UCF Knights vs Cincinnati Bearcats Prediction, 2/8/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UCF Knights vs Cincinnati Bearcats

Date: Sunday, February 8, 2026

Location: Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, OH

TV: CBSSN

The Cincinnati Bearcats (11-12) are hosting the UCF Knights (17-5) at Fifth Third Arena on Sunday.

The UCF Knights faced Houston and took a loss by a score of 79-55 in their last game. UCF ended the game having earned a 30.8% FG percentage (16 out of 52) and made 6 of 21 shots from beyond the perimeter. From the charity stripe, the Knights converted 17 of their 20 attempts for a percentage of 85.0%. Regarding grabbing rebounds, they compiled a total of 24 with 7 of them being of the offensive variety. They also dished out 10 assists in the matchup while forcing 5 turnovers and having 2 steals. In relation to defense, UCF allowed 54.7% from the floor on 35 out of 64 shooting. Houston dished out 18 dimes and had 7 steals in this contest. Moreover, Houston snagged 38 boards (12 offensive, 26 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Houston ended up going 75.0% from the free throw line by converting 6 of their 8 shots. They made 3 of 19 shots from long range. When talking about fouls, the Knights walked away with 13 and Houston had 19 fouls.

Riley Kugel is a player who was a major contributor for the game. He finished the contest at 10.0% from the floor and also recorded 1 assist. He was on the court for 30 minutes played and also totaled 3 boards. He ended up with 9 points on 1 of 10 shooting.

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UCF will enter this game with a record of 17-5 so far this year. They currently have an average of 82.9 points per game (59th in college hoops) while connecting on 47.6% from the field. The Knights are shooting 37.8% on shots from beyond the arc (186 of 492) and 74.1% from the charity stripe. As a team, UCF is collecting 37.9 rebounds per game and has earned 360 dimes for the year, which is 93rd in the country in terms of passing. They are giving up possession 11.5 times per game and as a group they are committing 17.3 fouls per game.

On defense, the Knights are forcing 11.5 turnovers per game and they draw 17.7 personal fouls. They surrender 33.3% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they rank 268th in college hoops in PPG allowed (77.2). The Knights defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 45.6% (596 of 1,306) and they surrender 31.5 rebounds per game as a group. They currently rank 221st in Division 1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 321 surrendered this season.

The last time they took the court, the Cincinnati Bearcats took a defeat with a final score of 59-54 against West Virginia. When discussing rebounding, Cincinnati allowed West Virginia to grab 29 in total (8 on the offensive side). They shot 28.6% from 3-point land via 6 of 21 and ended up going 11 out of 21 at the free throw line (52.4%). The Bearcats allowed West Virginia to convert 21 of 48 attempts from the field which left them with a rate of 43.8% for this game. At the conclusion of this game, the Bearcats walked away from this one shooting 20 for 55 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 36.4%. When discussing three-point shots, Cincinnati converted 7 out of their 23 tries (30.4%). They were able to knock down 7 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 77.8%. West Virginia earned 15 personal fouls in the game which took the Bearcats to the free throw line for a total of 9 shots. They also turned the ball over 12 times, while getting 4 steals for the contest. The Bearcats collected 22 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive rebounds for a total of 33 for this contest.

Jizzle James was important for the Bearcats in the game. He converted 7 of 16 in this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 43.8%, and had 1 rebound. He had 18 points in his 35 minutes of playing time, but wasn't able to earn an assist.

Cincinnati has a win-loss mark of 11-12 on the season. The Bearcats are responsible for committing 16.5 personal fouls per game and they hit 66.3% from the charity stripe. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 16.3 times per contest (64th in the nation) and they lose possession via turnover 12.4 times per game. Cincinnati has totaled 1,627 points so far this season (70.7 per contest) and they pull down 37.4 boards per contest. As an offense, the Bearcats are hitting on 41.7% from the field, which ranks them 333rd in D-1.

The Bearcats on defense are ranked 31st in D-1 in points per game surrendered with 67.0. They are forcing 13.3 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 41.4% from the field (60th in college hoops). The Cincinnati defense allows 32.4% on shots from distance (175 of 540) and opponents are connecting on 69.2% of their foul shots. They have allowed 13.4 dimes and 35.0 rebounds per contest, which ranks 185th and 212th in D-1.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Cincinnati

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