Opportunity knocks
Knights eager to test themselves vs. No. 12 Houston
Senior guard B.J. Taylor said the word “opportunity” six times within his first two minutes with the media Wednesday.
Rest assured, UCF men’s basketball players is keenly aware of what kind of opportunity awaits them.
It’s not often a team get a chance to face a top-15 opponent in the American Athletic Conference, but that is exactly what the Knights will get Thursday night on their home floor when they battle the No. 12 Houston Cougars.
“It’s a big opportunity for us to play in front of our home fans,” Taylor said. “It should be a great turnout [Thursday]. We need Knight Nation to come out. We’re just looking forward to taking advantage of the opportunity.”
Before the Knights and Cougars face off at 7 p.m. on CBS Sports Network, here’s what you need to know.
The Knights remember:
There are plenty of reasons for UCF to be motivated for this matchup. The highly ranked Cougars are 21-1 and on top of the AAC standings.
A win would give the Knights their most prominent victory of the season and greatly strengthen their NCAA tournament résumé. But their desire to beat Houston goes deeper than what’s happening now.
The Cougars got the best of UCF in Orlando twice last year — once inside CFE Arena and once inside the Amway Center during the conference tournament. That latter game, an 84-56 drubbing, ended the Knights’ season.
That empty feeling from last March still lingers, and Taylor said that is motivating his teammates more than anything Houston has accomplished this season.
“The whole team has talked about it,” he said. “Being a competitor, you don’t forget those things easily.”
The Knights have dropped five of the past six meetings and are just 10-14 against Houston. They are, however, 6-5 on their home court versus the Cougars.
Eating up the glass:
Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall had an interesting way of describing Houston’s rebounding prowess a few weeks ago.
Marshall said the Cougars attack the glass “like they’re trying to get a sandwich and they haven’t eaten in a week.” UCF coach Johnny Dawkins has seen that hunger during this week’s preparations.
“I agree with Coach Marshall,” Dawkins said. “I watched tape and I felt the same way.”
Although Houston has a guard-oriented roster and doesn’t boast an impact player taller than 6-foot-8, it attacks the boards with a collective ferocity. The Cougars lead the conference in rebounding margin and defensive rebounds.
Guard Armoni Brooks paces the squad with 6.1 rebounds per game, but the Cougars have nine players averaging at least three rebounds per game. Only five players meet that number for UCF, which sits among the middle of the AAC pack in rebounding margin.
“Rebounding has been a struggle for us this year, so we have to fight that much harder to limit them to one shot, get them off the glass [and] get our own rebounds back,” UCF junior guard Aubrey Dawkins said. “We’ve got to fight.”
Johnny Dawkins added that his players “need to bring a certain level of intensity and a certain level of desperation” to combat the Cougars once any shot goes up.
Perimeter priority:
Some teams live and die by the 3-pointer, but the Cougars have had the best of both worlds from beyond the arc this season.
They have been living well on the 3 while causing their opponents to die from long range. Headed by Brooks and guard Corey Davis Jr., Houston has launched — and made — the most 3-pointers of any AAC team. Meanwhile, the Cougars’ opponents are shooting just 26.1 percent on 3s. That’s the secondlowest success rate in all of college basketball.
“You don’t want them to play the game that they want to play,” Taylor said. “They want to make 3s, they want to get up and down and play that kind of game.
“We’ve got to take that away from them and make them go to something else.”
A hostile environment:
Aubrey Dawkins remembers what it felt like the last time UCF knocked off a top-15 team.
“Bliss,” said Dawkins, who was redshirting then. “It was just awesome.”
It was senior night in 2016. The No. 15 Cincinnati Bearcats came into a rowdy CFE Arena, and the Knights knocked them off 53-49. The fans stormed the court and raised up guard Matt Williams as he crowdsurfed over the sea of hands during his final UCF home game.
“You could feel the energy in the building,” Dawkins said, “and that’s what you want every night to play in front of.”
The Knights hope to see and feel that kind of energy Thursday night.
“I think our student section could be amazing,” Johnny Dawkins said. “I think our community definitely will want to come out and catch this game right here.
“We all need to take ownership of what we’re doing here, not just our team and not just myself. We’re going to do something special when everyone is involved and everyone sacrifices and comes out and gives us that type of support.”