The No. 3 Houston Cougars (18-2, 6-1 AAC), the country’s top scoring defense, head to face the UCF Knights (13-6, 4-3 AAC) on Wednesday. Houston was edged out by the Temple Owls 56-55 at Fertitta Center on Sunday. Jamal Shead was the top scorer in defeat with 13 points.
The Cougars are first in the American Athletic Conference. UCF lost on Saturday at Yuengling Center, falling to the South Florida Bulls 85-72. C.J. Kelly had 18 points in the loss to lead the team. The Knights remain sixth in the American Athletic Conference.
It’s the final meeting of the season between the teams. Houston will be pursuing a season sweep against UCF after coming out on top in the only earlier game 71-65 at Fertitta Center in December 2022, their sixth straight head-to-head victory.
Tramon Mark led the Cougars with 19 points and six rebounds. Darius Johnson had 17 points in the losing effort. Marcus Sasser is averaging 16.7 points per game to lead the Cougars in scoring this season. Meanwhile, J’Wan Roberts is grabbing 7.0 rebounds per game, and Shead is dishing 5.0 assists.
Taylor Hendricks (14.3 ppg) and Kelly (12.6) have been the primary providers for the Knights on offense. Hendricks also has posted 7.0 rebounds per game, while Kelly has doled out 2.7 assists per game.The Cougars are the toughest scoring defense in the NCAA with 53.4 points per game allowed.
Houston is 9-1 in the last 10 games with an average margin of +19.2 (76.3-57.1). For the season, the Cougars are averaging 75.1 points per game, compared to 53.4 for opponents.
UCF has gone 6-4 over the last 10, scoring 72.5 points per game on average while allowing 68.3 (+4.2 margin). The Knights are averaging 72.1 ppg for the full season while allowing 64.5.
COUGARS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Terrance Arceneaux: 5.2 | 8.1 | -2.8
Assists per game:
Marcus Sasser: 4.4 | 3.2 | +1.3
Jamal Shead: 3.4 | 5.0 | -1.5
KNIGHTS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Tyem Freeman: 15.4 | 6.3 | +9.1
Darius Johnson: 3.0 | 10.8 | -7.8
Points per game:
C.J. Kelly: 18.0 | 12.6 | +5.4
Darius Johnson: 1.8 | 6.6 | -4.8
Assists per game:
C.J. Kelly: 3.4 | 2.7 | +0.7
SportsTips’ College Basketball Pick:
Houston -9.5 (-110)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
