The (10-4 SU, 8-5-1 ATS) Central Florida Knights and (10-5 SU and ATS) East Carolina Pirates will take the court on Wednesday for an American Athletic Conference game at Williams Arena. The Knights, 1-1 in conference play, fell 71-65 to Houston in their last game. The Pirates, also 1-1 in conference play, beat Wichita State by ten in their most recent game.
The Knights won both matchups versus the Pirates last season. UCF leads the all-time series 28-9.
Tip-off from Greenville, NC, is at 7:00 p.m. ET. Central Florida is a six-point spread favorite, and the game total is 130 points.
After taking on several Power-Five programs and third-ranked Houston, the Knights are as ready as they can be for conference play. UCF didn't back down from a challenge against the Cougars, battling hard all game. The Knights outshot Houston and hit 17 of 20 free-throw attempts, but it wasn't quite enough to pull off the upset.
Central Florida is scoring 69.5 points per game on 43.0 percent shooting this season. UCF is hitting 35.5 percent of its three-point attempts and converting 73.6 percent of its foul shots. The Knights are 83rd in offensive efficiency adjusted for schedule, per KenPom.
Taylor letting it fly! ??
Our biggest lead of the game! pic.twitter.com/snyikDhOMk
— UCF Men's Hoops (@UCF_MBB) December 31, 2022
Freshman forward Taylor Hendricks (14.8 PPG and 6.7 RPG) paces UCF in scoring. Sophomore guard Darius Johnson (12.3 PPG and 4.4 APG), senior guard Ithiel Horton (10.9 PPG), and senior guard C.J. Kelly (10.7 PPG and 4.1 RPG) are a few other players to watch when the Knights take the floor.
UCF surrenders 60.4 points per game, and their opponents shoot 38.7 percent from the field, including 30.4 percent from distance. Its adjusted defensive efficiency rating is ranked 33rd, and its assist-per-turnover ratio (0.96) is 181st.