Feb. 15, 2011
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By Doug Richards
UCFAthletics.com
Complete Release in PDF Format
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - After defeating Tulsa over the weekend, the UCF men's basketball team will return to the hardwood Wednesday at Tulane. The Conference USA contest Fogelman Arena in New Orleans will begin at 8 p.m. Eastern.
The Knights (15-8, 2-8 C-USA) posted a 58-57 victory Saturday against visiting Tulsa. Sophomore forward Keith Clanton (Orlando, Fla.) totaled 16 points in the win, and sophomore guard Marcus Jordan (Chicago, Ill.) added 15 points and seven assists. Jordan ranks eighth in C-USA in scoring at 15.8 points per game, while Clanton is averaging 14.4 points and 8.6 boards, which ranks fifth in the conference.
The game at Tulane is the first of three-straight on the road for the Knights. UCF plays at UAB Saturday, and will face UTEP in El Paso Monday.
Tulane is 12-12 overall and 2-9 in league games. The Green Wave are led by Kendall Timmons, who is averaging 16.9 points per outing.
The contest will air on the UCF Sports Network and its flagship station, 740 The Game in Orlando. Marc Daniels will provide play-by-play on the broadcast, and his pregame show begins at 7:30 p.m. Live video and statistics are available on UCFAthletics.com.
The Knights' next home game is Saturday, Feb. 26, against Southern Miss. Tickets for the contest are available at Ticketmaster.com or UCFAthletics.com.
Series Record UCF, 5-2
Last Meeting UCF 62, Tulane 54 (Feb. 13, 2010 in Orlando)
? The Knights have a 5-2 edge in the all-time series with the Green Wave, and have won three-straight contests
? In the most recent matchup, UCF slipped past Tulane, 62-54, on Feb. 13, 2010, at the UCF Arena
? A.J. Rompza led the hosts with 17 points, and Isaac Sosa hit three 3-pointers and finished with 13 points in 27 minutes off of the bench
? In the last series meeting in New Orleans, Jermaine Taylor scored seven of his 28 points in overtime to help UCF overcome a 10-point second-half deficit and post a 79-74 victory at Fogelman Arena
? While at Marshall, Donnie Jones went 5-1 versus the Green Wave
? A year ago, the Thundering Herd went 2-0 against Tulane
? UCF associate head coach Shawn Finney served as Tulane's head coach from 2000-05
? During Finney's time leading the Tulane program, every student-athlete he recruited graduated
? During the 2001-02 campaign, Finney led the Green Wave to big wins over Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech
? The following year, Tulane again knocked off the Yellow Jackets
? UCF defeated two teams from Louisiana during the non-conference portion of its schedule, both at home
? The Knights topped Southeastern Louisiana, 74-49, on Dec. 4, and handled Louisiana-Lafayette, 79-58, on Dec. 15
The Return
? UCF finally returned to the win column last Saturday as the Knights posted a 58-57 victory over visiting Tulsa
? The win over the Golden Hurricane snapped an eight-game losing streak for the Knights
? Before beating Tulsa, UCF's last win came 38 days before, on Jan. 5 against Marshall in the Conference USA opener for both teams
The Match Game
? The win over Tulsa allowed the Knights to match their victory total from a year ago
? Last year, UCF did not win its 15th game until March 10 at the Conference USA Championship as the Knights won only 14 regular-season contests
? UCF recorded a 15-17 mark in 2009-10
? On Feb. 16 of last season, UCF was 12-12 overall
? The Knights started this year with 14-straight victories to record the best start at UCF since the program moved to the Division I ranks in 1984
? UCF was one of the final six remaining unbeaten squads in the country
Last Time Out
? UCF snapped an eight-game losing streak Saturday, holding on for a 58-57 victory over Tulsa at the UCF Arena
? The Golden Hurricane had the chance to win the game but Scottie Haralson's 3-point attempt with three seconds to play was off the mark
? Keith Clanton led UCF with 16 points, and Marcus Jordan added 15 points and seven assists
Hitting the Road
? The game against the Green Wave is the first of a season-high three-consecutive road games for the Knights
