The quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament begin on Thursday, March 12, meaning the top four seeds of the field will be in action. The Arizona Wildcats (29-2) are the reigning regular-season Big 12 champions and will face the UCF Knights (21-10) today at 3:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.
UCF ended the regular season 1-3 and is a 16.5-point underdog for the point spread tonight, while Arizona has enjoyed an ongoing six-game winning streak.
Let’s break down the matchup and make a UCF vs. Arizona prediction on the spread. Make your college basketball picks on PrizePicks and PrizePicks Team Picks and earn real money if you’re right, including on game winners, spreads, and totals!
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UCF vs. Arizona Prediction, Spread, Over/Under
Since Arizona joined the Big 12 in 2024, the Wildcats are 2-0 vs. UCF, but the Knights boast a 2-0 mark against the spread (ATS). On January 17, UCF covered as 9.5-point underdogs in an 84-77 loss vs. the Wildcats.
Neither team is providing much confidence ATS, holding 4-6 records in the past 10 games. The under is 7-3 in Arizona’s last 10 matchups.
UCF vs. Arizona Spread, Over/Under
PrizePicks Team Picks labels the Wildcats as 16.5-point favorites, paired with a 1.05x payout if they win. Will the Knights make any noise with their 10x payout for an outright win?
- Spread: Arizona Wildcats -16.5
- Over/Under: 159.5
- Gamer Winner Payout: UCF 10x | Arizona 1.05x
Team picks data is live as of publishing and is subject to change.
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UCF vs. Arizona Prediction on Spread – 3/12/26
In the previous head-to-head matchup, UCF totaled 70 field goal attempts compared to Arizona’s 55. This was partially thanks to the Knights’ 14 offensive rebounds. Can UCF replicate that success on Thursday, March 12, for PrizePicks college basketball predictions?
The Knights total 10.5 offensive rebounds per game (87th percentile) and sport a 32.8% offensive rebounding rate (84th percentile), per TeamRankings. While this is a clear strength, the Wildcats are elite on the defensive glass with 28.5 defensive rebounds per game (100th percentile) and a 76.2% defensive rebounding rate (94th percentile).
Furthermore, Arizona made only 3-of-13 3-point attempts (23.1%) in the previous matchup. For context, the Wildcats feature a minuscule volume of 16.5 attempted triples per game (second percentile) but still shoot 35.3% from beyond the arc (71st percentile), led by Arizona G Brayden Burries (37.0%) and G Jaden Bradley (38.2%).
UCF’s advantages from January 17’s matchup may vanish, and it gave up 33 free throw attempts in the previous battle. Backed by 26.2 free throw attempts per game (98th percentile), Arizona can take advantage of the Knights surrendering 20.8 foul shots per contest (45th percentile).
Make UCF vs. Arizona Picks on PrizePicks
Will UCF replicate its ATS success from the regular season vs. Arizona? The Wildcats’ dominance on the glass and solid efficiency from deep could generate concerns for the Knights on Thursday, March 12.
Make your UCF vs. Arizona picks and Big 12 Tournament predictions at PrizePicks and PrizePicks Team Picks, where you can earn real-money rewards for your predictions if you’re right.
Just choose players, predict More or Less on their projected stats, and follow the hoops action to see if your picks hit. You can make picks on winners, spreads, and over/unders on Team Picks, now available in 35 states.
Keep tabs on the Playbook for continued college basketball predictions, picks, and news all the way through the NCAA Tournament.
