ORLANDO – The UCF men's basketball team (12-7, 4-5 AAC) will look to bounce back following back-to-back losses as the Knights welcome South Florida (6-13, 1-6 AAC) to Addition Financial Arena Thursday night for round two of the War on I-4, presented by SeaWorld.
The game is set to tip at 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+, with Marc Daniels also on the call on FM 96.9 The Game.
The Knights, who are aiming to snap a two-game losing streak following their latest losses to Wichita State (Jan. 26) and No. 7 Houston (Jan. 29), are led by junior guard Darin Green Jr.
Green paces all Knights with 13.3 points per game and has been a threat from deep all season long. Green's 38.5 percent mark on threes is third in the AAC and he also ranks third in The American with 2.74 threes made per game. Green has led the team in points in nine out of 19 games with double-digit points in all but seven games.
The Bulls, meanwhile, are 6-13 overall and 1-6 in conference play, with their lone conference win coming against the Knights on Jan. 15. The Knights will look to contain South Florida senior guard Javon Greene, who popped off for a season-high 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting (including 5-of-10 from deep) in the first game of the series.
The Knights split the series with the Bulls last season as the Knights won, 81-65, in Orlando but couldn't get it done on the road, falling 68-61 in Tampa. The Knights have won 10 of the last 13 games played against South Florida, but the Bulls hold the all-time series lead at 25-19.
Game Information
Date: Thursday, Feb. 3
Time: 7 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN+
Radio: FM 96.9 The Game
DAWKINS ERA AT UCF
- Johnny Dawkins picked up career win No. 100 in the Knights' win over N.C. A&T on Dec. 11, becoming just the third coach in UCF history to reach the milestone.
- Dawkins is 106-67 since starting with the Knights in 2016, a win percentage of .613, the second best of any UCF coach (Torchy Clark, .754 from 1969-83).
- He has the third most wins over any UCF coach, trailing only Clark's 274 and Kirk Speraw's 247 from 1993-2010.
- Dawkins is the fastest coach to reach 100 wins in program history in the Division I era, needing only 162 games to do so.
- Dawkins had his squad off to a 4-0 start to begin the 2021-22 season, tying his 2017-18 mark for his best start to a season at UCF.
- Dawkins has led UCF to its first NIT Final Four (2017), first at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament (2019) and first NCAA Tournament win (2019).
- Prior to Dawkins' arrival at UCF, the program had won three games against ranked opponents from 1984-2016. Since Dawkins has taken over, the Knights have won five games against ranked opponents.
- UCF had never won two games against ranked teams in a single season, and the Knights did it in a span of five days, taking down No. 6 Houston and No. 19 Cincinnati late in the 2018-19 season.
- UCF is now 8-50 all-time against ranked opponents, but 5-17 against ranked teams under Dawkins.
WAR ON I-4
- The 45th edition of the War on I-4 between UCF and South Florida continues on Feb. 3 as the Bulls travel to Orlando for the second of a two-game series with the Knights.
- Entering Saturday's contest, South Florida holds the all-time series lead at 25-19.
- Currently, the all-sports War on I-4 tally favors the Knights, 24-12.
- If UCF wins Saturday night, three more points will be awarded to the Knights in the all-sports series.
- The Knights have won 10 of the last 13 games played against South Florida.
- UCF fell to the Bulls at their place earlier this year on Jan. 15, 75-51.
- The Knights are 11-8 against South Florida in Orlando and have won the last seven contests at home dating back to Feb. 5, 2014.
- Last season, UCF split the series with the Bulls as the Knights won, 81-65, in Orlando but couldn't get it done on the road, falling 68-61 in Tampa.
FRESHMAN ON FIRE
- UCF freshman point guard Darius Johnson picked up his first career American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Week award on Jan. 24.
- The honor came after Johnson averaged 16.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists to help lead UCF to comeback wins at ECU and versus Tulane.
- Johnson posted 16 points and four rebounds at ECU on Jan. 18 and followed it up with a career-high 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists in the win over Tulane on Jan. 22.
- Prior to UCF's last game against No. 7 Houston, Johnson was averaging 13 points per game over his last five games, compared to a career-average of 5.4.
- In 2020-21, Isaiah Adams was named AAC Freshman of the Week three times.
MONEY AT THE LINE
- As a team, UCF has knocked down 74.5 percent of its free throw opportunities through 19 games, which is third in the conference and 77th in the nation as of Feb. 3.
- The Knights' current single-season record for highest field goal percentage is 76.1 percent (1975-76).
- Before missing his first free throw of the year in the win over Michigan, fifth year senior Brandon Mahan had not missed a free throw dating back to 02/01/21 at Memphis (last 20 games).
- Mahan was a perfect 48-for-48 in free throw attempts over that stretch.
- Seven Knights are shooting 75.0 percent or better from the line as of Jan. 28 (min. 15 attempts).
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