Halftime Report

After a tough loss on the road their last time out, UCF looks much better today on their home court. They have a bit of a cushion as they currently lead West Virginia 37-24.

UCF came into the matchup with some extra motivation after the defeat they were dealt the last time these two teams faced off. We'll see if they're able to flip the script or if it'll just be more of the same.

Who's Playing

West Virginia Mountaineers @ UCF Knights

Current Records: West Virginia 7-11, UCF 11-6

How To Watch

What to Know

The West Virginia Mountaineers and the UCF Knights will face off in a Big 12 clash at 7:00 p.m. ET on January 23rd at Addition Financial Arena. UCF is favored, but seeing as the odds didn't stop West Virginia in their last game, maybe the squad has another upset up their sleeve.

Even though West Virginia has not done well against Kansas recently (they were 1-9 in their previous ten matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Saturday. The Mountaineers came out on top against the Jayhawks by a score of 91-85. Having run the score up that high, both teams might be doing some extra defensive drills very soon.

Among those leading the charge was RaeQuan Battle, who scored 23 points along with nine rebounds. Another player making a difference was Patrick Suemnick, who scored 20 points along with six rebounds.

Meanwhile, it's hard to win when your shooting is a whole 18.6% worse than the opposition, a fact UCF found out the hard way on Saturday. They lost to the Cougars on the road by a decisive 57-42 margin. UCF has not had much luck with Houston recently, as the team's come up short the last seven times they've met.

Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, UCF struggled to work together and finished the game with only five assists. That's the fewest assists they've managed all season.

The Mountaineers' win bumped their record up to 7-11. As for the Knights, their defeat dropped their record down to 11-6.

While only West Virginia took care of their fans the last time they played, both teams pleased bettors by covering the spread. Looking ahead to Tuesday, UCF is the favorite in this one, as the experts expect to see them win by eight points. This contest will be West Virginia's seventh straight as the underdogs (so far over this stretch they are 2-4 against the spread).

Everything came up roses for West Virginia against UCF when the teams last played back in November of 2017 as the squad secured a 83-45 victory. With West Virginia ahead 43-20 at the half, the contest was all but over already.

Odds

UCF is a big 8-point favorite against West Virginia, according to the latest college basketball odds.

The oddsmakers were right in line with the betting community on this one, as the game opened as a 8-point spread, and stayed right there.


The over/under is set at 140 points.

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Series History

West Virginia won the only game these two teams have played in the last 7 years.

  • Nov 24, 2017 - West Virginia 83 vs. UCF 45