OU basketball vs. UCF: Score prediction, scouting report for Sooners-Knights Big 12 game

OU men’s basketball will face UCF just once during their time together in the Big 12 — barring a matchup in the Big 12 Tournament.

The No. 23 Sooners (16-5, 4-4 Big 12) take on the Knights (12-8, 3-5) on Saturday (3 p.m. CT, ESPN+) at Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, Florida.

Here is what to know about the matchup:

Big 12 basketball power rankings: Is it time to believe in BYU, this week's biggest riser?

Knights’ defense can make life difficult

UCF comes into the game third in the Big 12 and 34th nationally in scoring defense, allowing 65.1 points per game, just ahead of the Sooners.

“They’re elite, elite defensively,” OU coach Porter Moser said. “They’re long as can be. I mean, they really protect the rim.”

That defense has helped the Knights knock off Kansas and Texas and hold Houston to just 57 points.

UCF leads the Big 12 with 5.35 blocked shots per game.

San Jose State transfer Ibrahima Diallo, a 7-footer from Senegal, leads the way for the Knights with 1.9 blocks per game. Diallo hasn’t had a block in three of UCF’s last four games, though.

More: OU basketball projected to be No. 6 seed in latest NCAA Tournament bracketology

Sooners need to recover at free-throw line

It might not seem like it the last couple games but the Sooners are still very good at the free-throw line overall, sitting third in the Big 12 at 74% free-throw shooting.

But the last two games have been atrocious there.

The Sooners are shooting just 61.9% from the line over their last two, getting there 63 times but missing a combined 24, including 15 in Tuesday’s win at Kansas State.

“We’ve got good free-throw shooters,” Moser said. “It hasn’t been a problem. Yes, we missed free throws. We work on ’em all the time. … They can shoot it. Just get up reps and get ’em. Sometimes the more you make a big deal of it, the more something becomes an issue, so for us, just keep doing (what we’re) doing. Keep getting to that foul line.”

More: Oklahoma basketball rolls past Kansas State on road as Sooners snap two-game losing skid

Rivaldo Soares looks like he’s turned a corner

After transferring from Oregon, where he started 33 games last season, Rivaldo Soares expected to be a starter this season for the Sooners.

But Soares has instead become one of Moser’s biggest weapons off the bench.

Soares has had some peaks and valleys this season but has been strong in his last two games, with 29 points and 15 rebounds, shooting 9 of 14 in the loss to Texas Tech and the win over Kansas State.

Soares seems to have settled into his role.

“Rivaldo is playing at a very high level,” Moser said. “It’s his mindset. I told him, ‘I’m not mad at you. You wanted to start, I get it.’ He’s at peace with it. He knows I consider him the second shift, not substitution. He’s a second-shift guy. He’s really versatile, trust him passing the ball. … He rebounds, defends with passion.”

Against UCF, the 6-foot-6 guard figures to be a key piece for OU on both ends of the floor.

More: Mussatto: How OU women's basketball coach Jennie Baranczyk has reinvigorated Sooners

OU-UCF score prediction

OU 68, UCF 62: Both teams pride themselves on their defense, so this one figures to be a lower-scoring affair. But the Sooners are deeper, and if Jalon Moore can put together another game like he had in Manhattan, Kansas, OU should be able to escape Orlando with a victory.

OU vs. UCF

TIPOFF: 3 p.m. Saturday at Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, Florida (ESPN+)

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU basketball vs. UCF: Our score prediction is in for Sooners-Knights