UAB vs South Florida Prediction 2/16/25 College Basketball Picks Today

The South Florida Bulls and the UAB Blazers meet Sunday in college basketball action from Bartow Arena. Here’s a UAB vs South Florida prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best UAB vs South Florida pick.

South Florida Bulls Betting Preview

The Bulls have had a few good runs here and there across the course of the season so far, but they’ve fallen below the .500 mark recently. South Florida went 5-6 in their first 11 outings, taking losses to Florida, Charleston, Middle Tennessee, Loyola, Utah State, and Bethune-Cookman. The wins otherwise were over AR-Pine Bluff, West Georgia, Portland, Wright State, and Stetson. After wins over East Texas A&M, Webber International, East Carolina, and Wichita State in succession, the Bulls have since gone just 3-7 over their last 10 games. Those wins were over Tulsa, Rice, and Temple. The losses came courtesy of Tulane, UAB, Charlotte, East Carolina, Florida Atlantic, Wichita State, and Memphis otherwise. That gives South Florida a 12-13 overall record through their first 25 games this year.

In the Memphis matchup back on Thursday, the Bulls were down 42-27 going into the second half. USF kept the pace from there on a 38-38 run but still ended up losing by a fairly sizable 80-65 margin. Kobe Knox (two rebounds; three assists) and Brandon Stroud (six rebounds; two assists) were the leading starters with 11 points apiece. Jayden Reid added 11 points with five rebounds, three steals and three assists off the bench in 21 minutes of work. Jamille Reynolds hit double-figures as well with 10 points, eight rebounds, and one assist.

UAB Blazers Betting Preview

Over on the UAB side, they had a spotty run going across their first 14 games of the year. Since then, however, the Blazers have been much better in the record column. UAB went 7-7 to start things out, losing to Vermont, High Point, Longwood, Illinois State, Middle Tennessee, Arkansas State, and North Texas. The wins in that time were over Southern Miss, SE Louisiana, Auburn-Montgomery, Louisiana, Prairie View, Alabama A&M, and Alcorn State. UAB has won eight of their last 10 games though, falling to only Memphis and East Carolina. The wins otherwise came over Tulsa, Tulane, Florida Atlantic, South Florida, UTSA, Tulsa, Charlotte, and North Texas. Overall it’s been a 15-9 run through the first 24 games of the year for UAB.

Matched up against East Carolina on the road Tuesday, the Blazers came out of the locker room sporting a 36-31 edge. UAB was blitzed 51-39 in the second half, however, resulting in an 82-75 defeat by the game’s end. Leading the team in scoring during the losing effort was Yaxel Lendeborg with 22 points, 10 rebounds and three assists with two blocks. Christian Coleman also doubled up with 12 points, 10 rebounds and two assists. Leading the scoring off the bench was Tyren Moore with 16 points, two assists, one steal, and one rebound.

Why the UAB Blazers will win

• UAB has won each of its last seven home games.
• South Florida has lost each of its last four road games.
• UAB has won the first half in each of its last 14 games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

UAB vs South Florida Prediction

I’ll stay with UAB. The Blazers need to bounce back after a rough second half in their road loss to East Carolina, though. UAB didn’t shoot too badly in that one with 43.9 percent from the field, and they were competitive on the boards 29-29. The problems were the 52.6 percent shooting allowed on the other side, as well as the 10 turnovers for 15 Pirates points. The Blazers have still been scoring well during this 3-2 run though, notching 75 or more points in four of the five games.

The last time these teams saw each other was back on January 15 in a 92-83 road victory for UAB. In that one, both teams shot very well (above 54 percent), but UAB notched a 40-20 rebounding advantage. The Blazers will need to clean up some mistakes this time (13 turnovers) but overall UAB should be in good shape for the home rematch.