Knights hope for big crowd
Fans sparked UCF in previous upset
The game isn’t the first thing that pops into A.J. Davis’ mind when he recalls UCF’s historic win over Cincinnati last February.
He remembers the deafening cheers, the electric atmosphere inside CFE Arena created by the announced crowd of 5,763 and, of course, students rushing the court after the final buzzer cemented the Knights’ first victory over the vaunted Bearcats during their past nine meetings.
“I think I remember the crowd more than the game almost just because they were such a big part of what we did,” Davis said. “We really fed off their energy and just that atmosphere of that game.”
Davis and his teammates are set to take on an even stronger, faster and more physical version of No. 12 Cincinnati at home tonight.
And they’ll need all the crowd noise and then some to give UCF another shot at an upset.
Like any college basketball team in January, the Knights are a little banged up. Davis played through a sprained ankle during a 62-53 road loss to Connecticut on Wednesday.
Unlike a lot of other college basketball teams, UCF suffered a rash of injuries to start the season, with three starters out of lineup at one point, including Aubrey Dawkins, B.J. Taylor and Tacko Fall.
Fall returned after missing just a few games.
Taylor was projected to return to the lineup at the start of American Athletic Conference play in late December after nursing a foot injury he suffered Nov. 10. He has not returned to the floor yet and UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said it will be a game-time decision whether Taylor competes against Cincinnati.
Taylor is no longer wearing a boot and participated in some team drills during the past week, but he has yet to complete any drills at full speed.
During the last meeting between UCF and Cincinnati, Taylor led the charge with a season-high 27 points, including a buzzerbeating 3-pointer to seal the 53-49 win.
“I’m excited for our guys to have an opportunity,” Dawkins said, referring to chances for other players created by Taylor’s potential absence.
“We’ve been in these positions before this season and we’ve had guys step up and we’ve continued to have guys raise their level, and not just one individual player. Like I’ve told our team, if everybody can just be a little bit better, that just helps our team.”
Despite the injury woes this season, players kept UCF (12-5 overall, 3-2 AAC) rolling by deploying their trademark stifling defense. The team’s strength showed during a 60-39 win against Temple in the team’s last home game Jan. 7. Cincinnati (15-2 overall, 4-0 AAC) barely edged Temple 55-53 in Philadelphia on Jan. 4.
Outside of Davis, who is the Knights’ floor and locker room leader in his senior season, Dawkins has seen younger players step up, including guards Terrell Allen and Ceasar DeJesus.
Fall, who is imposing at 7-foot-6, is always a difference-maker. Last year Fall’s presence in the paint troubled Cincinnati’s offense and the Bearcats shot 29.6 percent from the field.
All four of the Bearcats’ leading scorers — Jacob Evans, Gary Clark, Jarron Cumberland and Kyle Washington — return from last year’s squad.
“They’re a physical team. They’re relentless on the offensive rebounds, and defensively they’re one of the best defensive teams in the nation. So those are some of the things that present a challenge,” Dawkins said.
“Offensively, they have some terrific talent. They have some guys that can really score the basketball. …They’re a well-balanced team.”
The matchup promises to be intense and physical, with UCF and Cincinnati both featuring tough defenses that rank No. 8 and No. 3 in field-goal percentage defense, respectively.
Dawkins is relying on UCF fans to provide energy.
“That was a big difference in our season last year. I think that everyone kind of threw themselves in and they became truly like our sixth man,” Dawkins said. “They were a part of our team and when the environment is rocking like that, players just feed off that energy. It was exciting to see and hopefully we can have the same type of atmosphere [Tuesday].”