Arizona State Sun Devils vs UCF Knights Matchup

Read on to get betting odds and analysis in our UCF vs Arizona State NCAA Basketball prediction and preview and see who we think will win and cover the spread in Tempe.

UCF vs Arizona State Prediction

Planning on watching today's Knights and Sun Devils game? Catch the action at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe, AZ, as the Sun Devils hosts this showdown at 11:00 ET on ESPNU. The odds for this Big 12 conference game currently have Arizona State as the -5.5 point favorite with the over/under line sitting at 146.5 points.

UCF vs. Arizona State Matchup At A Glance

Sport: NCAAB
Teams: UCF Knights at Arizona State Sun Devils
Where: Tempe at Desert Financial Arena
Date: Tuesday, January 14th
Betting Odds ARZST -5.5, UCF +188 | ARZST -227 O/U 146.5

Knights Preview: Will UCF Pull Through as the Underdog Road Team?

UCF fell to 11-4 on the season after an 88-80 road loss to Arizona on Saturday. Despite being +17 underdogs, the Knights kept things closer than expected.

UCF trailed 45-42 at halftime and were outscored 43-38 in the 2nd half. The game’s total points of 168 exceeded the O/U line of 155.5.

Knights Offense Breakdown

UCF's offense put up 80 points in their last game, despite shooting just 38.5% from the field. They struggled from beyond the arc, hitting only 22.9% of their threes (8/35), while their effective field goal percentage stood at 43.6%. Inside the arc, they connected on 51.2% of their two-point attempts (22/43).

The Knights grabbed 20 offensive rebounds and dished out 15 assists. Keyshawn Hall led the way with 22 points and 5 assists, while Darius Johnson added 18 points, hitting 3 of 10 from deep. Caleb Love contributed 16 points, shooting 57.1% from three (4/7), and added 8 rebounds and 6 assists.

Knights Team Defense

UCF's defense struggled in their last game, giving up 88 points on 46% shooting from the field. The Knights allowed their opponent to hit 51% of their two-point attempts, going 19/37.

From beyond the arc, UCF's opponent shot 39%, making 9 of 23 threes. The Knights also sent them to the line 29 times, where they converted 23 free throws for 79%. UCF gave up 11 offensive rebounds.

Sun Devils Preview: Does Arizona State Stand a Chance at Home?

Arizona State fell to 10-5 on the season after a 72-66 home loss to Baylor on Saturday. The Sun Devils, who were +6.5 point underdogs, managed to cover the spread. The total points for the game finished just under the O/U line of 141.5, with a combined score of 138.

ASU struggled early, trailing 32-20 at halftime, but responded by outscoring Baylor 41-29 in the 2nd half. Despite the strong finish, they couldn’t complete the comeback.

Sun Devils Offense Breakdown

Arizona State struggled offensively in their last game, shooting just 36.7% from the field and 29.2% from three-point range. Their effective field goal percentage was 43.3%, and they managed 66 points overall.

BJ Freeman led the way with 22 points, while Norchad Omier added 19 points and 8 rebounds, hitting 58.3% of his shots. Josh Ojianwuna was perfect from the field, going 6-for-6 and grabbing 17 rebounds.

Sun Devils Team Defense

Despite Arizona State's defensive efforts, they allowed 72 points in their previous game. The Sun Devils held their opponent to 36% shooting from the field, with 22 made baskets on 60 attempts.

Arizona State limited their opponent's three-point shooting to 29%, as they hit just 7 of 24 from beyond the arc. From the free-throw line, their opponent went 15/22, shooting 68%.

Knights vs Sun Devils Betting Odds, Trends & Analysis

UCF has a 2-3 record in their last five road games. In this stretch, they averaged 85 points per game while allowing 88. The team also performed well vs the spread at 3-2.
Although Arizona State has a straight up record of 2-8 in their last ten home games, they have not held up as well vs the spread going 4-6. The team averaged 64 points per game in these games.
As the betting underdog, the Knights have an ATS mark of just 5-5 in their last ten games. UCF posted a straight up mark of 3-7 in these matchups.
The Sun Devils have played well in their last three games as the betting favorite, going 3-0 straight up and 3-0 against the spread.