Wednesday, March 5th, 8:00 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Hofheinz Pavilion (8,749) -- Houston, Texas. Television: None. Home Record: UCF 12-4, Houston 15-2. Away Record: UCF 3-6, Houston 4-4. Neutral Record: UCF 1-2, Houston 2-1. Conference Record: UCF 9-5, Houston 10-4. Series Record: Houston leads, 4-2.

GAME NOTES: The Houston Cougars close out their home slate tonight, as they host the UCF Knights in a Conference USA clash at Hofheinz Pavilion. The Cougars enter the contest on a down note, as they were upended by East Carolina, 84-83, on Saturday. The loss snapped the team's short two-game win streak and dropped it to 21-7 overall and 10-4 in conference play. The Cougars, though, now return back home, where they have gone a healthy 15-2, including 6-1 against conference foes. As for UCF, it wrapped up the home portion of its schedule with a 68-60 besting of hapless Rice on Saturday. It was the second straight win and the fourth in five outings for the Knights, who improved to 16-12 overall and 9-5 within the league. UCF now takes to the road, where it has gone an even 3-3 against C-USA foes. In terms of the all-time series, Houston holds a 4-2 edge over UCF and that includes an 84-81 victory in the first meeting of the season.

The Knights connected on 45.7 percent of their attempts from the floor and 7- of-16 from downtown, as they outlasted Rice over the weekend. The team also did a good job at the foul line, where it converted on 19-of-23 attempts. Jermaine Taylor led the charge with 20 points and three helpers, while Davie Noel had 19 points and four boards. For the season, Taylor ranks fourth in the conference in scoring at 21.2 ppg and he is also grabbing 4.7 rpg and shooting 38.5 percent from long range. Noel checks in with 13.0 ppg and 3.0 apg, while Mike O'Donnell contributes 11.6 ppg and a team-best 3.1 apg. Overall, the Knights have done solid work at the offensive end of the court, averaging 74.5 ppg on 45.9 percent shooting from the field.

East Carolina's Cory Farmer sank a pair of go-head free throws with 22 seconds left, and the Cougars' Robert McKiver missed a shot at the buzzer, as Houston dropped an 84-83 decision this past weekend. The Cougars shot just 38.7 percent from the floor in the game and that just wasn't good enough. McKiver paced the team in defeat with 29 points and eight boards, while Kelvin Lewis and Dion Dowell posted 19 and 17 points, respectively. For the season, McKiver is second in the league in scoring at 23.1 ppg and he is also a solid defender, racking up a team-best 50 steals. Dowell is a distant second with 11.1 ppg and he is grabbing a team-best 6.6 rpg and shooting 41.1 percent from three-point range. As a team, Houston has fared well on offense, generating a solid 78.9 ppg.

The Cougars have been outstanding at home this season and with another big game from McKiver, they should be able to get back into the win column tonight.

Predicted Outcome

Houston 82, UCF 77