Houston looks to remain unbeaten on the season with what may be a tougher than expected challenge from the UCF Knights.
TV schedule: Saturday, December 26, 1:00 pm ET. ABC
Arena: Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, Florida
After being out of action for two weeks due to covid issues, Houston (6-0) recently came back onto the court in the past few days. They took care of Alcorn State by 33 points, before winning their first AAC game of the season by 26 points over Temple.
Four players scored in double figures, including a game-high 22 points from junior guard Quentin Grimes. Justin Gorham went for 14 points and 12 rebounds, while forward Reggie Chaney had 13 points off the bench. They played once again without last year’s leading scorer Caleb Mills, who has played in just two games so far this season. The Cougars have done fine without him but will need them against some of the better competition in the AAC.
Right now, the second-best team in the conference could very well be Central Florida. They’ve played just four games so far but have already made a big impact. Last Saturday, the Knights beat No. 17 Florida State thanks to a career-high 32 points from Brandon Mahan. He continued the great play on Tuesday, scoring a game-high 25 points and 10 rebounds to get the 75-70 victory over Cincinnati.
Considering the current struggles of Cincy, Memphis, and Tulsa, an argument can be made that it’s between Central Florida and SMU for the best team not named Houston in the conference. But right now, this looks to be a 2-bid league at best in regards to the NCAA Tournament and needs other teams outside of the Cougars to start winning more and avoiding bad losses.
Neither team has great size so this will be a true battle of the guards, with as many as eight on the courtwhen these two face off. Houston has the experience and better talent but the Knights have been a pleasant surprise scoring-wise this season. Can Mahan go off for 20+? That’ll likely be needed for them to get the upset at home. But if Mills can return and add to the depth, the Cougars should have enough to escape.
Prediction: Houston 68 – UCF 64