Sunday afternoon will see the inaugural College Basketball Crown Tournament come to a conclusion as Nebraska and UCF meet in Las Vegas in the championship game.
The Huskers are playing well, rolling to three impressive margins of victory. Still, the Knights have a stud in Darius Johnson, who dropped 42 points in an overtime victory while upsetting Villanova on Saturday.
My Nebraska vs. UCF predictions and college basketball poicks for Sunday, April 6 break down the game and explain why we should see an extremely entertaining affair.
Who will win UCF vs Nebraska?
Nebraska has figured some things out on the offensive end, posting two of its best adjusted offensive efficiency marks of the season in wins over Georgetown and Boise State. The Huskers are shooting well inside the arc and limiting offensive rebounds.
UCF has the best player on the floor, and will keep things interesting, but without a Robin to partner with Darius Johnson’s Batman, I’m just not able to trust a UCF squad that shoots inconsistently and isn’t defending well. Nebraska won all three games by at least eight points and will leave Vegas with hardware.
UCF vs Nebraska prediction
My best bet: Over 158.5 (-110 at bet365)
The UCF Knights began the College Basketball Crown tournament with a narrow win over Oregon State, a 76-75 victory that marked their lowest point total in the competition. What makes that somewhat notable is the Beavers operated at a tempo this season that ranked in the 300s nationally.
Since then, the Knights have posted an 88-80 win over Cincinnati and a 104-98 overtime victory yesterday over Villanova. Both games saw their offense operate at a high level, while the defense left a bit to be desired.
UCF wants to get into a back-and-forth affair with plenty of pace, which suits the Nebraska Cornhuskers just fine. They don’t play at quite the breakneck speed that UCF does, but the Huskers are content with a high-tempo contest. They don’t typically turn the ball over, and prefer to attack the rim in transition, where they finish at a 62.6% clip.
Neither of these teams does anything particularly well at the defensive end. UCF is one of the worst defensive rebounding teams in the nation, allowing second-chance opportunities on more than 34% of opponent possessions. While Nebraska doesn’t typically get many offensive boards, the Huskers have posted 31% offensive rebound rates or better in their last two games.
Nebraska must contend with UCF guard Darius Johnson, who has broken out in this tournament. He’s coming off a 42-point performance against Villanova, and has scored 20+ points in nine of his last 11 games. He shoots better than 40% from deep, while teammate Keyshawn Hall is adept at getting to the line often.
The Huskers run an offense predicated on motion, and the Knights don’t typically defend well against that type of attack. On the other end, Nebraska has found more offensive success in this tournament than in the regular season and is playing very efficiently. They’ve scored 79+ in all three contests, and they’ll clear the 80-point mark again here to help push this game Over the total.
UCF vs Nebraska same-game parlay (SGP)
Over 158.5
Nebraska -3.5
UCF first half +2
UCF has led in all three contests at the half, while Nebraska has trailed once and needed a late first-half run against Boise State to lead at the break. The Huskers have been performing much better after half-time in this competition than before, while the Knights have been doing the opposite. We’ll back UCF to cover the first-half spread of two points.
In the end, Nebraska’s just playing hotter between the two teams. The Huskers are more consistent at the offensive end, are blocking shots at a strong rate, and rebound better at the defensive end. They’ll cover this two-bucket spread.
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UCF vs Nebraska odds
UCF vs Nebraska live odds
UCF vs Nebraska opening odds
- Spread: UCF +3.5 | Nebraska -3.5
- Moneyline: UCF +140 | Nebraska -168
- Over/Under: Over 158.5 | Under 158.5
Odds courtesy of bet365.
UCF vs Nebraska betting trend to know
UCF has cashed the Over in 22 of its last 34 games for +8.8 units and a 24% ROI. Find more college basketball betting trends for UCF vs. Nebraska.
How to watch UCF vs Nebraska
| Location | T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, NV |
| Date | Sunday, 4-6-2025 |
| Tip-off | 5:30 p.m. ET |
| TV | FS1 |
UCF vs Nebraska key injuries
Not intended for use in MA.
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