ORLANDO – The UCF men's basketball team returns to action Wednesday night in Dallas, looking to snap a three-game skid against SMU. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT with coverage on ESPN3 and FM 96.9 The Game.
The Knights have lost their first two conference games of the season for the first time since the 2014-15 campaign and will aim to get back into the win column on Wednesday against an SMU team that has been on fire early in 2019-20.
The Mustangs are 11-2 and opened league play with an 82-64 win over South Florida. SMU is averaging 78.2 points per game and beating its opponents by an average of 10.8 points per contest.
The Knights are now 9-5 overall and will need to get it done on the road if they want to get out of their first losing streak of the 2019-20 season. Following Wednesday's game at SMU, UCF will return home to host Cincinnati on Saturday.
SMU leads the all-time series against UCF, 11-9, but the Knights have won each of the last three meetings, sweeping the season series last year.
GAME INFO
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 8
Time: 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN3
Radio: FM 96.9 The Game
SETTING THE SCENE
- The UCF men's basketball team had a successful non-conference season, going 9-3 overall, but has now dropped its first two games of the American Athletic Conference season.
- The Knights have lost three straight games overall, the first time this season losing consecutive games, but look to get back in the win column on the road Wednesday at SMU.
- Last year, the Knights swept the season series with SMU, winning 71-65 in Dallas on Feb. 10 and then defeating the Mustangs 95-48 in Orlando on Feb. 24.
AMERICAN ACTION
- UCF is 33-23 under Dawkins in league play as a member of the American Athletic Conference.
- Since the inception of the league for the 2013-14 season, the Knights are 48-62 in league play.
- The team's best record in American action was 13-5 last season, while the team's worst conference record in the AAC was 4-14 back in 2013-14.
SMITH'S STRONG START TO SECOND SEASON
- Junior forward Collin Smith has shown consistent improvement in his second year at UCF and his third playing college basketball.
- Smith averaged 5.3 points and 4.4 rebounds as a freshman at George Washington, increased that to 8.0 points and 5.2 rebounds last season with the Knights, and now leads UCF with 13.1 points per game and is grabbing 6.4 boards per contest.
- With Tacko Fall gone this season, Smith has taken on a larger role on both sides of the floor.
- The 6-foot-11 forward is shooting 48.6 percent from the floor and has taken a charge in 12 of 14 games this season.
NO DAYS OFF FOR DAZON
- Dazon Ingram came to Orlando as a graduate transfer from Alabama, where he spent four seasons with the Crimson Tide.
- Ingram started 93 games at Alabama, averaging 9.1 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.
- The senior has had a solid start as a Knight, leading UCF with 7.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game, while scoring 9.6 points per outing.
- On Nov. 12 Ingram eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his career in UCF's game against Miami.
- He ranks fifth in The American with a 1.8 assist-to-turnover ratio.
- Ingram has logged the most minutes for the Knights, averaging 29.9 per contest.
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