Arizona vs. UCF Picks and Prediction for Saturday, January 17, 2026
Use Code WWWC Arizona Wildcats (17-0) vs. UCF Knights (14-2)
The college basketball betting action continues Saturday, January 17, 2026, with the No. 1 Arizona Wildcats squaring off against the UCF Knights in the Big 12 Conference showdown at Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, FL, so here’s our Arizona vs. UCF prediction and the latest odds update.
Last season, the Wildcats joined the Big 12 and beat the Knights 88-80 as 17-point home favorites. The Wildcats are 9.5-point road favorites this time around, while the total sits at 163.5 points.
Read more about this Arizona vs. UCF prediction, and check out all our NCAAB picks for Saturday’s slate. The tip-off at Addition Financial Arena is set at 4:00 PM ET.
Arizona continues to roll
Since conference play began, the Arizona Wildcats (17-0; 11-6 ATS; 11-6 O/U) have gone 4-0 SU and 3-1 ATS. During that stretch, the Wildcats have beaten Utah 97-78, Kansas State 101-76, TCU 86-73, and Arizona State 89-82.
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After beating the number in three straight outings, the Wildcats failed to cover a massive 21.5-point spread last Wednesday. Arizona State kept hanging around, but couldn’t pull off an upset. The Wildcats outscored the Sun Devils 46-22 in the paint, and senior forward Tobe Awaka led the way with 25 points and five rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench.
Freshman forward Koa Peat tortured Arizona State for 24 points and 10 rebounds. Peat leads the way for the Wildcats with 15.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, while freshman guard Brayden Burries adds 14.1 points and 4.3 boards a night.
The Wildcats are No. 2 in the NCAA NET Rankings, but they are topping the AP Top 25 Poll. Arizona scores 125.4 points per 100 possessions (9th in the country) and yields 92.8 points in return (5th). The Wildcats are a top-six team in the country in both defensive (75.5%) and offensive rebound percentage (41.0%).
UCF is back on track
The UCF Knights (14-2; 8-7-1 ATS; 6-10 O/U) put an end to their 11-game winning streak on January 6, suffering an 87-76 defeat at Oklahoma State. Since then, the Knights have won a couple of games against Cincinnati 73-72 at home and Kansas State 82-73 on the road.
Last Wednesday, the Knights beat Kansas State as 2.5-point underdogs, advancing to 3-1 in conference play. UCF shot 52.4% from the field (7-for-15 from deep) while posting an 18/10 assist-to-turnover ratio, and senior guard Riley Kugel led the way with 19 points and seven rebounds.
Kugel averages 14.8 points and 3.4 rebounds, while fellow senior guard Themus Fulks tallies 13.0 points, 7.3 assists, and 3.2 boards per game. Fulks handed out 12 dishes and scored 13 points against Kansas State.
UCF is No. 35 in the NCAA NET Rankings. The Knights score 121.9 points per 100 possessions (32nd in the nation) and allow 104.8 points in return (88th). They are 44th in the nation in defensive rebound percentage (72.9%) and 18th in offensive rebound percentage (37.8%).
Arizona vs. UCF Pick
Spread Pick for Arizona vs. UCF
- Arizona -9.5 (5 units)
The Wildcats’ length will bother the Knights a lot. Arizona is one of the best defensive and rebounding teams in the country. The Wildcats’ defense ranks seventh in 2-point percentage (44.2%), 76th in 3-point rate (.360), and 120th in 3-point percentage (32.4%).
The Knights are 22nd in the country in 3-point percentage (37.9%) and 285th in 3-point rate (.346). They will need to hit a lot of shots from deep in this game to keep it close. The Knights will struggle to contain the Wildcats’ offense, so I’m backing Arizona to cover. The Wildcats are 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games overall and 7-3 ATS in their previous 10 outings on the road.
Over/Under Pick for Arizona vs. UCF
- Over 163.5 (5 units)
The Wildcats love to attack the paint. They are 362nd in the nation in 3-point rate (.276), but the Wildcats make 37.1% of their shots from deep (34th). Arizona loves to play at a fast pace (72.0 possessions per 40 minutes, 27th) and crash the offensive glass, so give me the over on the total.
I don’t trust the Knights’ defense to slow the Wildcats down. UCF registers 69.2 possessions per 40 minutes (111th), and the Knights don’t force a lot of turnovers. As I said, the Knights will have to lean on 3-pointers to hang around in this matchup.
The under is 4-1 in UCF’s last five games overall, but each of Arizona’s previous six has gone over the total. The Wildcats have scored at least 86 points in six straight outings and 11 of their past 12 contests overall.
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