Nov. 21, 2007
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - The UCF men's basketball team will be in the national spotlight on Thanksgiving, facing 19th-ranked Villanova at the Old Spice Classic at Disney's Wide World of Sports at 7 p.m. The contest from nearby Lake Buena Vista will be televised live nationally on ESPN2.
The Knights will be seeking a 3-0 start to the season for the fourth-consecutive year when they face Villanova (2-0) at the eight-team tournament. In its second year, the Old Spice Classic is considered one of the top events in the nation.
Villanova is one of two nationally-ranked teams in the eight-squad field, which also includes No. 20 Kansas State, George Mason, NC State, Penn State, Rider and South Carolina.
On Friday evening, UCF will play either George Mason or Kansas State at 5 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. No games are scheduled for Saturday and the bracket-style tournament will conclude on Sunday.
Tickets for the tournament are available at all Ticketmaster outlets and at the Milk House box office.
For the ESPN2 telecast, Jon Sciambi will handle the play-by-play duties and Fran Fraschilla will provide analysis. All games at the event will be shown live nationally on ESPN2 or ESPNU.
UCF-Villanova will be broadcast live on the UCF ISP Sports Network and its flagship station, 740 The Team in Orlando. Marc Daniels will have the call during the broadcast and Scott Adams will provide commentary. Live audio and statistics will be available at www.ucfathletics.com.
THE COACHES
? Kirk Speraw (Iowa, 1980) is in his 15th season as UCF's head coach. He owns a 233-187 record at UCF. In his 18th year as a head coach, he has a 315-208 mark. In 2006-07, he was named the Conference USA Coach of the Year.
? Villanova's Jay Wright (Bucknell, 1983) is in his seventh year at Villanova and has a 128-70 mark with the Wildcats. He is in his 14th season as a head coach (250-155).
SERIES INFORMATION
? UCF and Villanova will be meeting on the hardwood for the first time.
? The Wildcats are one of three teams from the BIG EAST Conference that the Knights will face this year. The squad plays at USF on Dec. 1 and will host Connecticut on Dec. 28.
? All-time, UCF is 4-23 against current BIG EAST programs. The Knights' most recent matchup with a BIG EAST team came against Connecticut in the 2005 NCAA Tournament.
? UCF and Villanova have met before on the gridiron with the Knights posting a 35-16 victory over the Wildcats at the Florida Citrus Bowl to open the 2006 campaign.
ABOUT VILLANOVA
? The Wildcats improved to 2-0 on Sunday with a 70-64 home win over Bucknell. The Bison led 35-27 at intermission, but Villanova rallied in the second half. The Wildcats finished the game with a 43-26 rebounding edge.
? Villanova is led by Shane Clark (21 ppg, 9.5 rpg) and Scottie Reynolds (14 ppg, 4.5 apg). Reynolds was the BIG EAST Freshman of the Year in 2006-07. Villanova went 22-11 a year ago and was selected to the NCAA Tournament.
UP NEXT FOR THE KNIGHTS
? UCF will play either George Mason or 20th-ranked Kansas State on Friday. The Knights are 0-2 all-time against George Mason and 0-1 against Kansas State.
? The program is 0-2 against both NC State and South Carolina, but holds a 1-0 edge all-time versus Rider. UCF and Penn State have never met on the hardwood.
? UCF's Mike O'Donnell played at NC State as a freshman in 2003-04. The Largo, Fla., native appeared in 30 games for the Wolf Pack that year, making seven starts and averaging 2.4 points.
A SHORT TRIP
? UCF will not have to travel far to compete in the Old Spice Classic. Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex is located 35 miles away from the UCF campus. The UCF campus is located in East Orlando.
? In past years, the Knights have traveled far to compete in eight-team events. A year ago, the squad participated in the San Juan Shootout in Puerto Rico. At the start of the 2004-05 campaign, UCF played in the BP Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska.
