UCF can’t lose sight of bigger picture
The UCF men’s basketball team returns to the court Saturday as the Tulane Green Wave roll into Orlando for a 2 p.m. tip inside Addition Financial Arena.
Following a hot start to the season, the Knights have been inconsistent to open the new year. UCF is 2-3 in January after going 5-1 in December.
UCF (11-5, 3-3 AAC) came really close to adding another game to the loss column this past Tuesday before coming back on the road at East Carolina. The Pirates (11-6, 2-3 AAC) led by 20 points late in the second half, but the Knights were able to force overtime and win in the extra period.
UCF was outscored 44-28 in the first half by the Pirates but flipped the script with a 44-28 edge in the second half. Fifth-year senior Brandon Mahan scored 10 straight points in OT, finishing with 19.
UCF coach Johnny Dawkins hopes to see the second-half version of his team for the full 40 minutes vs. Tulane (7-8, 4-2 AAC).
He believes the strong finish against the Pirates can be duplicated, especially on offense.
“That’ll help us,” Dawkins said following the 92-85 win at ECU. “I thought we were really in a good flow offensively. We moved the ball, we moved our bodies and guys were able to play off of each
other really well, so that’s something I want us to bottle going forward.”
The 92 points were the secondmost UCF has scored this season, trailing only the 95 points posted in a November meeting at Miami.
Avoiding another loss like the one to USF last Saturday — 75-51 to a then-5-10 squad — is critical for the Knights, especially as February approaches.
As of Friday morning, UCF sat outside the latest men’s NCAA tournament bracket projection from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi.
The Knights are considered to still be on the bubble for March Madness and have some work to do before Selection Sunday.
UCF is sitting in the “Next Four Out” grouping with Michigan, beaten by the Knights last month, UAB and Wyoming, according to the projection.
In front of that group, there is the “First Four Out” and the “Last Four In” featuring Florida, FSU, Oregon and TCU, according to Lunardi.
While the bracket projections for this year’s tournament change weekly, stringing together wins in conference play is becoming increasingly important for UCF to return to the Big Dance.
That starts vs. Tulane on ESPNU.