Central Florida Knights vs. Cincinnati Bearcats February 4 Betting Preview

Wes Miller’s Cincinnati Bearcats will look to make it three consecutive home victories on Saturday when they host the Knights of UCF. Saturday’s meeting will be the first of two matchups over the final month of the season between the two American Athletic Conference teams vying for position heading into the conference tournament season. 

The Bearcats are considered a (-3) home favorite, while the total is currently set at 137.5 points. The game is scheduled for a noon EST tip-off from Fifth Third Arena and will be broadcast on ESPNU.

UCF Knights Overview

Johnny Dawkins' club has fallen on hard times lately, with four consecutive losses. While none of them are exactly embarrassing, a loss to South Florida is anything but acceptable or helpful when it comes to March Madness resumes. 

The Knights are predictably mediocre against the anticipated margin at just 10-9-2. UCF is outperforming the number on average by +3.0 points per contest on the season though their margin of victory is just +6.0 points. On the road, the Knights are just 2-3 ATS on the season while basically even at +0.3 points when performing against the spread. 

This suggests that they are often around the number and slightly exceeding it. Their margin of victory on the road is a much less flattering -2.6 points per contest. 

The Knights are a well-balanced team, with three players logging double-digit points per contest on the season. Dawkins’ club is one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the nation, ranking 16th in the country in offensive rebounding percentage, according to Kenpom. 

The only metric where the Knights stand out is at the charity stripe, where they shoot over 76% as a group and rank within the top 25 as a club. 

Cincinnati Bearcats Overview

Wes Miller’s club is one of many groups that will likely be sweating out Selection Sunday unless they win their conference championship. The Bearcats are 15-8 on the season but just 6-4 in league play. That does not include a pretty embarrassing loss to Northern Kentucky earlier in the season.

 The Bearcats lack opportunities to register a needle-moving victory in the final month outside of facing Memphis on the road, where a victory seems unlikely.

The Bearcats are the best team in the conference against the spread this season at 15-7, scoring +1.4 points per game. 

Their numbers become more impressive at home, where they are 10-3 against the spread, outperforming the number by nearly four points per contest. Their margin of victory also increases to over 16 points per game when they find themselves within friendly confines. 

This Bearcats team is a well-balanced bunch, with super seniors David DeJulius and Landers Nolley combining to score roughly 30 points per contest while three other players average between nine and twelve points per game. 

Cincinnati is fresh off of a dominating victory at home over Tulsa and may be finding their stroke at just the right time to make a tournament run.