BIG TOURNAMENTS EQUAL BIG SUCCES FOR THE KNIGHTS
? UCF has enjoyed great success recently competing at eight-team in-season tournaments. In its last three eight-team events, UCF is 8-1 with a pair of tournament titles.
? Last December, the Knights finished third at the San Juan Shootout in Puerto Rico. UCF opened the event with a win over Utah and finished ahead of teams from some of the nation's best conferences, including the Atlantic Coast, Big Ten and Mountain West.
? Head coach Kirk Speraw's squad opened the 2004-05 campaign by recording three victories to claim the BP Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska. UCF topped Alaska-Fairbanks, Utah State and New Mexico State.
? During the 2002-03 season, UCF won the University Hoops Classic, which was hosted by Tulane in New Orleans. The Knights defeated the host Green Wave, Maine and Indiana State and win the tournament.
HOME GAMES AWAY FROM HOME
? When UCF participates in the Old Spice Classic at Disney's Wide World of Sports, the Knights will be returning to an old trend. Prior to joining a conference at the Division I level, the Knights frequently played games off campus in the area.
? The Knights participated in tournaments hosted by Rollins in Winter Park, hosted events at the current Amway Arena and welcomed visiting teams to the Orange County Civic Center.
? Since the 1991-92 season, UCF has not had an "away" game in Orlando. That year, the Knights played in the Tangerine Tournament in Winter Park.
HOME INVASION
? When UCF competes at the Old Spice Classic, it will mark the Knights' first neutral site games in the state of Florida since 2003. On Dec. 4, 2003, UCF headed north to Jacksonville to face Florida.
BACK FOR THE FIRST TIME
? Three UCF starters - Jermaine Taylor, Mike O'Donnell and Dave Noel - are familiar with the Milk House. The Knights will be playing at the facility for the first time since their high school days.
? Each player competed at AAU events at the facility each summer. Taylor, the youngest player of the group, estimates that he played around 40 games inside the Milk House, dating back to his middle school days.
? O'Donnell played around 30 games at the venue, with Noel playing 16 games during three tournaments.
BACK FOR THE FIRST TIME
? Three UCF starters - Jermaine Taylor, Mike O'Donnell and Dave Noel - are familiar with the Milk House. The Knights will be playing at the facility for the first time since their high school days.
? Each player competed at AAU events at the facility each summer. Taylor, the youngest player of the group, estimates that he played around 40 games inside the Milk House, dating back to his middle school days.
? O'Donnell played around 30 games at the venue, with Noel playing 16 games during three tournaments.
UCF AGAINST NATIONALLY-RANKED TEAMS
? All-time, UCF is 1-16 against nationally-ranked opponents. Since the 2002-03 campaign, the Knights have faced seven ranked teams.
? UCF's last game against a ranked team came on Jan. 30, 2007, when the squad hosted No. 11 Memphis.
? The program's win over a ranked opponent happened on Dec. 12, 2002 as the Knights recorded an 82-64 victory at home over No. 25 College of Charleston.
KNIGHTS OPEN ARENA IN STYLE
? The Knights opened the new UCF Arena in style on Nov. 11, posting a 63-60 victory over national power Nevada. The Wolf Pack entered the game receiving votes in both national polls.
? Dave Noel and Kenrick Zondervan paced the hosts with 14 points each. Noel added a game-high nine boards and Chip Cartwright came off of the bench to score 11 points and dish out six assists.
? The Knights led by 11 points with five minutes to play, but the Wolf Pack rallied. UCF secured the win when Marcelus Kemp's 3-point attempt fell short as time expired.
UCF HANDS WOLF PACK RARE LOSS
? UCF's win over Nevada was impressive on several fronts. The Wolf Pack, who have made four-straight trips to the NCAA Tournament, went 29-5 overall last year and were ranked as high as No. 10 nationally.
