing to Memphis, Houston, Tulane and East Carolina with wins otherwise over Tulsa, UCF and South Florida.
In the East Carolina matchup, the Bearcats were up 37-29 going into the second half. Cincinnati blew that lead on a 46-34 run and fell 75-71. Both Landers Nolley and Jeremiah Davenport posted a team-high 19 points each.
UCF Knights
Over on the UCF side, their season began with a 13-5 stretch through 18 games. The Knights are 2-5 over their last seven outings, falling to South Florida, Houston, Temple, Cincinnati and Memphis with wins over Wichita State and Tulsa.
Matched up against Memphis on Thursday, UCF faced a 44-35 deficit at the break. The Knights made it interesting with a 28-20 second half but lost 64-63 in a tough outcome. Taylor Hendricks was the top scorer with 17 points and five rebounds.
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I’ll stick with UCF here. This one’s something of a coin-flip matchup, though. Should be a good game. In any case, The Knights gave a valiant road effort versus a very good Memphis team on Thursday, and though UCF has been through a gauntlet of tough squads lately they’re generally putting up decent offensive performances. These teams last met up back on February 4 at Fifth Third Arena in a 73-64 Cincinnati win. I like UCF to bounce back and post a cover here for a bit of revenge, but I could probably go either way. The Bearcats are on a scoring tear lately with 68 or more points in eight straight games, so they’ll be trouble if the shots start falling early.