UCF, Houston seek first conference win

Published Jan. 2, 2020 6:32 a.m. ET

Central Florida (9-4, 0-1) vs. Houston (10-3, 0-0)

Fertitta Center, Houston; Friday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Central Florida takes on Houston as both teams look for its first AAC win of the season. Central Florida fell 62-58 at home to Temple on Tuesday. Houston is coming off a 75-71 win in Honolulu over Washington on Dec. 25.

VETERAN PRESENCE: Senior leadership has been on display for both of these teams. Quentin Grimes, Nate Hinton and DeJon Jarreau have collectively scored 46 percent of Houston's points this season. For Central Florida, Collin Smith, Dazon Ingram, Ceasar DeJesus and Dre Fuller Jr. have collectively accounted for 58 percent of all Central Florida scoring.GIFTED GRIMES: Grimes has connected on 33.3 percent of the 63 3-pointers he's attempted and has gone 8 for 18 over the last three games. He's also made 67.8 percent of his free throws this season.

PERFECT WHEN: The Cougars are 7-0 when they make eight or more 3-pointers and 3-3 when they fall shy of that mark. The Knights are 7-0 when at least four of their players score in double-figures and 2-4 on the year otherwise.

ASSIST RATIOS: The Knights have recently used assists to create baskets more often than the Cougars. Houston has 42 assists on 83 field goals (50.6 percent) over its past three games while Central Florida has assists on 38 of 69 field goals (55.1 percent) during its past three games.

DID YOU KNOW: Houston is ranked second among Division I teams with an offensive rebound percentage of 40.8 percent. The Cougars have averaged 15 offensive boards per game.