Central Florida at Temple: 1/14/21 College Basketball Picks and Prediction

Temple Owls (1-3) vs Central Florida Knights (3-3)

Game Info: Thursday, January 14, 2021 at 12:00 pm (Liacouras Center)

Betting Odds: Temple Owls +3 -- Over/Under: 134 Click Here for the Latest Odds

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The UCF Knights will travel to the Liacouras Center to take on the Temple Owls this Thursday night in College Basketball action.

The UCF Knights have had their last two games postponed due to Covid-19 protocols and come into this game with an overall record of 3-3 after being defeated by the South Florida Bulls, 68-61, on January 2nd. UCF struggled offensively in the 2nd half and could not fight back after South Florida took a 56-46 lead with 10:06 left in the 2nd half. UCF shot 45.3% from the field and 36.8% from beyond the arc while South Florida shot 43.3% from the field and 36.8% from beyond the arc. UCF was outrebounded by South Florida by a 39-33 margin and lost the turnover battle by a 15-13 margin in the loss. Leading the way for the Knights was Darius Perry who had 23 points, 2 rebounds, & 6 assists.

On the season, UCF is averaging 66.2 ppg on 41.7% shooting from the field. The Knights are averaging 6.5 three-pointers per game on 34.8% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, UCF has been led by Brandon Mahan (17.5 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.0 spg), Darin Green Jr. (12.8 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 1.0 apg), Darius Perry (11.8 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.5 apg), & Dre Fuller Jr. (7.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 3.2 apg, 1.3 spg).

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Defensively, UCF is allowing their opponents to average 68.3 ppg on 42.1% shooting from the field. The Knights have a rebound margin of -4.3 and a turnover margin of 1.2.

The Temple Owls lost their 3rd straight game and dropped to 1-3 on the season after being defeated by the SMU Mustangs, 79-68, this past Monday. Temple struggled offensively against SMU and could not fight back after a 10-0 Mustangs run gave SMU a 71-56 lead with 6:43 left in regulation. Temple shot just 39.3% from the field and 36.4% from beyond the arc while allowing SMU to shoot 42.6% from the field and 39.3% from beyond the arc. Temple was outrebounded by SMU by a 44-31 margin and forced just 9 turnovers in the loss. Leading the way for the Owls was Damian Dunn who had 17 points, 3 rebounds, & 5 assists.

On the season, Temple is averaging 64.3 ppg on 35.7% shooting from the field. The Owls are averaging 6.7 three-pointers per game on 30.8% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Temple has been led by Damian Dunn (14.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 3.0 apg), Brendan Barry (11.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.8 apg), J.P. Moorman II (9.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 2.5 apg), & Jeremiah Williams (9.0 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1.3 spg).

Defensively, Temple is allowing their opponents to average 71.7 ppg on 44.3% shooting from the field. The Owls have a rebound margin of 1.7 and a turnover margin of -2.3.

The Knights are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 Thursday games and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games vs. a team with a winning % below .400. The Owls are 22-6 ATS in their last 28 Thursday games and 3-1-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall.

UCF comes into this game losing their last 2 games, however, this is still the dame team that was able to defeat Florida State on the road and as I just haven’t seen anything temple this season, especially on the offensive end in which they rank just 294th in scoring offense & 332nd in FG%, I think UCF does enough to cover this small road spread.

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