The Houston Cougars were off the court for two weeks because of COVID-19 issues on their schedule, but they did not show rust when they returned, rolling over Alcorn State by 33 points and then dominating Temple in their American Athletic Conference opener, winning by 26. They face one of their top rivals in the conference on Saturday as they head to Orlando to take on the UCF Knights. UCF has only played four games, also because of COVID-19 issues, but they have an impressive win over then-#17 Florida State on their resume from Saturday. They also opened AAC play with a win, beating Cincinnati by five.
Check out our college basketball betting thoughts about this matinee matchup.
NCAAB: #6 Houston at UCF
When: Saturday, December 26, 2020, 2:00 pm ET
Where: Addition Financial Arena, Orlando
TV: ESPN2
Radio: No National Radio
Live Stream: ESPN+
NCAAB Odds: XXXX
Why should you bet on the Cougars?
In their win over Temple on Tuesday, Quentin Grimes led the Cougars with 22 points and seven boards. Justin Gorham put up 14 points and a dozen rebounds. That made three straight games for Grimes with at least 20 points, and Houston shot 48 percent on the night, going 10 of 26 from downtown. That also made two straight games in double figures on the boards for Gorham. Houston outrebounded Temple, 43-26, including 15-9 in offensive rebounds. Houston had 17 second chance points, to just four for the Owls.
Houston led by ten at halftime and then went on a 23-8 run to start the second half. Houston had a huge size advantage, and that showed in the paint scoring, which Houston won, 30-14. It also didn’t help that Temple turned the ball over 19 times. Houston’s focus on working the ball inside in the second half helped them pull away from an undersized Owl team.
Why should you put your money on the Knights?
Brandon Mahan led the Knights in their win over Cincinnati with 25 points, going 8 of 13 from the floor and 4 of 5 from the free throw line. He also led the team with 10 rebounds, including four on the offensive end. UCF shot 45.6 percent from the floor for the game, including 42.9 percent from behind the arc. Darin Green Jr put up 12 points, and Isaiah Adams joined him in double figures with 15, along with four boards. C.J> Walker came off the bench with seven points and two rebounds. The Knights’ defense limited Cincinnati to just 29.4 percent shooting from downtown.
Ball security was an area of strength for the Knights, as they only had eight turnovers, to 19 for Cincinnati. That compensated for a rebounding deficit, as the Bearcats outrebounded UCF, 41-27. The Knights will need to rebound a lot better against Houston if they want to have a chance to win, instead of watching the Cougars put up second chance baskets left and right.
Final Score and Prediction
UCF’s win over Florida State was impressive, but they have not yet proven themselves against a team that is big on the interior. Cincinnati is not known for their rebounding prowess but controlled the boards against UCF in a losing effort. I see Houston controlling the flow of the game and driving the game inside on Saturday and taking control down the stretch. I predict a final score of Houston 77, UCF 68.
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