UCF Knights (9-2) vs. SMU Mustangs (10-3)
January 2, 2022 2:00 pm EDT
The Line: SMU Mustangs -2.5 / UCF Knights +2.5; Over/Under: +147
(Get latest betting odds)
The UCF Knights and the SMU Mustangs meet in college basketball action from the Moody Coliseum on Sunday afternoon.
The UCF Knights come into this one looking to add to an 85-71 win over Michigan last time out. Darin Green Jr. leads the Knights in scoring with 15.9 PPG while Darius Perry has 11.2 PPG with 3.8 RPG and a team-high 5.4 APG to lead the Knights in assists. Brandon Mahan also has 10.4 PPG to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for UCF. C.J. Walker has 9.1 PPG with 5.8 RPG and Cheikh Mbacke Diong also has a team-high 5.9 RPG this season. As a team, UCF is averaging 74.6 PPG on 46.7% shooting from the field, 35.7% from three and 79% from the foul line while allowing 64.3 PPG on 40.7% shooting from the field and 29.1% from three this season.
The SMU Mustangs will look to add to a 74-69 win over Tulsa last time out. Kendric Davis leads the Mustangs in scoring and assists with 21.6 PPG along with 5.2 APG in addition to his 4.7 RPG this season while Marcus Weathers has 10.4 PPG with a team-high 6.9 RPG to lead the Mustangs on the glass and Emmanuel Bandoumel has 10.5 PPG to make up the trio of double-digit scorers for SMU so far this season. Zach Nutall also has 9.4 PPG with 4.3 RPG as well this season for SMU. As a team, SMU is averaging 78.8 PPG on 46.7% shooting from the field, 38.2% from three and 74.1% from the foul line while allowing 68.6 PPG on 39.5% shooting from the field and 29.7% from three this season.
UCF is 10-2 ATS in their last 12 Sunday games and 7-2 ATS in their last 9 road games while the over is 4-1 in their last 5 games against a team with a winning record. SMU is 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games overall and 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games following a win while the over is 5-0 in their last 5 games overall.
I think this is shaping up to be one of the better games on Sunday’s card as these are two solid teams that can run and gun with the best of them. With that said, that may be the obvious lead into my pick, but I’m siding with the over. I see this as a game where both teams get well into the 70s, which has been a theme for a lot of SMU’s recent games so the over is my best play here.
