Nov. 23, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - On Tuesday at Valparaiso, UCF's large freshman class did not have a good night. The Crusaders hounded the rookies into bad shots, turnovers and an overall frustrating evening. Did the horrific night in Indiana help the Knights knock off New Mexico in one of the nation's toughest venues Saturday?
Freshman guard A.J. Rompza (Chicago, Ill.) thinks so.
Rompza credits a Thursday film session with helping the young players, and the entire team, prepare to face the Lobos. The lessons learned at Valparaiso helped the Knights post a 72-71 win over New Mexico at The Pit after redshirt freshman guard Chris Baez (Kissimmee, Fla.) hit a triple with four seconds remaining.
On Tuesday, UCF's seven freshmen struggled as the team shot just 30.4 percent overall and 18.5 percent from deep. Turnovers and defensive lapses came as frequently as baskets for the Knights. That did not happen in Albuquerque.
"Because we are freshman, we are so used to going at a fast pace," Rompza said. "We want to do so well that we kind of don't wait for the play to develop. On tape we saw that a cutter was coming through and he was wide open or that the post was wide open. We don't see that (in the game) because we are going so fast. That was something that I did well yesterday; when we slowed down and went into the post a lot."
UCF's win at New Mexico snapped a 33-game home non-conference winning streak for the Lobos. Before Saturday, the Lobos' previous non-conference defeat at The Pit came in 2004 against No. 5 Wake Forest. The streak was the fifth-longest in the nation.
The Knights clearly were a better team against New Mexico than they were earlier in the week at Valparaiso. Rompza believes that the young team will show improvement as the season continues.
"That is how I see. Individually, each game I feel like I am getting a lot more comfortable. I see it for every other freshman. I think it is really a learning experience every game. Once we watch tape we see that we could have done this or we could have done that. Every game, we are just going to be a lot better."
The Knights will continue their stretch of five-consecutive games away from Orlando on Wednesday, playing at Ole Miss. The contest, which begins at 8 p.m. Eastern, will be aired on the UCF-ISP Sports Network and 740 AM in Orlando, with Marc Daniels on the call.
UCF's next home game at the UCF Arena is slated for Dec. 6 against cross-state foe USF. Season tickets, which start at just $99, are still available. To order your season tickets, and to learn more about the Fastbreak Club and other premium seating opportunities, call the UCF ticket sales office at (407) UCF-1000.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.
Notes: New Mexico's 33-game home non-conference winning streak included victories over Colorado, Kansas State, Oregon, San Diego, Texas Tech and No. 8 Wichita State... The Knights returned to Orlando on Sunday afternoon. The team will practice on Monday and then depart for Ole Miss Tuesday morning... Sunday's edition of the Albuquerque Journal included a pair of stories about the Knights' win. UCF players read the paper on the way to the airport Sunday morning and got a laugh out of a line from columnist Rick Wright. He described Rompza as a "5-foot-9 freshman with a mouth as big as Disney World."