UCF Knights vs East Carolina Pirates Prediction, 3/4/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: UCF Knights vs East Carolina Pirates

Date: Thursday, March 4, 2021

Location: Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum in Greenville, NC

TV: ESPNU

Odds/Point Spread: UCF (-1.5)

The UCF Knights (9-11) travel to Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum on Thursday where they'll take on the East Carolina Pirates (8-8). East Carolina opens this game as 1.5-point underdogs. The over/under has been set at 134.

UCF will enter this matchup with a win-loss mark of 9-11 this season. They average 67.4 points per game (272nd in college basketball) while connecting on 43.1% from the floor. The Knights are hitting 36.3% on shots from distance (159 of 438) and 73.6% from the free throw line. As a team, UCF is grabbing 33.0 boards per contest and has tallied 240 assists so far this season, which is 251st in the nation in terms of passing the rock. They cough up possession 14.8 times per game and as a team they commit 17.2 fouls every game. Defensively, the Knights are forcing their opponents into 13.5 turnovers every game while drawing 16.4 personal fouls. They give up 33.2% on 3-point shots and they are 182nd in D-1 in opponents PPG (70.3). The Knights defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 43.7% (496 of 1,134) and they surrender 34.7 rebounds per contest as a team. They are currently ranked 165th in D-1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 271 surrendered on the campaign.

The UCF Knights stepped onto the hardwood against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane and walked away with a win by a score of 73-69 in their last game. UCF walked away from the contest having earned a 47.3% field goal percentage (26 of 55) and converted 8 out of their 27 shots from beyond the perimeter. At the charity stripe, the Knights buried 13 of their 14 shots for a percentage of 92.9%. In the matter of hauling in rebounds, they compiled 27 with 7 of them being of the offensive variety. They also dished out 12 dimes for the matchup as well as forcing the other team into 14 turnovers and having 9 steals. When talking about defense, UCF allowed the other team to go 47.2% from the floor on 25 out of 53 shooting. Tulsa totaled 14 assists and had 7 steals for this contest. In addition, Tulsa had 25 rebounds (5 offensive, 20 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Tulsa shot 84.6% when shooting free throws by making 11 of 13 tries. They also converted 8 of 21 shots from beyond the arc.

Isaiah Adams is a player who played a role for the matchup. He finished with 19 points on 7 out of 13 shooting. He played 33 mins and totaled 3 rebounds. Adams finished shooting 53.8% from the floor but finished the game without an assist. An additional guy that had an impact in this matchup for the Knights was Darin Green. He totaled 5 rebounds in his 36 minutes on the court. He finished 35.7% from the floor in this matchup by going 5-of-14 (14 points). In all, Green earned 3 assists.

East Carolina has a win-loss record of 8-8 on the year. East Carolina has tallied 1,078 points on the year (67.4 per game) and they collect 34.6 rebounds per contest. The Pirates have committed 17.4 fouls per contest and they go 71.6% from the charity stripe. On the offensive side of the ball, the Pirates are hitting on 41.8% from the field, which ranks 293rd in college basketball. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 15.9 times per contest (41st in college hoops) and they are losing possession via turnover 13.1 times per contest. The Pirates are ranked 87th in college hoops in PPG given up with 67.1. They are forcing 15.0 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 41.6% from the field (91st in college basketball). The East Carolina defense surrenders 31.5% on shots from beyond the perimeter (115 of 365) and their opponents are making 71.0% of their free throw attempts. They have allowed 12.2 assists and 35.6 rebounds per contest, which has them ranked 108th and 206th in D-1.

When they last stepped on the court, the East Carolina Pirates took a loss by a score of 71-56 against the SMU Mustangs. The Pirates corralled 22 defensive boards and 11 offensive boards totaling 33 in this matchup. They also coughed it up 13 times, while earning 6 steals in this matchup. The Mustangs were called for 23 fouls in the game which got the Pirates to the charity stripe for a total of 31 tries. They were able to bury 22 of them for a rate of 71.0%. In terms of shots from distance, East Carolina converted 2 of their 14 attempts (14.3%). When this game wrapped up, the Pirates went 16 out of 53 from the floor which had them sitting at 30.2%. The Pirates allowed the Mustangs to make 24 out of their 56 attempts from the field which left them shooting 42.9% for this game. They finished 18.2% from behind the 3-point line by connecting on 4 out of 22 and ended up going 19 out of 20 from the free throw line (95.0%). In relation to how they rebounded, East Carolina permitted SMU to pull down 33 in all (7 on the offensive glass).

Jayden Gardner ended up being a factor for the Pirates for the matchup. He made 6 of 18 for this contest giving him a rate of 33.3%, and accumulated 9 rebounds. Gardner scored 23 points in his 37 minutes on the hardwood, but went home with no dimes. Another guy that ended up playing a role for East Carolina was J.J. Miles. He finished with 1 assist in his 34 minutes played, and he knocked down 3 of 9 from the floor. Miles finished going 33.3% from the field while also collecting 11 points and 6 rebounds.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take UCF (-1.5)

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here