Jan. 1, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - After playing three games in four days, the Knights were given Tuesday off by head coach Kirk Speraw. On Monday, his team claimed the UCF Holiday Classic title with a 78-69 victory over Long Island.
The Knights opened the event on Sunday, easing past NJIT, 82-50. The team began the busy stretch last Friday, taking traditional power Connecticut to the wire before falling 85-82.
Speraw was happy to not schedule a practice on Tuesday.
"The guys really needed to rest after that tough period," Speraw said. "We have a very tough game ahead (at Sam Houston State on Saturday) and will need to be focused this week. Hopefully the day off will help that."
Sam Houston State is 11-1 in 2007-08. The Bearkats are currently receiving a vote in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.
In November, Sam Houston State posted impressive wins over Texas Tech, Fresno State and Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
The contest at Sam Houston State will serve as the Knights' final non-league game of the season. UCF will not return to Orlando after the game. Instead, the squad will head to Hattiesburg, Miss., and prepare for its Jan. 8 Conference USA opener at Southern Miss.
Both of the road games, and all of UCF's contests for the remainder of the season, will be broadcast live on the UCF ISP Sports Network and 740 AM in Orlando. Despite the station's recent format change, all of the Knights' games will remain on the station.
UCF's next home contest at the new UCF Arena is slated for Jan. 12 against C-USA foe Tulsa at 7 p.m. For ticket information, call 407-UCF-1000.
For the latest news and information on the Knights, tickets or apparel, log on to www.ucfathletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. Also check out www.ucfphotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.
Notes: Junior guard Jermaine Taylor (Tavares, Fla./Tavares) ranks fourth in C-USA in scoring at 19.8 points per game... The Knights will practice on Wednesday and Thursday at the new UCF Arena. The team will leave Orlando on Friday for the Sam Houston State game.