Michigan Wolverines vs Central Florida Knights Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 12/30/2021

Game Time: 7:00 pm ET, Thursday, December 30, 2021

Venue:  CFE Arena, Orlando, FL.

Where to Watch:  ESPNU

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Michigan -3.5, UCF +3.5; Over/Under:  137.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Michigan -3.5, UCF +3.5; Over/Under:  137.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Michigan -3.5, UCF +3.5; Over/Under:  137.5 points

 

Michigan Wolverines:  7-4 (9th place, Big Ten)

Central Florida Knights:  8-2 (1st place, AAC)

 

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Michigan Wolverines:  3-2 last 5

Central Florida Knights:  4-1 last 5

 

 

 

Michigan is coming into this game with a 7-4 record overall and they are 1-1 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They have won 3 of their last 4 games and are coming into this one off of a win in their last game. Their last loss was against the Minnesota Golden Gophers while their 3 wins in that span came against the San Diego State Aztecs, the Nebraska Cornhuskers, and the Southern Utah Thunderbirds in their last game. Hunter Dickinson led the team in points in that game with 22 while Devante Jones was next on the team with 13 points. Kobe Bufkin also scored 11 points off the bench in that one as well. Jones led the team in assists in that game with 6 while Dickinson led the team in rebounds with 10. They were 56.3% from the field, 38.9% from 3-point range, and 66.7% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 73.5 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 64.5 PPG against them. Michigan has an ATS record of 5-6 this season and their O/U record is 4-7.

 

 

The UCF Knights are coming into this game with an 8-2 record overall and they are 5-1 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. Their last loss was against the Auburn Tigers but they have gone on a 4 game winning streak since then with wins coming against the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats, the North Carolina A&T Aggies, the Temple Owls, and the North Alabama Lions in their last game. Darius Perry was their leading scorer in that game with 15 points while CJ Walker was next on the team with 13 points. Jamille Reynolds also scored 12 points off the bench and Cheikh Mbacke Diong scored 10 points in that one as well. Perry also led the team in assists in that game with 9 while Diong led the team in rebounds with 9. They were 50% from the field, 14.3% from 3-point range, and 84.2% from the free throw line with their shots in that game. Their offense is averaging 73.6 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 63.6 PPG against them. UCF has an ATS record of 4-6 this season and their O/U record is 5-5.

 

Michigan is coming into this game as a 3.5 point favorite with the current betting odds according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Michigan has been playing well in their recent games with 3 wins in their last 4. UCF has been having a great season this year with 4 straight wins coming into this one and a 5-1 record at home but they have had a much weaker schedule than Michigan has so far. Michigan is a much better team and they had much higher expectations for this season starting off as a ranked team but slipped out of the top 25. Michigan will be looking to get a big win on the road here against a team that they are better than. The best bet to place in this game is on Michigan to cover the spread here.

 

Michigan Central Florida Prediction:  Our NCAAB Pick for Thursday, December 30, 2021 (7:00 pm ET start time) is Michigan 74 UCF 60.

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Michigan Wolverines: 8-14 O/U when the total is 130 to 139.5. 23-31 O/U as a favorite. 4-8 O/U as a road favorite or pick. 3-6 O/U in a road game where the total is 130 to 139.5. 2-8 O/U after a game where they made 55% of their shots or better. 3-10 O/U after 2 straight games where the opponent was called for 15 or less fouls. 8-14 O/U off a home win by 10 points or more.

Central Florida Knights:  3-7 O/U as a home underdog or pick. 14-29 O/U after a game giving up 5 or less offensive rebounds. 3-8 O/U after having won 5 or 6 of their last 7 games. 4-8 O/U after playing 2 consecutive games as favorite. 4-12 O/U after 2 or more consecutive wins. 0-6 O/U after a game where they made 20% of their 3 point shots or worse.

 

 

Michigan Wolverines:  None.

Central Florida Knights:  None.

 

 

“You have to bring it defensively in practice or you’ll get embarrassed. No. Nobody’s a friend when you’re on the court. We go at each others’ necks every day.” - Kobe Bufkin on the team’s practices.

 

 

“That is way too many for us, to be quite frank. Whether it gets loose or not, we have to make sure that we stick to understanding that attention to detail is important.” - Johnny Dawkins on his team’s turnovers in their win against Bethune-Cookman.

 

 

 

Eli Brooks 

H. Dickinson 

C. Houstan 

B. Johns Jr 

D. Jones

 

D. Green 

B. Mahan 

C. Mbacke Diong 

D. Perry 

C. Walker

 

 

PPG: H. Dickinson (15.6)

APG: D. Jones (4.1)

Reb/G: H. Dickinson (9.1)

 

PPG: D. Green Jr. (14.8)

APG: D. Perry (5.2)

Reb/G: C. Walker (5.9)

 

Coaches:

Michigan Wolverines: Juwan Howard (3rd season)

Central Florida Knights: Johnny Dawkins Jr (6th season)