The Connecticut Huskies (14-6) will have their hands full against the top shooting defense in the American Athletic Conference when they take on the UCF Knights (10-8) at CFE Federal Credit Union Arena. The game starts at 4:00 pm ET on Sunday, Jan. 31 and will air on CCS.
The Knights lost to Memphis 97-86 in their last game. Justin McBride finished with 20 points to lead the team. The Huskies, meanwhile, are coming off a bitter 58-57 loss to Cincinnati in their last outing. Shonn Miller posted 11 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks.
UCF, an eight-point underdog, will look to capitalize at home against Connecticut. Oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 136 points. The Knights enter the game with records of 10-8 Straight Up (SU) and 12-4 Against The Spread (ATS). UCF has an edge in the rebounding department for this game, where it racks up an average of 39.8 rebounds per game.
Across the court, Connecticut has a SU record of 14-6 and an ATS record of 8-7-1. Connecticut is one of the top foul-shooting teams in the nation, hitting .762 of their shots from the line. The Huskies are one of the top defensive teams in the nation, essentially shutting down opponents to the tune of 62.4 points allowed per game. Teams seem to consistently miss three-point shots against the Huskies, who are the 40th-best team in the country in terms of three-point field goal percentage allowed at .311. Don’t expect Connecticut to give away the ball much on offense, where its 11.2 turnovers per game ranks 41st in the country.
This is the first meeting of the season for UCF and Connecticut. The last time they played, Connecticut came out on top, moving its SU record against UCF to 6-1 in their most recent head-to-head meetings. However, UCF leads the matchup ATS with a record of 5-2. Neither UCF nor Connecticut has led in three key areas (field goals, rebounds, or three-pointers) over their most recent five games.
Predictions: SU Winner – UConn, ATS Winner – UConn, O/U – Under
Notes
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Central Florida’s last 7 games.
Central Florida is 7-2 SU in its last 9 games at home.
Central Florida is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games when playing Connecticut.
UCF scores an average of just 75.3 points per game (ranked 137th). Connecticut ranks 12th in points allowed, giving up 62.4 points per game.
Connecticut lost its last game by a one-point margin. In games decided by a margin of three points or less, UCF is 1-2. Connecticut is 1-4 in close games this season.
Ranked 92nd, the Connecticut Huskies have an offensive rating of 109.6. The UCF Knights rank 206th with a defensive rating of just 104.3.
The UCF Knights average a field goal percentage of 46.8% this season. The Connecticut Huskies have split their games this season (1-1) when opponents have a FG% of 46.8% or greater.
The UCF Knights average 20.0 three point attempts per game, and the Connecticut Huskies attempt 18.0 per game. When going for at least 20 three pointers in a game this season, both teams have winning records; UCF is 6-3 and Connecticut is 5-3.
Connecticut, the 24th-ranked team in blocked shots, records an average of 5.3 blocks per game. UCF ranks 56th with 4.7.
UCF ranks 196th in offensive rebounds, while Connecticut ranks 37th in defensive rebounds.
On average, UCF makes 4.4 steals per game. Connecticut has a winning 10-5 record when it gives up at least 4 steals.
