Oklahoma vs UCF Odds, Lines and Spread

• UCF is a 1.5-point home favorite over Oklahoma on Saturday, November 27th
• Oklahoma is an underdog for the first time this season
• Read below for analysis and a betting prediction

UCF (4-0) hosts Oklahoma on Saturday at Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, Florida, at 2 pm ET on ESPN+. The Knights are one of the most experienced teams in NCAA Division I, returning 97 percent of their scoring.

The Sooners will play their first true road game of the season, although they played three games away from the Lloyd Noble Center at the Myrtle Beach Invitational last week.

Oklahoma vs UCF Odds

Odds as of Nov. 26th at DraftKings.

The Knights opened as a 1.5-point favorite, in a game that features a total of 140. They’re 4-0 for the second time in coach Johnny Dawkins’ six seasons, and can move to 5-0 for the fist time since the 2010-11 team won its first 14 games and reached No. 19 in the AP Top 25.

Oklahoma recovered from its first loss of the season to Utah State in the finals of the Myrtle Beach Invitational last Sunday, with a 57-40 home victory over Houston Baptist on Wednesday. The Sooners used an 18-0 run to overcome a 7 point halftime deficit.

2021 @MyrtleInvite All-Tournament Team:

Justin Bean @USUBasketball – MVP
Rylan Jones @USUBasketball
Tanner Groves @OU_MBBall
Jalen Hill @OU_MBBall
Hyunjung Lee @DavidsonMBB

— Myrtle Beach Invitational (@MyrtleInvite) November 22, 2021

UCF Relies on Experience

The Knights returned 97 percent of their scoring and 96 percent of their minutes played from 2020-21. That includes their leading scorer Darin Green Jr. The 6’4 junior guard has taken another step forward after averaging 10.1 and 11.3 points per game while making 121 3-pointers in his first two years.

Green is averaging a team-high 16.3 points a game and has made 12 of 25 threes, including five in a 95-89 victory at Miami in the second game of the season.

Senior 6’2 guard Darius Perry is averaging 12.8 points, 4.5 assists and 4.0 rebounds, and 6’8 forward C.J. Walker also has taken a step forward in his second season in the AAC after transferring from Oregon. Walker is averaging 11.0 points and a team-high 5.8 rebounds.

Senior transfer 6’11 center Cheikh Mbacke-Diong has added a presence in the paint with eight blocked shots in the first four games. Diong spent his first four seasons at UNLV, starting the last three, and averaged 8.9 points and 7.4 rebounds a year ago. He was sixth in the Mountain West in rebounding in 2020-21.

Early prediction on UCF's 21-22 starting five:

Darius Perry, Darin Green Jr., Brandon Mahan, Isaiah Adams, Cheikh Mbacke Diong

This could be the sleeper team in the American Athletic Conference. https://t.co/W7EkTagzjf

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) July 1, 2021

UCF received one vote in the coaches’ Top 25 poll this week, the Knights’ first appearance, however small, since Dec. 28, 2020.

Oklahoma Mixes Old With New

After losing three double-digit scorers from a 16-win team a year ago, new Sooners coach Porter Moser is off to a good start by blending a host of portal transfers including 6’9 Tanner Groves with returning senior guards 6’1 Emojah Gibson and 6’3 Elijah Harkless.

The key newcomer is Groves, who torched Kansas for 35 points and five 3-pointers in Eastern Washington’s near-upset of the Jayhawks in the first round of the 2021 NCAA tournament. Groves was the Big Sky Player of the Year after averaging 17.2 points and 8.0 rebounds last season.

Groves is right at his 2020-21 season averages now, with 17.6 points and 7.0 rebounds. He has led the Sooners in scoring five times, and in rebounding three times, and is comfortable on the perimeter where he is 9 for 22 on 3-pointers.

Duke transfer point guard 6’2 Jordan Goldwire has joined Gibson (12.6 points, 12 threes) in a three-guard starting lineup that includes returning forward 6’7 Jalen Hill, who is averaging 9.4 points and 7.8 rebounds while shooting 69.2 percent from the field.

https://youtu.be/dYl-XcGDdjg

Oklahoma vs UCF Pick

Oklahoma and UCF are each averaging 8.5 three-pointers per game. The Sooners have made 36.5 percent from distance, while the Knights have hit 35.8 percent. Both are holding opponents under 30 percent from three-point range.

UCF has covered in two of four outings this season, while Oklahoma is just 2-4 against the spread. The Sooners have failed to cover in three of their past four, and dating back to last season are 4-6-1 ATS on the road.

Pick: UCF -1.5 (-110)