Central Florida was the preseason favorite to win the American Athletic Conference. However, it’s No. 12 Houston that looks to be the team to beat with just one total loss on the season. The Cougars are slight NCAAB odds favorites at UCF on Thursday night.
How to Bet Houston at UCF NCAA Basketball Odds & TV Info
“They play hard, they compete, but we compete too.” – BJ Taylor on Houston
More from BJ, Coach and Aubrey at the mic as we prepare for the Coogs 👇 pic.twitter.com/zzGl9YK2Bl — UCF Men’s Basketball (@UCF_MBB) 6 de febrero de 2019
- When: Thursday, 7 PM ET
- Where: CFE Arena, Orlando
- TV: CBS Sports Network
- Live Stream: CBS Sports Live
- NCAA Basketball Odds: Houston Cougars -1 (Total 128.5)
Season Series
First of two scheduled meetings. Last year, Houston was 2-0 vs. UCF. The Knights’ season ended in an 84-56 loss to the Cougars in the AAC Tournament quarterfinals. Galen Robinson scored 18 points, and Rob Gray had 17 points, six assists, and five rebounds for UH.
Devin Davis had 16 points and seven rebounds for the Cougars, who held a 37-28 edge in rebounds and scored 20 points off the Knights’ 11 turnovers. Armoni Brooks and Corey Davis Jr. each scored 10 points. B.J. Taylor scored 20 points for UCF, and Ceasar DeJesus had 10. The Cougars led almost the entire game, and the Knights never got closer than eight points in the second half.
Why Bet on Houston?
Houston’s only loss was by 4 at Temple on Jan. 9. The Cougars are on a six-game winning streak since. They got payback on Temple last Thursday, 73-66. Temple shot 34 percent from the field. Owls coach Fran Dunphy pointed to the foul line as a big difference compared to the first game. The Owls shot 12 of 14 from the line on Thursday after shooting 25 of 28 in the first meeting.
Corey Davis Jr. scored 24 points and DeJon Jarreau added 14 points and 12 rebounds for UH. Armoni Brooks, the Cougars’ leading scorer at 14.8 points per game entering the game, had a quiet night due to foul trouble. Brooks sat most of the first half with two fouls and finished with three points. Houston held a 34-24 advantage in points in the paint. With that victory, the Cougars recorded their 31st consecutive home win, the nation’s longest active streak.
Freshman guard Nate Hinton broke his nose after taking an elbow to the face with nine minutes to go in the first half. He walked up the court holding his hand under his nose before being substituted out and taken to the locker room. He returned to the bench late in the first half in a new jersey and with gauze up both nostrils.
With a 21-1 overall record and 8-1 mark in The American, the Cougars are off to the second-best start in program history and are tied with Cincinnati for the lead in the latest league standings. UCF stands in third with a 6-2 mark in league play. Davis Jr. now leads the Cougars with 15.0 points per game and rose to sixth nationally with a 91.9 free throw percentage after converting 12-of-13 tries from the charity stripe against Temple. Robinson will compete in his 122nd straight game in school history against UCF on Thursday and ranks third in Houston history with 91 wins during his career.
Team Stats
Offense- Total Score: 75.55
- Field Goal Percentage: 43.82
- Three-Point Percentage: 34.38
- Free Throw Percentage: 72.87
- Total Rebounds: 41.73
Defense
- Total Score: 60.45
- Field Goal Percentage: 36.26
- Three-Point Percentage: 26.24
- Free Throw Percentage: 69.69
- Total Rebounds: 33.86
Why Bet on UCF?
The Knights also have been off since last Thursday when they beat UConn 73-67. UCF had a stranglehold on the opponents’ basket for most of the game until UConn began heating up. The Huskies nailed 6 of 12 from 3-point range and shot 53 percent from the field in the second half. UCF clawed a few critical balls away late, leading to a parade at the free-throw line where they hit 15 more than UConn.
Senior guard BJ Taylor led UCF their 11th home win over the season with 21 points on 2-of-3 from beyond the arc and 9-of-10 from the free throw line. It was his first-20 points game since going for 24 in the conference opener against Temple.
A number of the usual suspects from the starting lineup made their presence known – Collin Smith with 11 and Tacko Fall and Aubrey Dawkins with nine apiece – but it was the UCF bench that made a difference. The Knights substitutes outscored UConn’s 23-4 in the game, led by Ceasar DeJesus’s season-high 11 points.
It marked UCF’s third straight win over the Huskies, but just their fourth all-time over UConn. The Knights are now 11-1 at CFE Arena and have won 10 of their last 12 games overall. At 16-4, it matches the program’s best 20-game start to a season in its Division I era, and at 6-2 in The American, it’s UCF’s best start to league play as members of the AAC. The Knights are ranked 15th in the nation in turnovers (233) and at 11.6 per game, are on pace to set a new program record (13.0).
The Knights 5-44 all-time against ranked opponents, with two of the five coming in the last two seasons under head coach Johnny Dawkins. The highest ranked team UCF has defeated at home was No. 15 Cincinnati in 2016-17. Houston holds a 14-10 all-time advantage over UCF, but the Knights are 6-5 against the Cougars in games played in Orlando.
Team Stats
Offense- Total Score: 73.55
- Field Goal Percentage: 46.80
- Three-Point Percentage: 34.45
- Free Throw Percentage: 63.03
- Total Rebounds: 37.20
Defense
- Total Score: 63.90
- Field Goal Percentage: 39.27
- Three-Point Percentage: 32.56
- Free Throw Percentage: 64.13
- Total Rebounds: 35.35
Houston vs UCF NCAA Basketball Betting Trends
- Favorite is 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings
- Over is 8-2-1 in the last 11 meetings in Central Florida
- Houston is 9-1 ATS in its last 10 games on the road
- Houston is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games on the road
- The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Houston’s last 8 games on the road
- Central Florida is 1-5-1 ATS in its last 7 games at home
- Central Florida is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
- The total has gone OVER in 5 of Central Florida’s last 7 games at home
Expert NCAAB Betting Prediction
UCF wins by a bucket.
