Cincinnati vs UCF Prediction 3/11/2026 Today’s College Basketball Picks

The Cincinnati Bearcats and the UCF Knights meet Wednesday in Big 12 Tournament college basketball action from T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. Here’s a Cincinnati vs Central Florida prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Cincinnati vs Central Florida pick. We will examine the recent form and player performances for both teams, as well as the recent betting trends and streaks pertaining to this matchup. As we conclude, we will tie it all together with a summary that produces a sensible pick for a favorable betting outcome in this game.

Cincinnati Bearcats Betting Preview

The Bearcats opened the season at 10-8 over their first 18 games, then hit a 1-4 skid that featured a lone win over Baylor on January 28. Cincinnati would beat UCF, Kansas State, Utah, Kansas, Oklahoma State and BYU over the next seven games (with a loss to Texas Tech mixed in) before a loss to TCU. Following their victory over Utah, Cincinnati is now sitting at 18-14 overall this season.

On Tuesday versus Utah, the Bearcats came out of the break for the second half sporting a 29-20 edge. Cincinnati managed to fend off the Utes despite a 46-44 deficit the rest of the way, eventually powering out the win 73-66 in the end. Tops in scoring was Jalen Celestine with 19 points and three rebounds while Moustapha Thiam added 14 points with 10 rebounds. Baba Miller doubled up as well with his 11 points and 14 boards.

UCF Knights Betting Preview

Over on the Central Florida side, they opened the year on a 14-4 clip over their first 18 games. Next came wins over Colorado, Arizona State and Texas Tech before losses to Houston, Cincinnati and West Virginia. UCF has since beaten TCU, Utah and BYU before losses to Baylor, Oklahoma State and West Virginia. That makes for a 20-10 overall record this year.

Matched up against West Virginia on Friday the Knights were in trouble at the break facing a 32-23 deficit. Central Florida didn’t end up getting any closer than that, hitting a 45-39 run the rest of the way in a 77-62 loss. Riley Kugel put up 16 points with four boards and three steals while Themus Fulks added 16 points with four rebounds and four assists in the losing effort.

Cincinnati vs Central Florida Prediction

I’ll stick with UCF but you could certainly call this one either way. The Knights didn’t play super well in the West Virginia game last week, hitting just 38.1 percent from the field with 18.8 percent (3-of-16) from outside. UCF did have a 37-31 rebounding edge and a 40-28 advantage in the paint, however. The Knights have lost three straight games now, giving up 77 or more points in all of those defeats.

These teams met up twice this year, with the home team getting a victory each time. UCF took it on January 11 by a score of 73-72, then lost in the road rematch 92-72 on February 8. In that defeat the Knights shot just 40.9 percent from the filed while giving up 58.9 percent on the other side. Cincinnati was deadly from 3-point range on 11-of-18 (61.1 percent) in that game as well. This rematch could go a lot of different ways, but it’ll be fun to watch regardless.

Andrew Jett's Pick: UCF Knights -2.5