The Stetson Hatters and the UCF Knights meet Wednesday in college basketball action from CFE Arena. Stetson is currently 5-5 overall. The Hatters lost to Ohio in their last game. As for UCF, they’re 8-3 on the season following a loss to Missouri. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Stetson went 3-2 over their first five games this year, losing to Niagara and Campbell. The Hatters would then hit a 2-3 stretch over the next five with wins over only Johnson University (FL) and Webber International.
In their Saturday game versus Ohio, Stetson was down 52-30 by halftime. The Hatters had a 36-33 edge in the second half but still lost 85-66. Jalen Blackmon managed 21 points, and Josh Smith doubled on 15 points and 12 boards.
Over on the UCF side, they were 5-1 over their first six games. The lone loss came to UNC Asheville. The Knights hit a 3-2 run over the next five games, beating Samford, Tarleton State and Ole Miss with losses otherwise to Miami FL and Missouri.
Matched up against Missouri on Saturday, UCF held a one-point lead by the break. The Knights were outscored 33-30 in the second half and lost 68-66. Ithiel Horton was tops on the team with 19 points and four rebounds.
PICK: I’m going to stay with UCF. The Knights are coming off a tough loss to Missouri, shooting 42.3 percent from the field with a 29-26 rebounding advantage (10-6 offensive) and 17 team assists. That said, it’s been a pretty good season for UCF so far. Their three losses have each come by three points or fewer and they’ve been competitive against all comers. As for Stetson, they’ve been rough over the last four games, going 1-3 in that stretch with 66 or fewer points scored in each loss. I don’t think they’ll be able to hang around with UCF.