UCF Knights vs BYU Cougars Prediction, 2/24/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UCF Knights vs BYU Cougars

Date: Tuesday, February 24, 2026

Location: Marriott Center in Provo, UT

TV: ESPN+

The UCF Knights (19-7) are hitting the road to Marriott Center on Tuesday where they will attempt to beat the BYU Cougars (20-7).

The UCF Knights faced off with Utah and took home the win by a score of 73-71 in their last game. Concerning fouls, the Knights ended up with 11 and Utah accounted for 10 fouls. They also buried 8 out of their 23 attempts from downtown. Utah finished 100.0% from the free throw line by burying 7 of their 7 attempts. Additionally, Utah snagged 26 boards (6 offensive, 20 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Utah recorded 18 assists and had 2 steals in the game. In terms of defending, UCF let their opponent shoot 49.1% from the field on 28 out of 57 shooting. They also distributed 15 assists for this game as well as forcing 9 turnovers and earning 8 steals. With regard to rebounding, they compiled a total of 22 with 4 of them being offensive. At the free throw line, the Knights buried 6 of 9 tries for a rate of 66.7%. UCF finished with a 52.6% field goal percentage (30 out of 57) and converted 7 out of their 16 3-point shots.

Themus Fulks is a guy who played a role for this game. He went 45.8% from the field and also dished out 4 assists. He played for 36 minutes and also collected 1 rebound. He notched 24 points on 11 out of 24 shooting.

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UCF will take the court with a record of 19-7 on the campaign. They lose possession by turning the ball over 11.4 times per game and as a unit they are committing 17.1 personal fouls per game. As a team, UCF is grabbing 36.8 boards per contest and has earned 415 assists so far this season, which has them ranked 122nd in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. The Knights are shooting 37.4% on shots from distance (213 of 569) and 75.0% from the free throw line. They are averaging 81.4 pts per game (65th in college) while connecting on 47.4% from the floor.

On the defensive end of the court, the Knights are forcing their opponents into 11.5 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 17.1 personal fouls. They are ranked 193rd in college in giving up assists to their opponents with 375 relinquished for the year. Knights defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 46.0% (708 of 1,539) and they concede 32.0 boards per game as a team. They are conceding 33.4% on three-point shots and they rank 272nd in D-1 in points per game allowed (77.2).

The last time they took the court, the BYU Cougars walked away with a victory by a final of 79-69 when they played Iowa State. Regarding rebounding, BYU permitted Iowa State to pull down 25 in total (5 on the offensive side). They finished 33.3% from three-point range by hitting 8 out of 24 and walked away from this one shooting 15 of 19 at the free throw line (78.9%). The Cougars permitted Iowa State to convert 23 out of their 54 attempts from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 42.6% in this matchup. When the final whistle blew, the Cougars walked away from this one shooting 29 out of 58 from the floor which had them at 50.0%. Concerning three-point attempts, BYU buried 7 out of 25 attempts (28.0%). They were able to make 14 of the free throws for a rate of 70.0%. Iowa State was called for 20 fouls for the matchup which took the Cougars to the charity stripe for 20 attempts. They also coughed up the ball 11 times, while getting 7 steals in the matchup. The Cougars pulled down 23 defensive boards and 12 offensive rebounds totaling 35 in this matchup.

AJ Dybantsa ended up being a factor for the Cougars for the matchup. He made 10 of 17 for the matchup for a field goal rate of 58.8%, and earned 10 rebounds. He earned 29 points in his 40 mins on the hardwood and had 9 dimes for the contest.

BYU has a mark of 20-7 so far this year. As an offense, the Cougars are connecting on 48.3% from the floor, which is 35th in the nation. BYU has accounted for 2,309 points on the season (85.5 per game) and they collect 39.2 boards per game. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 14.4 times per contest (153rd in the country) and they turn the ball over 10.7 times per contest. The Cougars are responsible for committing 15.7 fouls per contest and they hit 74.3% from the charity stripe.

The BYU defense allows 33.3% from downtown (217 of 651) and their opposition makes 70.9% of their free throw attempts. They give up 14.4 dimes and 34.0 boards per game, which ranks them 268th and 150th in the nation. The Cougars on the defensive side of the court are 201st in D-1 in points given up per game with 74.3. They are forcing their opponents into 11.3 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 43.4% from the floor (137th in college hoops).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take BYU

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