Phoenix Suns
Cougars Try To Stay Atop AAC vs Golden Knights
Houston on Nine-Game Win Streak
The No. 7 Houston Cougars go for a 10th straight win when they visit the UCF Golden Knights in an American Athletic Conference contest on Saturday. The contest is scheduled for an 8 p.m. ET opening tip at Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, Fla.
Houston (17-2, 6-0) has blown through its AAC contests, including a 79-36 rout of the visiting East Carolina Pirates on Jan. 22. The Cougars lead the conference standings by a half-game over the second-place SMU Mustangs and two games over the Temple Owls and Tulane Green Wave.
The Golden Knights (12-6, 4-4) have been playing close contests of late, falling by five on the road to the Wichita State Shockers on Wednesday after winning two straight by two points and in overtime. UCF is seventh in the AAC, sitting a half-game behind the Cincinnati Bearcats and the Memphis Tigers.
The college basketball lines for this game have the Cougars as seven-point favorites, with the over/under set at 138 points. If you prefer to make a moneyline bet online, you can get Houston at -305, while UCF is listed at +255.
Continuing to Roll
The Cougars had no trouble in their last outing, going up by 30 points at halftime on the way to a 43-point win over the Pirates. Senior guard Kyler Edwards led the way with 25 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists, hitting 6-of-11 from 3-point range.
”We’re a ball movement team; we’re not a ball-dominant team,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said after the easy victory. ”A lot of times, the ball finds him, and that’s a credit to his teammates. I don’t think we ran any plays for Kyler tonight. The ball just found him.”
With leading scorer Marcus Sasser sidelined for the season since late December with a broken foot, Edwards has taken over as the top point producer for the Cougars, averaging 14.4 points per game. He’s been especially hot over the last three contests, averaging 25.6 points.
Center Josh Carlton has also been a solid contributor, averaging 11.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per contest. Forward Fabian White Jr. is chipping in 11.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game.
The Cougars’ defense has been the story of their success, as they rank second in the country in field-goal percentage defense (.364), third in scoring defense (56.6 points), and ninth in turnover margin (+5.2).
Not Enough
The Golden Knights are sitting at .500 in AAC play as we near February, and they’re near the middle of the conference in both scoring and scoring defense as well. UCF is averaging 72.6 points a game, good for fifth in the league, but it is allowing 67.7 points per contest, which ranks seventh. Both of those averages will be tested against one of the top teams in college basketball on Saturday.
Guard Darin Green leads the offensive charge for the Golden Knights, averaging 13.3 points a game. After scoring in double figures in eight of the first nine games of the season, however, Green has reached that plateau just three times over the last nine contests.
Guard Darius Perry will need to be at his best against the Cougars, as he’s averaging 2.6 turnovers per contest. The leading assist man for UCF at 4.7 per game is also scoring 11.1 points a night and shooting 40.3% from 3-point range.
Forwards C.J. Walker and Cheikh Mbacke Diong will be counted on to keep Houston off the offensive glass. Walker leads the Golden Knights with 6.0 rebounds per game (along with 8.6 points), while Mbacke Diong is second at 5.7 per game while leading the team with 1.7 blocks a contest, which is second in the AAC.
Cougars Roll
Houston has done a great job of continuing to play as a team since the loss of Sasser, and Sampson has the team turning up its defensive effort every time it steps on the floor. The Cougars should have no trouble with the Golden Knights, who haven’t been able to find any consistency in conference play.
When doing your college basketball betting, take Houston to win and cover on the road.
