Jan. 27, 2012
="" alt="Knight Head" border="0" class="imported"> Read John Denton's Knights Insider | ="" alt="Twitter Logo" border="0" class="imported">Follow us on Twitter | ="" alt="Facebook Logo" border="0" class="imported">Get social with the Knights on Facebook
By Doug Richards
UCFAthletics.com
| UCF vs. Southern Miss | |
| Date | Saturday, Jan. 28 |
| Time | 7 p.m. |
| Location | Orlando, Fla. | UCF Arena |
| Television | Bright House Sports Network/CSS |
| Radio | UCF IMG Sports Network - 740 AM |
| Tickets | Single-Game | Season |
| Internet Coverage | Video/Audio | |
| Game Notes | UCF Notes |
| Social Media | @UCF_MBasketball | Facebook |
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Two of the top squads in Conference USA will meet for an important league contest Saturday at the UCF Arena when the UCF men's basketball team hosts Southern Miss at 7 p.m. Both the Knights, who have won 16-consecutive home games, and Southern Miss are receiving votes in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.
UCF is 15-5 overall and 5-2 league play and tied for third in the league. At 18-3 overall and 5-1 in C-USA, Southern Miss is tied for first in the conference.
Partial season ticket packages are still available by calling (407) UCF-1000 or by visiting UCFAthletics.com. On Saturday, tickets will be available at the UCF Arena box office prior to the contest. UCF students are admitted free with a valid school ID.
The Knights are 11-0 at home this year. The team's 16-game home winning streak is the 10th-longest in the nation.
UCF will be playing in Orlando for the first time since its thrilling 68-67 victory over Memphis on Jan. 18. The game was played in front of 8,734 raucous fans inside the arena. Junior forward Keith Clanton (Orlando, Fla.) totaled 23 points in the win, including the game-winning 3-point play with four seconds to go. Clanton is averaging a team-high 14.9 points and 8.7 rebounds in league play.
Southern Miss has won three-straight games. The Golden Eagles picked up some impressive non-conference wins, including victories over Ole Miss, Arizona State and USF. Five Southern Miss players are averaging over 10.0 points per game, led by LaShay Page (13.3).
The game will be televised in central Florida on Bright House Sports Network and throughout the southeast on CSS. David Baumann will handle the play-by-play and will be joined on the broadcast by former UCF assistant coach Craig Brown.
UCF fans can listen to the contest on the UCF IMG Sports Network and its flagship station, 740 The Game in Orlando with Marc Daniels and Taylor Young on the call. Live video and statistics will be available at UCFAthletics.com.
Series History
? UCF and Southern Miss have met 10 times, and each team has won five contests
? The squads played twice last season and each team won at home
? On Feb. 26, 2011, A.J. Rompza nailed a 3-pointer from 23-feet out in the final seconds to give UCF a 65-64 victory over Southern Miss
? With UCF trailing 64-62 with 11 seconds to play, Marcus Jordan rebounded a missed Southern Miss free throw and pushed the ball up the court, where he found Rompza who knocked down the game-winning basket with 3.8 seconds remaining
? The basket was Rompza's lone field goal of the game as Jordan recorded a team-high 20 points
? In the meeting at Southern Miss last season on Jan. 15, 2011, the Golden Eagles used a 21-2 run midway through the second half to post an 86-69 victory over UCF
? The Golden Eagles led by one point at halftime and then outscored the Knights 50-34 in the second half
? In three career contests against Southern Miss, Jordan is averaging 17.3 points
Last Time Out
? UCF recovered from a 10-point first-half deficit but host Tulsa held on for 66-61 victory Wednesday
? The Knights had the chance to cut the Golden Hurricane advantage to one point with 15 seconds to play when Marcus Jordan scored a layup, but the basket was waved off when Jordan was whistled for an offensive foul
? Tulsa's Jordan Clarkson made five free throws in the final 15 seconds to secure the win
? UCF shot 37.7 percent overall for the game, compared to 51.0 percent for the Golden Hurricane
? Keith Clanton led the Knights with 15 points and 11 boards
The Comeback
? UCF has not allowed its losses to carryover this year as the Knights are 4-0 following a defeat in 2011-12
? A season ago UCF had an eight-game losing streak during conference play
Home Base
? UCF has won 16-consecutive home games dating back to last season
? The Knights' last loss at the UCF Arena came on Feb. 9, 2011 - a 63-62 defeat to Memphis
? This year, UCF is 11-0 at home
? UCF is currently has the nation's 10th-longest home winning streak
Home is Where the Points Are
? UCF is averaging 69.4 points per game at home, compared to 61.7 points in road and neutral contests
? The Knights' three lowest scoring games this year have all come away from the UCF Arena
Close Calls
? UCF's last four games have been decided by an average of 3.5 points
? Included in the stretch was a one point win over Memphis and a one-point defeat at Marshall
A Tough Tandem
? With Marcus Jordan and Keith Clanton, UCF is the only team in Conference USA that has two players averaging at least 15.0 points per game overall
? Jordan is averaging a team-high 15.6 points, followed by Clanton with 15.4 points
? Jordan is fifth in the league in scoring, with Clanton ranking seventh
? Both players recently joined UCF's 1,000-career point club
? Clanton ranks 14th in program history with 1,088 points, while Jordan is 15th with 1,038 career points
A Block Party
? Keith Clanton recorded three blocks in Saturday's win at UAB and during the second half became the all-time leading shot blocker in UCF history
? The junior has 143 blocks, and passed Ken Leeks (141 from 1988-92) for the top spot on the list
? Clanton is averaging 1.9 blocks (fourth in C-USA) on the year, and 2.3 blocks (second in C-USA) in league play
Handle with Care
? A.J. Rompza leads Conference USA with a 3.8 assist-turnover ratio in league play
? The senior has recorded 30 assists in conference contests with only eight turnovers
? Rompza is seventh in C-USA play, dishing out 4.3 assists per game
It Takes A Thief
? A.J. Rompza is averaging 3.6 steals in Conference USA games to lead the league
? He has 25 steals in six contests and no other league player has more than 16 steals in league games
? The senior ranks third in program history with 189 career steals
? A native of Chicago, Rompza needs only five steals to enter the Conference USA career steals top-10 list
Triple Threat
? In UCF's first three conference games of the year, Tristan Spurlock shot 0-of-7 from 3-point range
? The sophomore forward has found his touch from deep as he shot 42.9 percent in the team's last four contests, making 9-of-21 attempts
? As a freshman at Virginia in 2009-10, Spurlock hit two 3-pointers in 13 contests
? This year, Spurlock is shooting 35.8 percent from deep and has made 24-of-67 attempts
? He is averaging 8.1 points this year after averaging 2.4 points as a rookie
A Big Help
? Center Josh Crittle, who is in his first campaign competing for the Knights after transferring from Oregon, has been a big help in Conference USA play, where he is averaging 5.3 points and 3.9 rebounds
? The junior averaged 4.2 points and 2.9 boards against non-league foes
Up Next
? UCF will take a break from its Conference USA schedule when the Knights host Palm Beach Atlantic Monday
? The game will serve as UCF's final non-league game of the regular season
? UCF has a bye in C-USA play next week and won't play a conference opponent until Saturday when the team faces host SMU