? Nevada posted a 10-2 mark on the road in 2006-07 and lost just two games to non-league opponents (at UNLV and versus Memphis in the second round of the NCAA Tournament).
? The Knights and Nevada will meet again this season as UCF will travel to Reno for a Dec. 16 contest.
THE GO-TO GUY
? Starting for the first time in his collegiate career, Jermaine Taylor has been UCF's go-to-player on offense at the start of the season. He is averaging 14 points for the Knights
. ? He made his first career start in the season opener against Nevada. In his previous two years in Orlando, the junior appeared in all 50 of UCF's games, but never made a start.
? The guard/forward averaged 12.7 points in 25.2 minutes last year. He ranked second on the team in scoring and was among the best shooters in Conference USA (47.4 percent overall; 41.4 percent from 3-point range).
? Taylor registered six 20-point games and paced the Knights in scoring 12 times in 2006-07. As a rookie in 2005-06, he averaged 4.3 points while shooting just 39.5 percent overall and 30.4 percent from 3-point range.
NOEL EXHIBITS WELL-ROUNDED GAME
? Known for his defending skills, Dave Noel has shined on the offensive end for the Knights this season. The senior shooting guard is averaging 14 points per game, to go with 7.5 rebounds. He is shooting 57.9 percent from the floor.
? Last year, Noel averaged 9.1 points and 3.8 boards.
ON THE DEFENSIVE
? In UCF's season-opening win over Nevada, Dave Noel proved that he is a candidate for the 2007-08 Conference USA All-Defensive Team. During the game, the shooting guard contained Nevada's Marcelus Kemp, a preseason candidate for the Naismith and Wooden Awards.
? Kemp finished with 19 points, but shot just 8-of-22 from the field and 1-of-8 from deep. Noel and the Knights forced 18 Wolf Pack turnovers, with Kemp committing four.
CHIP'S IMPACT
? In his senior year with the Knights, reserve point guard Chip Cartwright is making an impact. Through two contests in 2007-08, Cartwright is averaging 11 points, 6.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 3.0 steals.
? He is playing 30 minutes per contest, often sharing time with Mike O'Donnell in the backcourt. The Houston native is shooting 58.8 percent overall.
? Last season in his first year in Orlando after transferring from Angelina College in Texas, Cartwright averaged 2.5 points in 12.4 minutes per contest behind O'Donnell.
BATTLE MOVES INSIDE
? Sharpshooter Mike Battle is averaging 7.0 points in 20 minutes per contest in 2007-08. The 6-foot-4 shooting guard has spent most of his playing time in the front court. Against Nevda, the senior did a good job defending JaVale McGee, a 7-footer.
? After transferring from Paris Junior College in Texas, Battle missed the 2005-06 campaign due to an injury. In limited time last year, he averaged 2.4 points and hit 17 treys.
CROWDED HOUSE
? The new UCF Arena is paying big dividends for the Knights. A school record 5,277 fans were on hand at the facility to watch the Knights top Norfolk State on Nov. 16. In the inaugural game at the arena on Nov. 11 versus Nevada, the fourth-largest crowd in school history was recorded (4,668).
? UCF is averaging 4,972 spectators at home this season.
? A year ago, UCF averaged 2,706 fans per game at the 5,100-seat old UCF Arena. That mark was the highest average attendance in program history.
PLAYING BIG
? UCF's guards are getting to the glass in 2007-08. Dave Noel and Jermaine Taylor are both averaging a team-high 7.5 rebounds.
? The Knights' perimeter players (Noel, Taylor, Chip Cartwright, Mike O'Donnell, Mike Battle) have accounted for 54.2 percent of the team's rebounds through two contests this season.
FLAVOR OF THE MONTH
? The Knights have won 16-straight contests in the month of November and are 23-2 during the month dating back to the 2001-02 season.
? UCF's last loss during the month was a 72-63 defeat at the College of Charleston on Nov. 25, 2003.
? In 2006-07, the team went 6-0 in November.