The UCF Knights are one of the hottest teams in college basketball, starting the season 12-1. They are taking on the 12-2 Oklahoma State Cowboys tonight at 8:00 p.m. ET. The Cowboys are coming off a 102-80 loss to Texas Tech on Saturday. This is only the sixth matchup between UCF and Oklahoma State, with the Knights holding a 4-1 series lead.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, Oklahoma State is a slight -2.5-point favorite with UCF being +130 to win the game outright. Check out my best bet for tonight’s game between UCF and Oklahoma State.
UCF vs. Oklahoma State (8:00 p.m. ET)
UCF is coming off its most significant victory of the season when it beat the No. 17 Kansas 81-75 on January 3. They have won 11 consecutive games since suffering their only loss of the season to Vanderbilt on November 8. The Knights have a balanced offensive attack with four players averaging 12.2 to 14.1 points per game. Riley Kugel leads the team in scoring with 14.1.
Even though UCF is on a long winning streak, it is still only 42nd in KenPom, while Oklahoma State is 66th. UCF has the 23rd-best offensive rating but 88th in defensive rating. UCF has scored 81-plus points in seven straight while holding four opponents in that span to 75 or fewer.
Oklahoma State began its season 9-0 but has gone 3-2 in its previous five contests. In their last two most challenging games, they lost by 22 to Texas Tech and by nine to Oklahoma. They have struggled on defense this season, but have been good offensively. The Cowbhoys have five players averaging double-digit points. Anthony Roy is their leading scorer at 17.7 per game, but he has recorded at least 22 in his previous three games.
With two above-average offenses, this game could be a high-scoring contest. Since UCF is coming off a massive win over Kansas, it was surprising to see them as an underdog against Oklahoma State, which has struggled. Taking UCF to cover the +2.5 spread is an excellent play in this game, as they continue to improve against elite opponents.
