Dec. 10, 2007
Complete Release in PDF Format
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - The UCF men's basketball team will conclude a brief two-game homestand on Tuesday, hosting Louisiana-Lafayette. Tip-off for the non-conference contest at the new UCF Arena is slated for 7 p.m.
The Knights (4-4) are 3-1 at their new facility this season. A school-record 5,574 fans were on hand to watch the team host Ole Miss on Saturday.
Louisiana-Lafayette has faced a difficult schedule in 2007-08 and is 1-4 on the year.
Tickets for the game are available at all Ticketmaster outlets and at the UCF ticket office at Bright House Networks Stadium. On Tuesday, tickets can be purchased at the new UCF Arena box office.
Season tickets are currently available by calling 407-UCF-1000. UCF students are admitted free to all home basketball games with a valid school ID.
The contest will be aired 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. He will be joined courtside by Scott Adams. Live audio, statistics and video 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 235-191 record at UCF. In his 18th year as a head coach, he has a 317-212 mark. In 2006-07, he was named the Conference USA Coach of the Year.
? Louisiana-Lafayette head coach Robert Lee (Nicholls State, 1991) is 26-44 in four seasons with the Ragin' Cajuns and four years as a head coach.
SERIES INFORMATION
? UCF and Louisiana-Lafayette will be meeting for the ninth time, but for the first occasion since 1992. The two programs were league opponents from 1990-92 in the American South and Sun Belt Conferences.
? The Ragin' Cajuns have an 8-0 edge in the all-time series, including a 4-0 mark in Orlando. In the last meeting, Louisiana-Lafayette posted a 77-72 win at home over the Knights on Feb. 6, 1992.
? The Knights are 43-56 all-time against current Sun Belt programs. A year ago, the Knights hosted Sun Belt member Florida Atlantic, registering an 87-65 win over the Owls.
? UCF is 18-34 all-time versus schools from Louisiana.
ABOUT LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE
? The Ragin' Cajuns have faced a tough early-season schedule. Three of the squad's first five games have been away from home.
? Louisiana-Lafayette has not played since Nov. 30, when it dropped a 98-70 contest at No. 11 Tennessee. The Ragin' Cajuns are averaging 66 points per game, while allowing 73.8.
? The squad is shooting 40.2 percent from the field and just 28.7 from 3-point range. Elijah Millsap paces the team in scoring (16.6) and rebounding (7.4).
? Louisiana-Lafayette has already faced one Conference USA squad this season. Despite a career-high 26 points from Millsap, the Ragin' Cajuns fell just short against visiting UAB on Nov. 27, losing 78-72 in overtime.
UP NEXT FOR THE KNIGHTS
? UCF will leave the state of Florida for the first time this season, facing Nevada in Reno on Sunday. The two squads opened the season in Orlando and the Knights posted a 63-60 victory in the inaugural game at the new UCF Arena.
? The Wolf Pack were garnering votes in both national polls when the squads met on Nov. 11.
CLOSE CALLS
? All four of UCF's defeats this season have been by nine points or less.
? The four squads that UCF has lost to - Ole Miss (7-0), USF (7-3), Villanova (7-1) and Kansas State (6-3) - are a combined 27-7 in 2007-08.
SEVEN IS ENOUGH
? Head coach Kirk Speraw used seven players against Ole Miss on Saturday evening. Four Knights logged at least 30 minutes of action against the Rebels, who used 11 players.
? The contest marked the first time in Speraw's tenure (15 years) with the Knights that he has used fewer than eight players in a game. Prior to the Ole Miss game, Speraw had never used fewer than eight players in 425 contests as UCF's head coach.
? In 2006-07, Speraw did not use fewer than 10 players in a game.
THE GO-TO GUY
? Jermaine Taylor has led UCF in scoring in each of the last five games. He has recorded four 20-point contests during that span.
? Starting for the first time during his collegiate career, Taylor is averaging a team-best 17.6 points, which ranks fifth in Conference USA. Last season, he came off of the bench in all 31 of UCF's games and was second on the team in scoring (12.7).
FULL HOUSE
? A school-record 5,574 fans were on hand at the new UCF Arena to watch the Knights face Ole Miss on Saturday. UCF has played four contests at the new facility this season and four of the top six crowds in school history have already been recorded.
? UCF is currently averaging 5,063 fans per contest. In 2006-07, the Knights boasted a school-record 2,706 fans a game at the old UCF Arena. The program played at the facility from 1991-07.
UCF FANS MAKE THEIR MARK
? UCF's 2007-08 home attendance average of 5,063 ranks third among the 13 schools in Florida that sponsor Division I basketball. The Knights trail only Florida (10,739) and Florida State (7,913).
? UCF is averaging more fans than USF (3,674) and Miami (2,500).
TAKE THAT
? Mike O'Donnell recorded a career-high six steals against Ole Miss and currently ranks third in Conference USA with 2.1 swipes per game.
? In his third year with the Knights, O'Donnell has 110 steals and is approaching the school's career top-10 list in the category.
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD
? UCF's starting shooting guard, Dave Noel, leads the team in rebounding this season (6.5). Noel grabbed a game-high nine boards against Ole Miss.
? He has four games with seven or more rebounds this year.
? UCF's perimeter players account for 48.8 of the team's boards in 2007-08.
MOVING UP THE CHARTS
? In just his third season in Orlando after transferring from NC State, Mike O'Donnell is making his mark in the UCF record book. He is currently listed in four career statistical categories: 3-point field goals (142 - 7th), 3-point field goal attempts (355- 8th), 3-point field goal percentage (.400 - 4th) and assists (257 - 7th).
ON LINE
? Following his 4-of-4 performance at the free-throw line against Ole Miss, Dave Noel now ranks fourth all-time at UCF in free-throw percentage (.820). In his third year with the Knights after transferring from UNC-Wilmington, he has made 150 of his 183 attempts at the line.
NO REST FOR THESE KNIGHTS
? Three Knights - Mike O'Donnell (35.8), Jermaine Taylor (33.8) and Dave Noel (32.5) - are averaging over 30 minutes per contest. A year ago, no Knight averaged more than 31 minutes a game.
? O'Donnell has logged over 33 minutes in seven of UCF's eight games this year. He ranks second in Conference USA in minutes per game.