Temple Owls vs UCF Knights Prediction, 2/27/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Temple Owls vs UCF Knights

Date: Saturday, February 27, 2021

Location: Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, FL

TV: ESPNU

Odds/Point Spread: Temple (+5)

The Temple Owls (5-10) are headed to Addition Financial Arena on Saturday where they'll meet the UCF Knights (8-11). Temple opens this contest as 5-point dogs. The over/under is set at 136.5.

Temple enters this one with a win-loss record of 5-10 for the campaign. The Owls are connecting on 33.9% on shots from downtown (108 of 319) and 71.3% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 65.5 points per contest (304th in D-1) while hitting 40.1% from the field. They lose possession via turnover 13.5 times per game and as a group they commit 17.3 fouls every game. As a unit, Temple is snagging 35.9 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 198 dimes for the year, which has them ranked 293rd in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. On the defensive end of the court, the Owls are forcing 11.2 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 18.2 fouls. They rank 63rd in the nation in giving up assists to the opposition with 200 conceded on the season. The Owls defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 40.9% (359 of 877) and they relinquish 36.5 boards per game as a team. They give up 34.6% on 3-point attempts and they are 127th in the country in PPG allowed (68.5).

The Temple Owls took the court against the USF Bulls and notched a win by a score of 65-47 in their last contest. Temple ended with a 45.1% field goal percentage (23 of 51) and knocked down 11 of 23 3-point shots. From the charity stripe, the Owls buried 8 of 12 attempts for a rate of 66.7%. When it comes to hauling in rebounds, they collected 28 with 5 of them being offensive. They also dished out 15 assists in the game while forcing the other team into 15 turnovers and earning 8 steals. When it comes to defending, Temple let their opponent shoot 28.8% from the field on 15 out of 52 shooting. South Florida earned 10 dimes and had 5 steals in the matchup. In addition, South Florida snagged 29 rebounds (11 offensive, 18 defensive) and earned 4 blocked shots. South Florida ended up shooting 58.8% at the charity stripe by burying 10 of 17 attempts. They buried 7 out of their 20 attempts from distance.

Khalif Battle is someone who was important for this game. He ended up scoring 22 points on 9 out of 15 shooting. He played for 35 mins and totaled 6 rebounds. Battle finished the game shooting 60.0% from the field and also dished out 4 dimes. Another guy that was a determining factor in the game for the Owls was Jeremiah Williams. He totaled 3 rebounds in his 34 minutes on the hardwood. He finished the game shooting 27.3% from the floor in the matchup by going 3-of-11 (11 points). When the game finished, Williams earned 3 assists.

UCF has a win-loss record of 8-11 this year. UCF has 1,275 pts for the campaign (67.1 per contest) and they pull in 33.2 rebounds per game. The Knights are responsible for committing 17.5 personal fouls per game and they connect on 72.7% from the charity stripe. In terms of offensive execution, the Knights are hitting on 42.9% from the floor, which is 243rd in the country. They are dishing out assists 12.0 times per game (264th in the country) and they are giving up possession 14.9 times per game. The Knights are ranked 193rd in D-1 in points given up per game with 70.3. They relinquish 13.5 dimes and 34.9 boards per game, which has them ranked 223rd and 179th in those categories. The UCF defense surrenders 32.9% on shots from distance (140 of 425) and their opponents are connecting on 68.1% of their free throw attempts. They are forcing their opponents into 13.5 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 43.6% from the field (192nd in D-1).

In their last game, the UCF Knights walked away with a victory by a final of 84-81 against the Tulane Green Wave. The Knights corralled 20 defensive boards and 3 offensive rebounds for a total of 23 in this game. They also coughed it up 15 times, while earning 7 steals for the contest. The Green Wave earned 13 personal fouls for this contest which took the Knights to the free throw line for 16 shots. They were able to knock down 14 of the free throw tries for a rate of 87.5%. In terms of shots from beyond the arc, UCF buried 14 of their 26 tries (53.8%). When the final whistle blew, the Knights ended up shooting 28 out of 51 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 54.9%. The Knights permitted the Green Wave to convert 29 out of 57 attempts from the field which had them shooting 50.9% in this contest. They went 45.8% from downtown by going 11 out of 24 and finished the game at 12 out of 21 from the free throw line (57.1%). Concerning cleaning up the glass, UCF allowed Tulane to grab 24 overall (6 offensive).

Darius Perry ended up being a factor for the Knights in the game. He knocked down 6 of 12 for the game for a field goal rate of 50.0%, and accounted for 1 rebound. Perry had 20 points in his 34 mins on the court and totaled 7 dimes for the game. Someone else who was a determining factor for UCF was Darin Green. He ended up with no assists in his 34 mins on the court, and he knocked down 5 of 11 from the floor. Green finished going 45.5% from the field in addition to earning 14 points and 2 rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Temple (+5)

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