It will be a battle between American Athletic Conference opponents when the Memphis Tigers (14-11) welcome the UCF Knights (11-12) to the FedExForum. Action gets underway at 7:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Feb. 17 and will air on ESU and ES3.
The Tigers are hoping to rebound after their 94-87 loss to Tulane on Saturday. Dedric Lawson put in a solid effort despite the loss for Memphis, recording 25 points and 16 rebounds to earn his 11th double-double of the season. The Knights, meanwhile, are coming off a deflating 82-58 loss to Houston on Saturday. Tanksley Efianayi had a good game for UCF, registering eight points, three rebounds, and two assists.
The Tigers do a great job at getting to the charity stripe. They rank 26th in the nation in FTA rate (43.9), but UCF is among the best in the nation at keeping opponents off the line (ranking fourth by allowing a FTA rate of 24.2).
This is the second game of the year between these two teams, with the Tigers winning the first matchup 97-86. Shaq Goodwin was a top performer in the victory with 35 points, nine rebounds, six assists, three steals, and one three-pointer.
The Tigers enter the game with records of 14-11 Straight Up (SU) and 8-13-1 Against The Spread (ATS). Below-average play has been the norm lately for the Tigers. In the last 10 games, Memphis has only averaged 65.2 points per game compared to the 77.6 they’ve averaged on the season. Expect to see a lot of second-chance opportunities for Memphis in this matchup, which is one of the top rebounding teams in the nation with an average of 13.8 offensive boards per game. Crossing over to the defensive side of the court, opposing offenses have been stifled by the Tigers, who allow a field goal percentage of only .396. Opponents have consistently had the ball stolen by the Tigers, who rank 36th in the country in steals per game with 7.8.
Across the court, the Knights have records of 15-7 ATS and 11-12 SU. UCF has been particularly bad ATS over its past 10 matchups, going 3-7. UCF’s three-point defense is one of the top in the country, with opponents shooting only .315 from the three. The Knights have established a reputation of cleaning up the defensive glass with 28.0 defensive rebounds per game, making them one of the top teams in the nation.
Memphis beat UCF in their most recent meeting this season, bringing its SU record to 9-1 over UCF in their most recent games. Additionally, Memphis leads the matchup ATS with a record of 8-2. Memphis held the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers twice, while UCF was never able to do so in their most recent five games.
Predictions: SU Winner – Mem, ATS Winner – Mem
Notes
“Memphis is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games “.
“Memphis is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games “.
“Memphis is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games at home”.
“Memphis is 11-3 SU in its last 14 games at home”.
“The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Memphis’s last 5 games at home”.
“Memphis is 8-1 ATS in its last 9 games when playing Central Florida”.
“Memphis is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Central Florida”.
“The total has gone OVER in 4 of Memphis’s last 5 games when playing Central Florida”.
“Memphis is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Central Florida”.
“Memphis is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Central Florida”.
“The total has gone OVER in 5 of Memphis’s last 5 games when playing at home against Central Florida”.
Memphis and UCF both have a 5-7 record against their conference.
UCF averages 72.7 points per away game (ranked 93rd). Memphis allows 65.8 points per home game (ranked 81st).
The Memphis Tigers have a defensive rating of 96.2 (ranked 36th), while the UCF Knights have an offensive rating of 104.6 (ranked 204th).
UCF has an average field goal percentage of 44.7%. Memphis is a losing 2-5 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Memphis Tigers rank higher based on their field goal percentage (310th) than their effective field goal percentage (327th). The UCF Knights rank higher based on their effective field goal percentage (133rd) than their field goal percentage (140th).
Memphis ranks 95th in assists, registering 14.8 per game. UCF performs worse at 225th with 12.7 assists per game.
Memphis, the seventh-ranked team in blocked shots, registers an average of 5.9 per game. UCF ranks 55th with 4.7.
Memphis is one of the best teams in the country when it comes to offensive rebounds, ranking 16th. UCF ranks 31st in defensive rebounds.
On average, Memphis makes 7.8 steals per game. UCF is a losing 5-8 when it gives up at least 7 steals.
