ORLANDO (UCFKnights.com) –The UCF men’s basketball team is set to start American Athletic Conference play. The Knights (10-2) will host Temple (10-2) on Wednesday, Jan. 2 in the league opener for both teams.
GAME INFO
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 2
Time: 7 p.m. ET
TV: ESPNews
Radio: 96.9 FM/740 AM The Game
Live Stats: https://ucfknights.co/2BPkowE
UCF has lost just two games by a combined three points and is two buzzer-beaters away from being a perfect 12-0 heading into conference play. The Knights have been led in non-conference action once again by BJ Taylor, who ranks fifth in the league with 17.5 points per game.
Temple, meanwhile, is also 10-2 heading into the AAC schedule with losses to VCU and Villanova. The Owls are led by Shizz Alston Jr., who leads the league with 19.3 points per game and ranks third with 5.4 assists per contest.
Alston and Quinton Rose are the highest scoring duo in the conference, at 35.6 points per game. Second on that list is UCF’s Taylor and Aubrey Dawkins, who combine for 33.1 points per outing.
Temple leads the all-time series against UCF by a slight 6-5 margin. UCF, however, has won three of the last four meetings, winning each of the last two matchups in Orlando by at least 20 points.
NOTES TO KNOW
- The Knights are 7-1 at home in 2018-19.
- UCF is receiving votes in the most recent USA Today Coaches Poll.
- Aubrey Dawkins has scored in double figures in each of his first 12 games as a Knight, the first UCF player to do so in the program’s Division I era.
- BJ Taylor ranks fifth in The American with a career-high 17.5 points per game.
- Terrell Allen ranks ninth in the nation with a 4.0 assist-to-turnover ratio.
- Tacko Fall leads The American with a 80.0 percent field goal percentage and is fourth in the nation with 3.33 blocked shots per game.
- UCF leads The American in both field goal percentage (47.8) and three-point percentage (37.1).
- The Knights are the only team ranked in the top three in The American in both scoring offense (3rd; 76.3) and scoring defense (3rd; 63.0).
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE GAME NOTES – UCF VS. TEMPLE
TICKETS FOR 2018-19
Fans excited for the 2018-19 UCF men's basketball season can purchase tickets today by calling (407) 823-1000 or online here: https://ucfknights.co/mbb1819tix.