Kansas Jayhawks vs UCF Knights Prediction, 1/3/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Kansas Jayhawks vs UCF Knights

Date: Saturday, January 3, 2026

Location: Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, FL

TV: Peacock

The Kansas Jayhawks (10-3) are en route to Addition Financial Arena on Saturday where they will attempt to defeat the UCF Knights (11-1).

The Kansas Jayhawks stepped onto the hardwood against Davidson and went home with a win by a final score of 90-61 in their last game. Kansas wrapped up the game having earned a 57.8% field goal percentage (37 out of 64) and buried 11 of their 21 3-pointers. From the free throw line, the Jayhawks knocked down 5 of their 5 shots for a percentage of 100.0%. Pertaining to hauling in boards, they collected 41 with 8 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 27 dimes in the game as well as forcing 16 turnovers and earning 13 steals. Concerning the defense, Kansas allowed their opponent to shoot 35.8% from the floor on 24 of 67 shooting. Davidson dished out 15 assists and had 11 steals in this contest. On top of that, Davidson grabbed 30 boards (12 offensive, 18 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Davidson shot 33.3% at the free throw line by converting 2 of 6 attempts. They also knocked down 11 out of their 30 shots from distance. Concerning fouls, the Jayhawks walked away with 5 and Davidson totaled 7 fouls.

Flory Bidunga is a guy who was a contributor in the game. He finished the contest at 72.7% from the field and recorded 3 assists. He played 27 minutes played and also collected 8 rebounds. He ended up finishing with 18 points on 8 of 11 shooting.

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Kansas steps onto the court with a win-loss record of 10-3 for the campaign. They are averaging 75.8 points per outing (222nd in the nation) while going 46.8% from the floor. The Jayhawks are connecting on 35.6% on three-point attempts (101 of 284) and 74.8% from the charity stripe. As a team, Kansas is pulling down 40.2 boards per contest and has 205 dimes for the campaign, which ranks 153rd in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They cough up possession 10.8 times per game and as a group are committing 14.2 fouls per contest.

When they are on defense, the Jayhawks are forcing 9.5 turnovers per game and they draw 15.8 fouls. They currently rank 48th in college hoops in giving up assists to the opposition with 148 conceded this season. The Jayhawks are allowing a field goal percentage of 36.6% (298 of 815) and they concede 35.0 boards per contest as a squad. They are conceding 25.2% on shots from downtown and they are ranked 13th in college in points per game allowed (63.3).

When they last played, the UCF Knights got the victory with a final of 85-80 when they faced Florida Atlantic. In the matter of rebounds, UCF permitted Florida Atlantic to collect 32 in total (10 on the offensive side). They wrapped up this game 30.0% from behind the 3-point line by hitting 9 of 30 and ended up shooting 9 out of 12 from the free throw line (75.0%). The Knights allowed Florida Atlantic to bury 31 of their 70 attempts from the floor which left them shooting 44.3% in the matchup. When the final whistle blew, the Knights ended up going 32 for 65 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 49.2%. Concerning 3-point attempts, UCF knocked down 6 out of 19 tries (31.6%). They were able to knock down 15 of the free throws for a percentage of 68.2%. Florida Atlantic was called for 17 personal fouls in the matchup which took the Knights to the charity stripe for 22 shots. They also turned the ball over 12 times, while recording 8 steals in the game. The Knights were able to corral 28 defensive rebounds and 12 offensive rebounds totaling 40 for this contest.

Themus Fulks ended up having an impact for the Knights for the game. He earned 24 points in his 35 mins of playing time and had 12 assists for the contest. He made 9 of 14 for the contest giving him a field goal percentage of 64.3%, and totaled 3 rebounds.

UCF has a win-loss record of 11-1 so far this year. The Knights are committing 17.5 personal fouls per contest and they connect on 74.0% from the free throw line. They are getting an assist 17.3 times per game (56th in the nation) and they are turning it over 11.9 times per game. UCF has totaled 1,060 points this year (88.3 per contest) and they collect 40.8 rebounds per game. When it comes to executing on offense, the Knights are shooting 49.6% from the field, which has them ranked 37th in D-1.

The Knights on the defensive side of the court are 224th in college hoops in PPG allowed with 74.9. They are able to force 12.8 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 42.4% from the field (130th in the nation). The UCF defense surrenders 33.1% on 3-point attempts (104 of 314) and their opposition makes 76.4% of their free throw attempts. They have allowed 12.6 dimes and 30.5 rebounds per contest, which is 125th and 28th in college.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take UCF

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