UCF vs West Virginia Prediction 3/8/25 College Basketball Picks

The UCF Knights and the West Virginia Mountaineers meet Saturday in college basketball action from WVU Coliseum. Here’s a UCF vs West Virginia prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best UCF vs West Virginia pick. We will examine: 

The UCF Knights’ recent form and player performance

The West Virginia Mountaineers’ recent form and player performance 

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the UCF Knights

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the West Virginia Mountaineers

Recent betting trends in games played between UCF and West Virginia

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the UCF vs West Virginia game

UCF Knights Betting Preview

Back in mid-February, the Knights were sitting on an ugly stretch of games, but they’ve been looking better lately. UCF opened on a nice 10-2 run, then posted a spotty 3-4 stretch over the next seven with wins versus Colorado, Arizona State, and TCU among losses to Kansas, Arizona, Houston, and Iowa State. A losing streak to Kansas, BYU, Cincinnati, Baylor, Iowa State, Colorado, and Oklahoma State came next, then a 3-1 run. The loss in that quartet was versus TCU; otherwise, it was wins over Utah, Kansas State, and Oklahoma State, giving the Knights a 16-14 overall run through 30 games this year so far. 

In the Wednesday matchup versus Oklahoma State, the Knights came out of the locker room with a 40-35 deficit. UCF woke up in the second half on a 48-30 run and took the comeback victory at the end 83-70. Darius Johnson topped the scorers with 36 points, five rebounds, and five assists in a nice outing. Keyshawn Hall added 18 points with nine rebounds and five assists, while Nils Machowski topped the bench scoring nine points, eight rebounds, two assists, and three turnovers in 26 minutes of action on the court during the victory. 

West Virginia Mountaineers Betting Preview

Over on the West Virginia side, they were looking great in the record column as the calendar flipped to 2025. Since then the Mountaineers have had a choppy run, though. WVU won 13 of their first 17 games, then fell to Arizona State, Kansas State, and Houston in succession. It’s been a 5-5 stretch since then with wins over Cincinnati, Utah, Cincinnati, TCU, and Utah again in that time. The losses otherwise in those 10 games came versus TCU, BYU, Baylor, Texas Tech, and BYU again. That gives the Mountaineers an 18-12 overall run across 30 games during the 2024-25 campaign. 

Matched up against Utah in the road rematch on Tuesday, the Mountaineers opened the game on a 30-29 edge. West Virginia kept the pace in the second half with a 41-40 run and took the tight victory in the end 71-69. Javon Small led the team with 18 points, seven assists, and four rebounds. Amani Hansberry added 12 points with six rebounds and two steals, while Jonathan Powell chipped in 10 points with three boards. Joseph Yesufu led the bench scoring with his 12 points and one rebound in 25 minutes on the floor. 

Why the West Virginia Mountaineers will win

• West Virginia has won each of its last seven day games at WVU Coliseum against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• UCF has lost each of its last six road games against the Big 12 Conference.
• UCF has lost the first half in each of its last four road games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Why the UCF Knights will win

• UCF has won three of its last four games against the Big 12 Conference.

UCF vs West Virginia Prediction 

I’m going to try UCF in this one. We should have a pretty good matchup if both teams play to their capabilities, though. The Knights are coming off a home win versus a middling Oklahoma State team, posting 41.1 percent from the field with a 50-26 rebounding advantage and 27-of-30 (90 percent) from the line. UCF did cough up a whopping 19 turnovers for 25 Cowboys points, though. That gives the Knights three wins in their last four games, with 76 or more points scored in all four of those. 

As for WVU, they’ve been below 63 points in three of their last five games during a 3-2 run. The Mountaineers will want to keep UCF’s offense in check here, but if the Knights can control their ball-handling mistakes I think they’ll score well enough to cover. 

Andrew Jett's Pick: UCF Knights +6.5