They have won request
Knights don’t want to hear of a ‘moral victory’ over Cincy
The UCF Knights don’t believe in moral victories.
They took a Cincinnati team ranked No. 25 in the coaches’ poll down to the wire, losing by five on the road Thursday.
They limited the Bearcats’ leading scorer to 3-for-13 shooting from the field, held their own on the glass and shot 56 percent in the second half against one of the country’s best defenses.
But what only matters is the end result, one that snapped UCF’s three-game win streak and left the Knights at 19-6 overall and 9-4 in the American Athletic Conference.
Coach Johnny Dawkins said Saturday that it’s “always hard” for him to talk about positives in the wake of a loss.
Senior guard B.J. Taylor was firm when asked if there were any moral victories to extract from the loss: “Nah. Just moving forward.”
Moving forward means preparing for Sunday’s noon tip at home versus the SMU Mustangs (13-12 overall, 5-8 in the AAC). The game will air on CBS Sports Network.
It also means avoiding an emotional letdown and not overlooking a middling opponent.
“We know that if we want to do anything special, we’ve got to stay focused,” Dawkins said. “Every game counts the same.”
Pony up
UCF beat the Mustangs 71-65 in Dallas two weeks ago. Although SMU has played only two games since, going 1-1, the Knights will see a different team in a couple of ways this time around.
The unlimited presence of star guard Jahmal McMurray will be the most significant change. He played just five minutes against UCF earlier this season and missed each of his three shots. According to SMU coach Tim Jankovich, McMurray was limited, in part, due to a minor injury. But he also was serving punishment for being late to SMU’s final practice before the game.
During the Mustangs’ subsequent two games, McMurray recorded 22 and 25 points. The senior is the AAC’s fifth-leading scorer at 18.0 points per game and has made the second-most 3-pointers of any player in the conference.
Dawkins said facing McMurray at 100 percent makes SMU “hugely different” from what the Mustangs put on the floor Feb. 10.
“When you have a guard like that, he’s a differencemaker,” Dawkins added. “This is a league with terrific guards, and he’s one of those guys. That says a lot about his ability.”
Secondly, the Mustangs have played a lot more zone defense in their past two games despite traditionally being a man-to-man team. Their opponents have shot just 36.5 percent from the field since that meeting with UCF, which includes an 18-point victory over UConn on Thursday.
Final countdown
Taylor has tried to soak in every “last” experience. And soon, Taylor — a four-year starter and team captain — will be playing in his last home game as a Knight. He has been counting them down, and he knows there isn’t much left to count.
“We’re at two,” Taylor said regarding the number of games he has remaining inside CFE Arena. “You’ve got tomorrow and then after tomorrow, the count will be real short.”
Taylor said Saturday the reality for the seniors that this will be their final goaround at UCF has fueled them to be at their best all year long.
“It feels like yesterday we were talking about it being our last first home game, our last first conference game at home,” he said. “Now it’s coming to almost our last game at home. The whole season, it’s been on our minds and something we have thought about. For us, it’s just going out there playing and doing what we’ve been doing all season.”
Another GameDay experience
UCF fans won’t soon forget what it was like to have ESPN’s College GameDay on campus prior to the Knights’ football game versus Cincinnati during the 2018 season.
Now the Knights will be involved with GameDay again, but this time as the visitors prior to a men’s basketball game. ESPN announced Saturday the March 2 matchup between the Knights and the No. 8 Houston Cougars will be the setting for that week’s College GameDay.
The popular pregame show will go live from Houston’s Fertitta Center at 11 a.m. Eastern on March 2. The game will begin at 4 p.m. on ESPN.