The Temple Owls will be at CFE Federal Credit Union Arena to square off against the UCF Knights in an American Athletic Conference matchup. The game gets underway at 12:00 pm ET on Saturday, Feb. 6 and will air on ESU and ES3.
The Knights beat Tulane 70-62 on Thursday. Daiquan Walker was the game’s high scorer with 33 points on 11-for-16 shooting. The Owls, meanwhile, are coming off an 83-79 win over Tulsa on Thursday. Quenton DeCosey shot 6 for 15 and led in scoring with 21 points.
DeCosey has been on a tear over the last five games for the Owls, averaging 19.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.8 steals, and 2.4 three-pointers.
The Owls should minimize miscues in this matchup. They rank second in the nation at avoiding errors (TO% of 14.0%). Meanwhile, UCF forces the third-fewest mistakes in the nation, with just 14.1% of opponents’ possessions ending in a turnover.
The Knights look to build on their records of 11-9 Straight Up (SU) and 14-5 Against The Spread (ATS). In their last 10 games, they are 7-3 ATS. Over their past 10 games, the UCF defense has been playing lights out, only allowing 65.7 points per game, well under their season average of 71.9. The Knights have stifled opponents’ efforts from beyond the arc, allowing a three-point field goal percentage of only .314. The Knights do a great job keeping their opponents off of the glass and limiting second-chance points. They average 28.6 defensive rebounds per game, which ranks 22nd in Division I.
On the other side, Temple has a SU record of 13-8 and an ATS record of 12-8. When it comes to making good decisions with the ball, not many are better than the Owls. They have one of the top assist-to-turnover ratios in the country at 1.39. The Temple defense as a whole has been firing on all cylinders so far, ranking 42nd in Division I with only 68.7 points allowed per road game. Teams don’t seem to hit many three-pointers against the Owls, who are 12th in the country in terms of three-point field goals allowed at 117 this season.
This is the first meeting of the season for UCF and Temple. The last time they played, Temple came out on top, bringing its SU record to 3-2. Additionally, Temple leads the matchup ATS with a record of 3-2.
Predictions: SU Winner – Temple, ATS Winner – Temple
Notes
“Central Florida is 6-3 ATS in its last 9 games “.
“The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Central Florida’s last 5 games “.
“Central Florida is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games at home”.
“The total has gone OVER in 5 of Central Florida’s last 5 games when playing Temple”.
“The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Temple’s last 5 games on the road”.
The Temple Owls hold a solid 7-3 SU record in matchups against American Athletic Conference Conference rivals, while the UCF Knights currently sit at 5-4 in these games.
UCF scores just 72.5 points per home game (ranked 199th). Temple ranks 42nd in points allowed on the road, giving up 68.7 points.
The UCF Knights average a field goal percentage of 45.7% this season. The Temple Owls have split their games this season (3-3) when opponents have a FG% of 45.7% or greater.
UCF attempts an average of 20.0 three pointers per game and Temple attempts 23.0. In games where they have 20 or more three point attempts, the UCF Knights have a solid 7-4 record while the Temple Owls have a 9-8 record.
UCF, the 61st-ranked team in blocked shots, records an average of 4.5 per game. Temple does worse, ranked 192nd with 3.3.
Temple ranks 143rd in offensive rebounds, while UCF ranks at 22nd in defensive rebounds.
On average, UCF forces a turnover rate of 14.1%. When Temple turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a winning 5-3 record.