? UCF was originally slated to play at Tulane and UAB (Saturday) this week, and then have next Wednesday off before hosting Southern Miss on Saturday, Feb. 26
? But because UCF's game at UTEP, which was originally slated for Feb. 2 and was postponed due to a winter storm in El Paso, has been rescheduled for Monday, the Knights will play three-straight away from Orlando
? Since joining Conference USA in 2005, UCF has never played three-consecutive league games on the road
Doing it with Defense
? The Knights have excelled defensively as of late, and showed great effort on the defensive end in its last two games
? UCF's last two opponents - Memphis and Tulsa - averaged just 60.0 points against the Knights
? Memphis scored 63 points versus UCF, 12 points below its season average of 75.5
? The Knights limited Tulsa to 57 points, 13 points below the team's season average (70.3)
Close Calls
? Even during its losing streak, UCF played several teams close, and that continued Saturday against Tulsa as the Knights picked up a 58-57 victory
? UCF's last two games were decided by a total of two points as Memphis defeated the host Knights, 63-62, on Feb. 9
? The team's last four contests were decided by an average of 3.5 points
? UCF has played nine Conference USA games, and the winning margin in seven of those contests has been less than 10 points
Block it Out
? Even with six regular-season games remaining on its schedule, UCF has already established a school single-season blocks record with 149 swats in 23 contests
? After totaling just 95 blocks in 32 games last year, the Knights are fourth nationally, averaging 6.48 blocks per outing
? The previous UCF single-season blocks record was 143 in 2004-05
? Tom Herzog (52 blocks) leads Conference USA and is 21st in the country with 2.4 blocks per game, and Keith Clanton (45 blocks) is third in the conference and 54th nationally at 2.0
That 70s Show
? The victory over Tulsa gave Donnie Jones his 70th career win
? In his fourth year as a head coach, Jones is 70-48 overall
? Before coming to UCF, Jones went 55-41 in three years as the head coach at Marshall
70-Something
? Last season, 11 of UCF's opponents scored at least 70 points against the Knights
? This year, only six of the Knights' 23 foes have recorded 70 or more points, with only one eclipsing the 80-point mark
? In 2009-10, six teams scored at least 80 points while facing UCF
? UCF is second in Conference USA in scoring defense, limiting opponents to just 62.0 points an outing
? The Knights are also first in C-USA in field goal percentage defense at 39.1
Pass it On
? Marcus Jordan matched a career high with seven assists versus Tulsa Saturday
? The sophomore leads the Knights, and ranks 10th in Conference USA, at 3.5 assists per game
? Jordan has upped his assist numbers in league play, where he is averaging 4.2 assists, which ranks sixth in the conference
On Line
? Marcus Jordan leads Conference USA with 150 free-throw attempts
? He has hit 119 foul shots and is shooting 79.3 percent at the line, good for 10th in the league
? This season, 32.6 percent of Jordan's points have come at the line
Clanton Comes Alive
? Keith Clanton had a solid contest against Tulsa Saturday, scoring 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor
? The sophomore was in need of a strong performance, as he averaged just 7.5 points on 29.4 percent shooting in UCF's previous two games (at East Carolina, vs. Memphis)
Triple Trouble
? Isaac Sosa is quickly moving up the UCF career 3-pointers register
? Sosa is fifth all-time at UCF with 177 treys, just three behind Josh Peppers (2003-07), who is fourth with 180
? Sosa also ranks fourth in UCF history in 3-point field goal percentage (42.9)
Block Party
? Tom Herzog has blocked 52 shots this season, and already ranks fifth on the school single-season blocks register
? The 7-footer is averaging 2.4 blocks, which leads Conference USA and ranks 21st in the country
? Although he is in his first and only year in Orlando, he needs just two blocks to enter the top 10 on the UCF career blocks list
Up Next
? The Knights will return to action Saturday at UAB
? UAB is 6-0 all-time against the Knights, and is 2-0 against UCF in Birmingham