ORLANDO – The UCF men's basketball team has won back-to-back games and aims to win a third straight contest Thursday night, hosting Wichita State in an American Athletic Conference contest at Addition Financial Arena.
Tipoff between the Knights and the Shockers is set for 7 p.m. with coverage on ESPN2 and FM 96.9 The Game.
With recent wins over ECU and Tulsa, the Knights (13-10, 4-7) will have to do something they've never done before if they are to win a third consecutive conference game for the first time this season. UCF will have to defeat Wichita State (17-6, 5-5).
The Shockers have won all four meetings between the two teams in a series that began when Wichita joined The American prior to the start of the 2017-18 season. That year the Shockers defeated the Knights twice but needed overtime to win in Orlando after a heroic performance by A.J. Davis.
Last season, UCF fell to Wichita State on the road, 75-67, and earlier this year the Shockers took care of the Knights 87-79 in Wichita.
Darin Green Jr. gave a heroic performance of his own the last time out for UCF, scoring a career-high 26 points on 6-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc in the win over visiting Tulsa. The first-year Knight was named The American Freshman of the Week for his performances against the Hurricane and ECU.
Wichita State comes to Orlando during its worst stretch of the 2019-20 season, having lost three games in a row and five of its last seven contests. The Shockers most recently fell at Houston 76-43 on Thursday.
GAME INFO
Date: Thursday, Feb. 13
Time: 7 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN2
Radio: FM 96.9 The Game
SETTING THE SCENE
- After starting the season 9-2, the UCF men's basketball team has lost eight of its last 12 games, holding an overall record of 13-10 and a league mark of 4-7 heading into Thursday's rematch against Wichita State.
- The Knights find themselves in the middle of the pack in the league standings, as five teams in The American have four wins and a pair of fourth-place teams have just six wins.
- UCF is coming off of back-to-back victories at ECU and at home to Tulsa, looking for a third straight victory on Thursday night.
LOOKING FOR FIRST WIN AGAINST WICHITA STATE
- UCF and Wichita State have met just four times in the all-time series, beginning with the Shockers' first season in The American in 2017-18.
- That first season, the teams met twice, with Wichita State winning 81-62 in Kansas and then sneaking out of Orlando with a 75-71 overtime victory late in the season.
- Last year, the two teams met just once, as the Shockers came out on top 75-67 in Wichita.
- Back on Jan. 25 of this year, Wichita State defeated UCF 87-79 in Wichita to improve their advantage in the all-time series to 4-0.
LAST TIME AGAINST THE SHOCKERS
- Wichita State defeated UCF 87-79 on Jan. 25, which was the most points given up by the Knights this season.
- The Shockers put five players in double figures in the win, led by Dexter Dennis' 18-point and 11-rebound outing.
- Wichita outrebounded the Knights 45-28 and went 29-of-42 from the free throw line.
- UCF shot just 37.7 percent from the field, but put five players in double figures as well, led by Darin Green Jr., who had 18 points on four 3-pointers in the loss.
TAKING DOWN TULSA
- The Knights won their second straight game on Sunday, defeating visiting Tulsa, 83-75.
- UCF shot season highs from the field (55.6%) and from 3-point range (57.1%) to earn the victory.
- The Knights outrebounded the Hurricane 32-25 and matched a season best with 12 made 3-pointers in the victory.
- Darin Green Jr. led UCF with a career-high 26 points on 6-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc, while Ceasar DeJesus added 18 points and Dazon Ingram chipped in with 12.
- Ingram had a game-high eight rebounds, while DeJesus led the way with five assists, the most of any player in the game.
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