Central Florida @ Temple preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 2, 2019 ) Temple 73, Central Florida 78

Central Florida is ending the regular season with a mountain of momentum. The Knights hope to ride the wave into Saturday's road contest against Temple in the regular-season finale for both teams.

The Knights have won four in a row and seven of their last eight and have defeated the top two teams in the American Athletic Conference in their last two games. After a resounding road win against Houston, UCF returned home and slipped past Cincinnati 58-55. B.J. Taylor made just one field goal against Houston but bounced back with 22 points against the Bearcats. He will certainly be a focal point defensively for Temple, which has won five of its last six but lost the first matchup against UCF earlier this season.

TV: 4 p.m. ET, ESPN2

ABOUT UCF (23-6, 13-4 American): The Knights rank in the top 25 nationally in scoring defense, allowing 63.7 points - and no more than 65 points in seven of their last eight games. Tacko Fall contributed 10 points, six rebounds and three blocks against Cincinnati in the 7-6 center's final home game. Fellow senior Taylor continued to take care of the basketball, as he has only two turnovers in 139 minutes over the last four contests.

ABOUT TEMPLE (22-8, 12-5): Temple moved closer to clinching an NCAA Tournament berth with a seven-point win over Connecticut its last time out. Shizz Alston Jr. poured in a career-high 34 points on 12-of-14 shooting, while Quinton Rose added 20 points and eight rebounds and Nate Pierre-Louis chipped in 13 and seven. It's good that the Temple guards stepped up, as the five big men who played for the Owls combined for a total of 11 points in 86 collective minutes.

TIP-INS

1. Taylor had a game-high 24 points in the first matchup this season - a 78-73 win by UCF.

2. Fall, who shoots a national-best 75.4 percent from the floor, has shot under 60 percent only once all season.

3. Since scoring 21 points against Penn on Jan. 19, Temple C Ernest Aflakpui has totaled 29 points in his last nine games.

PREDICTION: UCF 63, Temple 60