Feb. 16, 2012
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By Doug Richards
UCFAthletics.com
| UCF vs. East Carolina | |
| Date | Saturday, Feb. 18 |
| 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) - The UCF men's basketball team will look for more success at home Saturday when the Knights host East Carolina at 7 p.m. at the UCF Arena. UCF (18-7, 7-4 Conference USA) is 13-1 at home this season.
With five conference contests remaining, UCF needs only one victory to match its regular-season win total from a year ago. Head coach Donnie Jones' team has received great play as of late from sophomore forward Isaiah Sykes (Detroit, Mich.). After averaging 21.0 points and 10.0 rebounds while shooting 72.0 percent last week, Sykes was selected as the C-USA Player of the Week for the first time Monday. In the Knights' last contest, he scored a career-high 27 points at Southern Miss this past Saturday.
Tickets for Saturday's game are available at all Ticketmaster outlets and online at UCFAthletics.com. On Saturday, tickets can be purchased at the UCF Arena box office. UCF students receive free admission to all home contests.
As part of UKNIGHT in Pink, UCF and the Central Florida Affiliate of Susan G. Komen have partnered to offer a special $10 ticket for the game, with $2 from each ticket going to Komen Central Florida. Click here to order the specially priced tickets.
UCF and East Carolina (12-12, 3-8) will be meeting for the second time this season. On Jan. 7, the visiting Knights rolled to an 81-63 win over the Pirates in Greenville, N.C.
Prior to the game Saturday, representatives from A Gift for Teaching will be on hand at the UCF Arena lobby to collect school supplies that will be distributed to underprivileged students.
UCF-East Carolina will be televised in central Florida on Bright House Sports Network. David Baumann will handle the play-by-play and former UCF assistant coach Craig Brown will provide color commentary. The game will also air throughout the southeast on CSS.
The game will air on the UCF IMG Sports Network and its flagship station, 740 The Game in Orlando. Marc Daniels will join Taylor Young on the call. Live video and statistics will be available at UCFAthletics.com.
Series History
? UCF is 12-5 all-time against East Carolina and 5-2 vs. the Pirates in Orlando
? Prior to UCF's 81-63 win over East Carolina in Greenville on Jan. 7, the Pirates had won four-straight series matchups
? The Knights never trailed during the contest at East Carolina as four UCF players finished with double digits in scoring, led by Isaiah Sykes who totaled 20 points on 10-of-15 shooting
? A.J. Rompza also had a strong performance as he filled up the box score with 16 points, nine assists, seven boards and five steals
? In the last series matchup in Orlando, the Pirates posted a 74-63 victory over the Knights on Jan. 19, 2011
? The Pirates went 3-0 against UCF a year ago
? The Knights have played East Carolina 15 times since UCF joined C-USA in 2005, and the Pirates are UCF's most frequent opponent during that span
Last Time Out
? Despite a career-high 27 points from Isaiah Sykes, UCF came up just short at Conference USA leader Southern Miss last Saturday as the Golden Eagles held on for a 78-74 victory
? Southern Miss led 37-27 at the half, but UCF used a 9-0 run midway through the second half to get back into the game, and took a 52-51 lead with 7:58 to play when A.J. Rompza hit a 3-pointer
? The hosts responded with nine-straight points from Jonathan Mills and the hosts built their edge to 60-55 with 5:28 to go in the contest when Mills hit a jumper
? The Knights continued to battle, and got within two points with a minute remaining after two free throws from Marcus Jordan, but Southern Miss hit 11 free throws in the final minute
Winning Ways
? With five league games remaining, UCF has already topped its Conference USA victory total from a year ago as the Knights are 7-4 in the conference
? UCF went 6-10 against C-USA foes in 2010-11 and also went 6-10 in the league in 2009-10
The Home Team
? The Knights have enjoyed great success at the UCF Arena in 2011-12
? UCF is 13-1 at home this season and the squad is averaging 69.9 points in Orlando compared to 62.5 points in road and neutral contests
A Tough Slate
? UCF has faced a challenging schedule this year, and four of its seven losses have come against teams that were either ranked or receiving votes at the time
? In non-league play, UCF fell to No. 24 Florida State and a Harvard team that was receiving top-25 votes
? The Knights lost to Southern Miss twice in Conference USA action, and the Golden Eagles were garnering votes each time
18 is Not Enough
? With 18 victories to its credit, UCF needs only one win to match its regular-season win total from last year
? In Donnie Jones' first campaign at UCF, the Knights went 19-10 during the regular season in 2010-11
A Wonderful Week
? Isaiah Sykes was sensational against Marshall and Southern Miss and as a result earned Conference USA Player of the Week honors Monday
? The sophomore averaged 21.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.0 steals and shot 72.0 percent overall, making 18-of-25 attempts
? He totaled a career-high 27 points at Southern Miss and added 10 boards vs. the league leading Golden Eagles and began the week with 15 points and 10 rebounds in a win over Marshall
Welcome Home
? No Knight is more than happy to be back in Orlando than Marcus Jordan
? He is averaging 17.7 points on 41.8 percent shooting at home, compared to 12.9 points on 32.8 percent shooting in road and neutral contests
Block Party
? The all-time leading shot blocker in UCF history, Keith Clanton had five swats last Saturday at Southern Miss
? Clanton has 153 career blocks and passed Ken Leeks (141 from 1988-92) for the top spot on the UCF list on Jan. 21 at UAB
? Clanton is averaging 2.2 blocks per game in Conference USA play to pace the league
? He has 48 blocks on the year, good for eighth on the school single-season swats register
Handle the Rock
? A.J. Rompza leads Conference USA with a 3.1 assist-turnover ratio in league play
? The senior has recorded 44 assists in conference contests with only 14 turnovers
Man of Steal
? A.J. Rompza is averaging 2.8 steals in Conference USA games to lead the league
? Rompza ranks third in UCF history with 196 career steals and is 10th in C-USA history in the category
? Last year, Rompza totaled 34 steals in 31 games
? In 2011-12, the Chicago native has 35 steals in only 13 contests
The Sixth Man
? Tristan Spurlock has excelled in a reserve role recently for the Knights
? In UCF's last three contests, the sophomore averaged 11.7 points in 28.7 minutes per game
? On the year, Spurlock is averaging 8.1 points in 24.3 minutes an outing
? As a freshman at Virginia in 2009-10, Spurlock appeared in 13 games and averaged 2.4 points and 0.8 boards in 4.6 minutes per contest
Rated Rookie
? Kasey Wilson had a solid outing at Southern Miss, totaling nine points and three rebounds in 12 minutes last Saturday
? All nine of his points came during a six-minute stint in the second half
? Wilson has logged at least six minutes in eight contests this year, and is averaging 5.3 points and 2.5 rebounds while shooting 63.0 percent overall in those games
? On the year, the freshman has seen time in 21 games and is averaging 2.1 points and 1.6 rebounds in 5.4 minutes per game
Up Next
? UCF will head to Houston to face Rice Wednesday in a game that will be televised on CSS
? The Knights have an 8-4 series edge with the Owls
? The game will serve as the lone meeting between Rice and UCF this year