Arizona Wildcats vs UCF Knights Prediction, 1/17/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Arizona Wildcats vs UCF Knights

Date: Saturday, January 17, 2026

Location: Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, FL

TV: ESPN+

Addition Financial Arena is the site where the UCF Knights (14-2) will go up against the Arizona Wildcats (17-0) on Saturday.

The Arizona Wildcats faced Arizona State and notched a win by a score of 89-82 in their last contest. Arizona wrapped up the game having earned a 54.2% FG percentage (32 out of 59) and made 4 of 11 shots from distance. At the charity stripe, the Wildcats made 21 of 26 attempts for a percentage of 80.8%. With regard to grabbing rebounds, they earned a total of 38 with 10 of them being of the offensive sort. They also distributed 16 assists in this matchup as well as forcing the opposition into 9 turnovers and earning 6 steals. Concerning defending, Arizona allowed the other team to shoot 47.8% from the floor on 32 of 67 shooting. Arizona State doled out 15 assists and had 4 steals in the matchup. Furthermore, Arizona State snagged 22 boards (8 offensive, 14 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Arizona State walked away from this one shooting 63.6% when shooting free throws by knocking down 7 of their 11 tries. They also converted 11 out of their 25 tries from downtown. When discussing personal fouls, the Wildcats walked away with 17 while Arizona State finished the game with 22 personal fouls.

Koa Peat is one guy who was a factor in this contest. He finished the game at 58.8% from the floor and distributed 3 dimes. He was on the court for 32 mins played and totaled 7 rebounds. He finished with 20 points on 10 out of 17 shooting.

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Arizona comes into this matchup with a mark of 17-0 on the campaign. They average 91.0 pts per contest (12th in college) while hitting 52.0% from the floor. The Wildcats are connecting on 37.1% on shots beyond the perimeter (109 of 294) and 73.9% from the charity stripe. As a team, Arizona is pulling down 43.6 boards per game and has totaled 323 assists on the season, which has them ranked 17th in the country in terms of passing the ball. They are giving up possession 11.9 times per game and as a unit they commit 16.6 personal fouls on a nightly basis.

Defensively, the Wildcats are forcing 13.5 turnovers every game while drawing 19.9 fouls. They rank 89th in college hoops in allowing assists with 211 surrendered for the campaign. The Wildcats are allowing a FG percentage of 40.0% (418 of 1,046) and they surrender 29.4 rebounds per game as a squad. They relinquish 32.4% on shots from beyond the perimeter while they are 74th in college in opponents PPG (68.8).

When they last played, the UCF Knights went home victorious with a score of 82-73 against Kansas State. The Knights recorded 27 defensive rebounds and 5 offensive boards totaling 32 for the matchup. They coughed up the ball 10 times, while earning 8 steals for the game. Kansas State earned 18 fouls in the game which got the Knights to the charity stripe for a total of 18 attempts. They were able to knock down 11 of the free throws for a percentage of 61.1%. With regard to shooting from downtown, UCF made 7 of 15 tries (46.7%). When the final whistle was blown, the Knights went 32 out of 61 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 52.5%. The Knights permitted Kansas State to make 29 out of 65 tries from the floor which left them with a shooting percentage of 44.6% in the matchup. They wrapped up this game 20.0% from three-point range by shooting 6 of 30 and ended up shooting 9 of 15 at the free throw line (60.0%). When talking about how they cleaned up the glass, UCF allowed Kansas State to grab 31 in total (6 on the offensive side).

Riley Kugel pitched in for the Knights for this contest. He buried 7 out of 10 for the game for a field goal percentage of 70.0%, and had 5 rebounds. He recorded 19 points in his 35 mins on the hardwood and accumulated 6 assists in this matchup.

UCF has a record of 14-2 on the year. The Knights have committed 17.6 personal fouls per game while shooting 72.4% from the charity stripe. They are getting an assist 16.9 times per contest (56th in the nation) and they are turning it over 11.5 times per game. UCF has accounted for 1,372 pts on the campaign (85.8 per contest) and they grab 39.3 boards per game. As an offense, the Knights are shooting 49.0% from the field, which is ranked 38th in the country.

The Knights on the defensive side of the court are 232nd in college in points allowed per contest with 75.4. They are forcing 12.5 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 43.2% from the floor (157th in college hoops). The UCF defense allows 32.3% on shots from beyond the perimeter (131 of 405) and their opponents are converting on 75.2% of their foul shots. They have conceded 13.7 dimes and 31.6 rebounds every game, which has them ranked 212th and 49th in the nation.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Arizona

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