The visiting Southern Methodist Mustangs hope to send their backers to the pay window on Saturday as they look to cover the spread at UCF Arena against the Central Florida Knights.

Central Florida will face the 11-9 Mustangs, who own a 10-9 ATS mark on the season. In totals betting, the Knights are 3-4 favoring the UNDER so far this season while the Mustangs are 3-7-1 favoring the OVER.



View Southern Methodist vs Central Florida Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
College basketball odds makers at Sportsbook opened the Central Florida Knights as 7.5-point favorites in this matchup. Check for the latest spread and over-under at the sportsbook.

Power Rankings / Prediction:
The Odds Shark Power Rankings have the Knights at No. 79 and the Mustangs at No. 162 heading into this contest. Handicapping models at Odds Shark project a 73-69 result in favor of the Knights.



How They Match Up:
Rating these schools in several key categories is important for handicappers and Central Florida has the nation's No. 79-rated offensive output, at 72.1 PPG. The visiting Mustangs defense ranks No. 60 allowing on average 61 PPG. The Knights FG% has averaged 49.2% so far, more than the Mustangs marksmen have achieved on the year, 44.1% per game.

Comparing how these foes stack up statistically, Southern Methodist owns the country's No. 62-rated mark, allowing 64.2 points per game on the highway. Central Florida, on the other hand, rates No. 194 in scoring at home.

Last time out for Southern Methodist, they were a 63-54 loser as they battled Texas El Paso on the road. They failed to cover in the match as an 8.5-point underdog. Southern Methodist got 16 points from Shawn Williams but lost anyway, 63-54, to Texas El Paso on Saturday at Haskins Center.

Central Florida won its last outing, a 78-67 result against Rice on January 23. They failed to cover in that game as a 17-point favorite. Isaiah Sykes scored 24 points leading the Knights to a 78-67 victory over Rice at UCF Arena on Wednesday.


Southern Methodist Mustangs Trends:
When playing on Saturday are 4-5
Before playing Marshall are 4-4
After playing Texas El Paso are 3-7
After a loss are 4-6

Central Florida Knights Trends:
When playing on Saturday are 5-5
Before playing Tulane are 5-3
After playing Rice are 5-5
After a win are 6-4

A few Mustangs at Knights trends to consider:
Southern Methodist is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
Southern Methodist is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Central Florida's last 5 games when playing Southern Methodist
Central Florida is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games at home
Central Florida is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
Central Florida is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Southern Methodist


Next up:
Southern Methodist at Marshall, Wednesday, January 30
Central Florida at Tulane, Wednesday, January 30