March 3, 2006
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ORLANDO - The UCF men's basketball team concludes the 2005-06 regular season at home on Saturday, hosting UTEP in Conference USA action. Tip-off at Torchy Clark Court at UCF Arena is set for 7:30 p.m.
The Golden Knights (12-14, 6-7 C-USA) have won three-consecutive regular season finales. In its first year in C-USA, UCF is currently fifth in the league standings.
At 19-7 overall and 11-2 in conference play, UTEP is one of the top teams in the league.
Tickets for the game are still available. Call (407) UCF-1000 for more information or to purchase tickets. Admission is free for all UCF students with a valid school ID.
UTEP-UCF will be televised in the El Paso-area only on Time Warner MetroSports.
The contest will be aired live on the UCF ISP Sports Network and its flagship station, WQTM - 740 THE TEAM. Marc Daniels will have the call from courtside. Audio of the contest is also available on www.UCFathletics.com as part of the "Golden Knights All-Access" package.
UCF LAST TIME OUT Marshall had four players finish with double-digits in scoring as the host Thundering Herd recorded a 73-61 victory over the Golden Knights on Wednesday in Huntington, W.Va. Josh Peppers paced UCF with a game-high 18 points and Jermaine Taylor added 13 in the losing effort. UCF shot 33.8 percent for the game, making only 24 of a season-high 71 field-goal attempts. The Thundering Herd made 36 trips to the free-throw line, hitting 29, while UCF was just 6-of-10 at the charity stripe.
ABOUT UTEP The Miners have already clinched a top-three seed at the Conference USA Championship. UTEP has won seven of its last eight contests, with the only loss during that span coming at Memphis (66-56) on Feb. 22. The squad is 5-5 on the road this season. On Wednesday, the Miners topped visiting Tulsa, 49-45. Jason Williams and Miguel Ayala each scored 14 points in the win.
Williams is seventh in C-USA in scoring at 14 points per game and fifth in rebounding (7.3). After suffering an injury at Memphis, senior forward John Tofi (13.9 ppg, 9.2 rpg) is out for the season. UTEP is one of the top defensive teams in the country, limiting foes to just 58.4 points per game, good for 12th nationally. The Miners are shooting 44.7 percent from the floor, while opponents are shooting at a 39.2 percent clip.
SERIES HISTORY The Miners lead the all-time series, 1-0. The teams last met on Dec. 15, 1978 when UTEP claimed a 92-64 victory in El Paso. The Golden Knights were competing in Division II at the time. In its first campaign in Conference USA in 2005-06, UCF has already faced two opponents (Memphis, Rice) for the first time since the 1970s. This season, UCF is 2-3 against squads from the state of Texas.
SENIOR NIGHT Prior to the game, the UCF program will honor its four seniors - Marcus Johnson, Troy Lindbeck, Justin Rose and Anthony Williams. The players have been a part of some of the top teams in school history. Lindbeck has been a member of two NCAA Tournament teams. The Golden Knights have claimed 82 victories since the start of Lindbeck's freshman campaign. Johnson, Rose and Williams are all junior college transfers. A year ago in their first season in Orlando, the Golden Knights won 24 games and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
A LATE END When the Golden Knights face UTEP on March 4, it will mark the latest regular season game for UCF since the 1987-88 season. That year, the squad played at Miami on March 5. Since that season, UCF has had just seven regular season games in the month of March, with the last before this year coming on March 1, 2003 versus Florida Atlantic. A year ago as a member of the Atlantic Sun, UCF played its final regular season game on Feb. 26 at Campbell.
CRASHING THE BOARDS Thanks to 17 offensive rebounds, UCF attempted a season-high 71 field goals at Marshall on Wednesday. Jermaine Taylor and Marcus Johnson each totaled five offensive rebounds against the Thundering Herd.
THE SCORING LEADER Josh Peppers has led UCF in scoring in five of the last six games. In the Golden Knights last six contests, the junior forward is averaging 17.4 points per game. He has connected on 11 triples during that span.
MARCH WITHOUT THE MADNESS The month of March usually lacks the expected "madness" for the Golden Knights. Under Kirk Speraw, UCF is 19-10 during the month. In the last three seasons, the Golden Knights are 8-4 in March.
MOVING UP THE CHARTS Troy Lindbeck has played in 119 games as a Golden Knight, a mark that ranks third in school history. Jason Thornton (1998-02) appeared in 121 contests during his career and is UCF's all-time leader in the category.
RATINGS GAME The Golden Knights have played six teams this season ranked in the top-55 of the latest (Feb. 28) RPI report. Conference USA opponents Memphis (6), UAB (52) and Houston (54) are all in the top-55. Florida (33), Kentucky (41) and Western Kentucky (47) are also listed.
WELL ROUNDED Senior guard Justin Rose is doing it all for UCF this season. In his second campaign at UCF, he is starting for the first time and is showing off all facets of his game. The shooting guard is first on the team in rebounds per game with 5.8. He is second on the squad with an 11 points and a 3.4 assists per game average. Rose ranks 10th in Conference USA in field-goal percentage (48.3 percent). His 1.7 steals per game are also good for 10th in the league rankings.
HOME COOKING Dating back to the start of the 2001-02 season, the Golden Knights are 53-15 in games played at UCF Arena. In 2004-05, the team went 12-3 at home, the second-best home win total in program history (14 in 1993-94). This season, the squad is 9-5 in Orlando.
THE INJURED LIST Kirk Speraw announced on Jan. 5 that senior center Will Bakanowsky and junior guard Mike Battle will both redshirt this season. Due to injuries, Bakanowsky and Battle have not appeared in any of the Golden Knights' games in 2005-06.
UCF's starting center a year ago, Bakanowsky has not played for precautionary reasons due to concussions. In 2004-05, he made 26 starts and averaged 6.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest. Bakanowsky has not seen action since UCF's contest at the 2005 NCAA Tournament when he scored 15 points and added seven rebounds against Connecticut.
Battle, a transfer from Paris Junior College in Texas, was expected to compete for a starting guard spot. He has not played due to a stress fracture of the tibia. Last year, he averaged 9.5 points per game and helped lead Paris to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I title.
THIS DATE IN UCF HISTORY On March 4, 2004, Josh Bodden scored 20 points as UCF opened the Atlantic Sun Championship with a 71-63 quarterfinal win over Jacksonville. Roberto Morentin chipped in with 16 points and was one of four Golden Knights to finish with double-figures in scoring.
UP NEXT UCF will participate in the Conference USA Championship in Memphis from March 8-11. Seedings and game times will be determined on Saturday evening. The Golden Knights will be competing in the C-USA Championship for the first time after moving from the Atlantic Sun... Video of all first round games on March 8 will be available online only. All four quarterfinal contests on March 9 will be televised live nationally on CSTV.