Central Florida Knights vs. Florida A&M Rattlers Pick & Prediction DECEMBER 21st 2023

UCF continues its long homestand by hosting Florida A&M on Thursday night in Orlando with an eye toward conference play.

It will be the sixth of a seven-game home stretch for the Knights (7-3), who begin their first season of Big 12 play with a trip to Kansas State early next month.

UCF’s 74-51 win over Maine ended an eight-day break for exams following its heartbreaking 70-68 loss to Ole Miss.

“I’m really proud of our guys,” UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said. “It was a good week for us. Our guys did a good job with the end of the semester, and we came in every day with that mindset. They responded the way you want to see them respond and came out focused and aggressive.”

After shooting a season-low 18.2 percent (4-for-22) from 3-point range against Ole Miss, the Knights posted their third-best showing of the season with an 8-of-19 effort (42.1 percent) against Maine. The Black Bears, meanwhile, struggled from long distance, going just 1-for-19.

“The 3-point shot is the great equalizer, and our guys defended the 3 really well tonight,” Dawkins said.

Florida A&M (2-7) comes into the game after big road losses on a swing through the Midwest, losing 88-52 to Iowa and 96-58 to Iowa State.

Keith Lamar scored 27 points in the loss to the Cyclones, just a basket off his season high.

Coach Robert McCullum expected a lot out of the transfer from South Georgia State, a junior college, and he has delivered with team bests in scoring (14.8 per game) and rebounding (6.1).

“He has the ability to get the rebound and start the break himself.” McCullum said before the season. “And the more players you have that can do that it should make your transition game a lot more effective, a lot more efficient, a lot more productive.”

–Field Level Media