ST. JOHN'S RED STORM VS. UCF GOLDEN KNIGHTS

RECORDS: St. John's (5-1) | UCF (4-1)

RANKINGS: St. John's (#50 KenPom) | UCF (#70 KenPom)

TIME: Noon ET

TV: ESPNU

WATCH ONLINE: WatchESPN

SPREAD: St. John's opened as 1.5-point favorites. The line increased to 3.

TOTAL: The O/U started at 148, but it’s gone down to 145.5.

RECORDS ATS: St. John's (2-2) | UCF (2-2)

All-Time Series

St. John's and Central Florida have never faced off! Additionally, St. John's has never played anyone from the American Athletic Conference while it was known as the AAC. Obviously they played UConn in the past, but that was when the Huskies were part of the Big East.

How They Got Here

St. John's opened the AdvoCare Invitational with a victory over Oregon State on Thursday afternoon, before falling to Mizzou on Friday.

The UCF Golden Knights, meanwhile, defeated Nebraska on Thursday, but lost to West Virginia on Friday.

Preview

St. John's heads into Sunday looking for a 2-1 third place finish in the Advocare Invitational, and a win over a talented Central Florida team could go a long way for the Red Storm. Shamorie Ponds is coming off a career-high 31 points against Missouri, and Justin Simon continues to flirt with triple-doubles, as he had nine points, nine rebounds, and eight assists in the loss.

3-point defense did the Red Storm in against Missouri, as they allowed the Tigers to shoot 14-27 from beyond the arc, with most of those coming down the stretch. They likely won’t have to worry about that against the Knights. UCF is shooting just 24.3 percent from long range as a team, which is sixth-worst in the nation. The one thing St. John's does need to worry about? Tacko Fall. The 7’6 big man is a threat on both ends whenever he’s on the court, simply because the Red Storm (like every other team) don’t have the manpower to match him.

Fall is going to do his thing, but it’s about containing the rest of the Knights’ roster. If St. John's can do that, they’ll head back to Queens with a respectable finish in the AdvoCare Invitational under their belt.