Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Golden Knights seek a season reset
Silence took over the postgame press conference momentarily when Ithiel Horton was asked if UCF men’s basketball was reeling after its third straight loss.
Horton thought for a few seconds and then answered the question.
“I wouldn’t say that,” he said after Wednesday’s 82-71 loss to No. 3 Houston. “It’s tough. We just lost three in a row so we’ve got to figure it out.”
That likely includes returning to the level of defense that the Knights showcased less than a month ago when they held SMU to 53 points at home.
“Not where we were three weeks ago,” UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said about his team’s defense. “We’ve given up 80 points again so we’re not defending at the level we would like. We have to turn that around.”
UCF (13-7, 4-4 AAC) has allowed more than 70 points in four consecutive games with its only win in that stretch coming against Memphis in double overtime, 107-104, on Jan. 11.
During the first 16 games, UCF gave up at least 70 points just three times.
What hurt the Knights the most against the Cougars were second-chance points. Houston (19-2, 7-1 AAC) scored 14 of its 16 in the second half.
“We have to do a better job of eliminating the second shot,” Dawkins said. “Our first-shot defense a lot of times has been pretty good. It’s the re-shot that’s hurt us and we have to do a better job of eliminating that.”
The 11-point loss to Houston moved UCF to the middle of the AAC standings with Selection Sunday less than 50 days away. UCF freshman Taylor Hendricks shared what needs to change quickly for the Knights to avoid a complete collapse.
“We’ve got to come together as players because the coaches are giving us all of the tools,” he said. “It all falls back on them but it really shouldn’t because they’re giving us all of the tools and it’s just about us players coming together and doing what we practice.”
Added Horton: “We might have to raise our level [of play] up, especially the older guys myself included. We’ve got to reach another level.”
One factor that might help UCF is the return of starting point guard Darius Johnson. The sophomore missed four games in a row with a lower leg injury but was able to score 9 points and 3 assists in 32 minutes.
“For him to come out and have that type of performance against this type of team bodes well for us as he starts to get his timing back,” Dawkins said.
With Johnson starting again, the Knights are hoping to bounce back Saturday at home against Temple (13-9, 7-2 AAC), which upset Houston last weekend on the road.
Dawkins discussed how the team can turn things around sooner than later.
“We have to have a reset,” he said. “We’re going through a tough stretch right now of games that we’re playing and teams that we’re playing,” he said. “We need to learn and grow from this. This will help us get better.”
Getting healthy will help, too. Starting center Michael Durr remains sidelined with a left-hand injury. Durr hasn’t played since Jan. 8 and underwent surgery shortly after to repair it. Although Durr’s timetable to return isn’t as clear, Dawkins said his team is heading in the right direction healthwise which should lead to better play on the court.