ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The UCF men's basketball team returns to the friendly confines of CFE Arena for a pair of contests, beginning with a Saturday matchup against visiting UConn. The Knights and Huskies will tip-off at 6 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
Following a tough road loss at No. 11 Cincinnati, the Knights (15-9, 6-6 AAC) have now dropped five of their last six games. Four of the five losses have come on the road, and the Knights are 11-2 on the season in Orlando, so UCF will be glad to return home for the matchup with UConn.
The Huskies (11-12, 6-5 AAC), meanwhile, have won four of their last five games and now a half-game ahead of the Knights in the American Athletic Conference standings. Their last four wins have been over East Carolina, USF, Tulane and USF again this past Wednesday.
Back on Jan. 8 UConn handed UCF its first loss in American Athletic Conference play in a 64-49 victory in Hartford. Rodney Purvis led three Huskies in double figures with 17 points in the win. Purvis is currently second on the UConn team in scoring with 13.2 points per game, while point guard Jalen Adams leads the way with 14.8 points and 6.7 assists per game.
Sophomore Tacko Fall led the Knights in their Wednesday night loss at No. 11 Cincinnati with his 10th double-double of the season. The 7-foot-6 center scored 14 points on 7-of-7 shooting from the floor and grabbed 11 rebounds. Fall is second in the nation shooting 75.7 percent from the floor, which is ahead of the NCAA single season record of 74.6 percent set in 1981.
Saturday will mark the third weekend of tailgating for UCF Basketball with the action getting started at 2 p.m. on Memory Mall. Fans can register for tailgating at KnightsOnTheMall.com.
It will also be Tourist Day at CFE Arena with 500 UCF fanny packs available to the first 500 students at the game. UCF sunglasses and local attraction tickets will also be given away on Saturday.
Fans looking to help out are encouraged to bring a food or toiletry donation to the game to support the Knights Helping Knights Pantry, an on-campus food pantry for students in need. Peanut butter, pasta and toilet paper are items most in need, but any nonperishable food items will be accepted in the pantry.
Saturday's game will air on CBS Sports Network with Brent Stover and Bob Wenzel calling the action. 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 on the call.
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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.
