Central Florida has used a strong defense to knock off No. 5 Colorado, No. 1 Illinois State and No. 2 Illinois. TCU has been just as impressive, also knocking off a No. 1 seed, Iowa, to make it here. This should be a competitive game as the teams had similar regular seasons and are both No. 4 seeds for this showdown.
At 9 p.m. ET, tune into ESPN for live television coverage of this NCAA basketball game on Tuesday, March 28, 2017, at the Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.
We'll have NCAA basketball odds available for this and every game on the college basketball Tuesday schedule.
College Basketball Odds
UCF is 24-11 straight up and 17-13 against the spread. The Knights have done well in neutral site games this season, covering in four of five attempts. Central Florida has gone 8-7 against the spread as the favorite and has covered in nine of 14 attempts as the underdog.
TCU is 22-15 straight up and 17-18 against the spread. The Horned Frogs have covered in three of five tries at a neutral site. Texas Christian is 10-9 against the spread as the favorite and 7-9 attempting to cover as the underdog.
Key Stat
85. That’s how many points TCU scored in an upset win over No. 1 Kansas in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Men’s Basketball Tournament on March 9th. It was a bright spot among a really tough stretch of games where the Horned Frogs dropped seven in a row in the late February and early March.
The win was a stunning one for the basketball world and marked TCU’s only win against a ranked opponent this season. It seems to have been a catalyst for the team, which has looked confident in the NIT.
Player to Watch
B.J. Taylor -- The UCF sophomore guard made quite a splash in this year’s tournament, finishing with 26 points in the Knights’ 79-74 win over Colorado in the first round of this year’s tournament. He has continued to play at a high level ever since, scoring 22 points against No. 1 Illinois State in the second round and 17 points against No. 2 Illinois in the quarterfinals.
Taylor is the team’s leading scorer this season, averaging 17.6 points per game. He has scored 20 points or more in 10 games this year including a season-high 27 points against Cincinnati on February 26th.
Taylor teams up with senior guard Matt Williams and sophomore center Tacko Fall to lead an offense that averages 67.5 points per game. Williams and Fall combine for another 26.1 points per game.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
Both of these teams were in the middle of the pack in conference play but have found a groove in the NIT. Only one can emerge victorious and it could be a close game.
The Horned Frogs have slightly more talent and played a tougher schedule. That should be the small margin needed to come away with the win and advance to the finals. Take TCU to continue this fantastic run with a narrow victory.
Watch the spread as it could be close. The cover could depend on how many points are given in this one. The scoring total could be low since UCF tends to play low-scoring games. However, TCU will try to push the pace more, so the “over” is the correct play there.
College Basketball Odds: TCU 75, UCF 73
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