Houston vs UCF Prediction 1/18/25 College Basketball Picks

UCF (12-4) vs Houston (13-3)

Game Info: Saturday, January 18, 2025 at 12:00 pm (Addition Financial Arena)

Betting Odds: UCF +13.5 -- Over/Under: 138 Click Here for the Latest Odds

Where to Watch: CBSSN

The Houston Cougars and the UCF Knights meet Tuesday in college basketball action from the Desert Financial Arena. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Houston vs. UCF prediction.

Houston Recap

The Houston Cougars come into this game looking to add on to a 70-54 win over West Virginia last time out to improve to 13-3 on the year. After this game, Houston will head home for a matchup with the Utah Utes.

Cougars Win 9th Straight

L.J. Cryer leads the Cougars in scoring with 14.3 PPG while Emanuel Sharp has 14.1 PPG with 2.9 RPG as the only other double-digit scorer for Houston up to this point in the year. Terrance Arceneaux has 8.9 PPG with 3.4 RPG and Milos Uzan has added 8.8 PPG with 3.4 RPG and a team-high 4.8 APG to lead Houston in assists. J’Wan Roberts has 9.8 PPG with a team-high 6.5 RPG to lead the Cougars on the glass up to this point in the year while Joseph Tugler’s added 5.9 PPG and 5.9 RPG. As a team, Houston’s averaging 76.6 PPG on 46.2% shooting from the field, 41.5% from three, and 74% from the foul line this season.

Why the Houston Cougars will win

  • Houston has won 25 of its last 26 games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
  • UCF has lost nine of its last 10 games against Top 10 AP-ranked opponents.

UCF Recap

The UCF Knights come into this game looking to build on a 95-89 win over Arizona State last time out to improve to 12-4 on the year. After this game, UCF will head on the road for a game with Iowa State.

Knights Looking For Consistency

Keyshawn Hall leads the Knights in scoring and rebounding with 17.6 PPG and 6.6 RPG along with 2.5 APG while Darius Johnson has 15.1 PPG with 3.8 RPG and a team-high 4.1 APG to lead the Knights in the assist department. Jordan Ivy-Curry has 14.3 PPG with 3.4 RPG and 2.5 APG to round out the group of double-digit scorers for UCF so far this season while Moustapha Thiam has 7.6 PPG with 5.1 RPG and Dallan Coleman has 6.6 PPG with 4.3 RPG. As a team, UCF is averaging 79.6 PPG on 42.3% shooting from the field, 33.8% from three, and 77.2% from the foul line this season.

Why the UCF Knights will win

  • UCF has won nine of its last 10 games at Addition Financial Arena.

Total Points Facts

  • Each of UCF's last eight games against Conference opponents has produced a total of 139+ points.
  • Three of Houston's last four road day games against the Big 12 Conference have produced a total of 143+ points.

Houston vs. UCF Prediction

I’m with Houston here. We’ve seen Kansas already go into UCF and stomp out the Knights here and I just don’t trust UCF’s offense enough to keep this team in the game against one of the best defensive units in the country. Last season, Houston would dominate at home and go through the motions on the road. This year’s team is not that. The Cougars have gone hard from bell to bell and have shut down some pretty formidable teams along the way. I’ll roll with the Cougars in this one laying the points on the road.

Chris’s Pick Houston -13.5

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The pick in this article is the opinion of the writer, not a PickDawgz site consensus.

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