Central Florida vs North Alabama 12/22/21 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The North Alabama Lions will travel to Addition Financial Arena to take on the UCF Knights this Wednesday night in College Basketball action.

The North Alabama Lions improved to 7-4 on the season after defeating the Southeastern Baptist College Chargers, 106-40, this past Saturday night. North Alabama dominated Southeastern Baptist College on both ends of the court throughout the game and had no trouble securing the victory after going into halftime with a 54-15 lead. North Alabama shot 54.2% from the field & 47.1% from beyond the arc while holding Southeastern Baptist College to just 22.4% from the field & 22.7% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Lions was Omar Figueroa who had 23 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, & 2 steals.

On the season, North Alabama is averaging 75.6 ppg on 41.7% shooting from the field. The Lions are averaging 10.1 three-pointers per game on 35.4% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, North Alabama has been led by Daniel Ortiz (11.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.3 spg), Jamari Blackmon (8.9 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.3 spg), C.J. Brim (8.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.2 spg), & Isaac Chatman (6.2 ppg, 4.4 rpg).

Defensively, North Alabama is allowing their opponents to average 57.3 ppg on 34.8% shooting from the field. The Lions have a rebound margin of 3.5 and a turnover margin of 5.5.

The UCF Knights won their 3^rd straight game and improved to 7-2 on the season after defeating the Temple Owls, 65-48, this past Wednesday night. UCF was lights out defensively against Temple and had no trouble securing the victory after taking a 41-27 lead with 11:14 left in regulation. UCF shot 38.9% from the field & 31.3% from beyond the arc while holding Temple to just 26.8% shooting from the field & 10.0% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Knights was Brandon Mahan who had 18 points, 5 rebounds, & 1 assist.

On the season, UCF is averaging 73.4 ppg on 45.8% shooting from the field. The Knights are averaging 8.2 three-pointers per game on 35.6% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, UCF has been led by Darin Green Jr. (15.9 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.3 apg), Darius Perry (11.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 4.8 apg, 1.7 spg), Brandon Mahan (9.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.6 spg), & C.J. Walker (9.2 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.7 apg).

Defensively, UCF is holding their opponents to an average of 63.6 ppg on 40.6% shooting from the field. The Knights have a rebound margin of 2.7 and a turnover margin of 2.0.

The Lions are 4-0-1 ATS in their last 5 road games vs. a team with a winning straight up record and 4-1-1 ATS in their last 6 road games. The Knights are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 home games vs. a team with a losing road record and 10-4 ATS in their last 14 games following a straight up win.

Northern Alabama has been able to rack up wins mostly due to a very favorable schedule, however, the Lions haven’t shown much against the better competition that they have faced as in games vs. Mississippi State & Auburn, the Lions lost by an average of 26.0 ppg. UCF has been led by a solid defense that ranks 77^th in scoring defense & 105^th in defensive FG% and as I expect the Knights to give the Lions offense a bunch of issues on their home court, I think UCF wins this one by 20+ and covers this spread. Good Luck!