ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – Following a road win at Tulane to start American Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, the UCF men's basketball team returns home to host Temple Saturday, 4 p.m., at CFE Arena.
It marks just the sixth time in program history that the Knights will play on New Year's Eve. UCF is 2-3 all-time on Dec. 31 with the last win coming in 2007, a 78-69 home victory over Long Island in the UCF Holiday Classic.
The Knights improved to 10-3 on the season with their 85-72 win over the Green Wave in New Orleans, while Temple lost its first league game at home to Cincinnati by a score of 56-50. The Owls are now 9-5 on the season.
Temple comes to Orlando already having played three teams in common with UCF. The Owls lost to UMass, George Washington and Villanova. The Knights defeated UMass 65-62 on the road, but fell like Temple, were defeated by both the Colonials and the Wildcats.
Temple has a couple of impressive wins on its resume, though, defeating 20/20 Florida State and 11/12 West Virginia. Both teams have lost just once this season.
The UCF and Temple series is a new one, having played for the first time on Jan. 4, 2014. The Knights won that game 78-76 and defeated the Owls again during the 2013-14 season when they won 94-90 in double overtime to advance past the first round of the American Athletic Conference Tournament.
Those are UCF's only two wins of the series, however, as Temple has won the last four times the two teams have played. The Owls won both meetings last season, earning two-point victories in Orlando (62-60) and Philadelphia (63-61).
Saturday's game will be broadcast on ESPNU with viewing available online at WatchESPN.com and on mobile devices via the ESPN app. Fans can also listen to the game on FM 96.9 The Game, the iHeart radio app and the UCF Knights app with Marc Daniels and Taylor Young calling the action.
PROMOTIONS
- New Year's Eve party hats are available for fans while supplies last!
- Sit in the student section for just $5! Click Here and select the "Student Section Special"
- Light up UCF Combo– Attend the basketball game and skate the night away at Light Up UCF for only $12! This package comes with one game ticket and one admission to Light Up UCF. This ticket promotion is available for home men's basketball games from Nov. 26 – Jan. 3. Use promo code LIGHTUP to purchase. https://oss.ticketmaster.com/aps/ucf/EN/promotion/home
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PURCHASE TICKETS
Purchase season tickets for the 2016 UCF Men's Basketball campaign now. Call 407-UCF-1000 or click here to guarantee your seats for head coach Johnny Dawkins' first season with the Knights.