Florida Gulf Coast vs UCF Prediction 12/20/2025 Today’s College Basketball Picks

The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles and the Central Florida Knights meet Saturday in college basketball action from CFE Arena. Here’s a Florida Gulf Coast vs Central Florida prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Florida Gulf Coast 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.

Florida Gulf Coast Eagles Betting Preview

The Eagles opened up the season on a solid 5-2 run, falling to only Illinois and Georgia Southern in that time. Florida Gulf Coast otherwise beat New College FL, Chattanooga, Samford, Oral Roberts and Rice. Since then however, it’s been four straight losses to Kennesaw State, Florida International, Florida Atlantic and New Mexico, giving the Eagles a 5-6 overall run across 11 games so far this year.

In the New Mexico game on Sunday, the Eagles were down by three points at the break. Florida Gulf Coast hit a 47-34 deficit the rest of the way in a 75-59 loss. Leading the team in scoring were Jordan Ellerbee (three rebounds) and Rory Stewart (one rebound) each with nine points. Nobody on the team was able to crack into double-figures during the loss.

Central Florida Knights Betting Preview

Over on the Central Florida side, they beat Hofstra in their opener then lost to Vanderbilt in game two. Since then it’s been a nice string of wins as the Knights have dispatched Florida A&M, Texas A&M, Oakland, Pitt, Quinnipiac, VMI, Towson and Mercer in succession. That gives the Knights a 9-1 record across their first 10 games of the season so far.

In the Mercer game on Wednesday the Knights went into the second half with a 35-27 advantage. Central Florida hit a 46-36 run the rest of the way in an 81-63 win. Jordan Burks topped the scorers with 17 points, and Riley Kugel had 16 points with three assists and four rebounds. Jamichael Stillwell doubled up on 12 points with 10 rebounds in the winning effort as well.

Florida Gulf Coast Eagles @ UCF Knights Betting Trends: December 20, 2025

Why the UCF Knights will win

• UCF has won each of its last eight games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Florida Gulf Coast has lost each of its last four games.
• Florida Gulf Coast has lost the first half in four of its last five games.

Florida Gulf Coast vs Central Florida Prediction

I’ll stay with Central Florida. The Knights got past a pretty good Mercer team without too much difficulty in their latest outing, shooting 44.1 percent from the field with a 39-32 rebounding edge and 34 points in the paint. Central Florida did cough up 12 turnovers in the victory, however. Still, the Knights are looking good these days with eight straight wins. They’ve managed to score 77 or more points in each of those eight, with 81 or more in seven of them.

As for Florida Gulf Coast, they shot just 35.1 percent from the field and 27.8 percent (10-of-36) from 3-point range in their latest loss to New Mexico. The Eagles were also out-rebounded 40-25 and had 12 turnovers. Florida Gulf Coast has generally scored well in this four-game win streak with 76 or more points in three of those. The Eagles have given up 75 or more points on the other side in all four, though.

Andrew Jett's Pick: Central Florida Knights TBA