ORLANDO – Following a marquee road victory at Cincinnati Wednesday night, the UCF men's basketball aims to earn its fourth win in the last five games when the Knights host Tulane in an American Athletic Conference contest at noon on Saturday at Addition Financial Arena.
The Knights (14-11, 5-8) have defeated ECU, Tulsa and the Bearcats since Feb. 6, but remain in ninth place in The American standings heading into Saturday's home tilt. To move up the ranks, UCF will need to sweep the season series from Tulane, which is coming off a big win of its own.
The Green Wave (11-15, 3-11) are still in 12th in the conference standings but earned the team's third league victory of the year Wednesday night, defeating SMU at home, 80-72.
UCF has had plenty of success against Tulane in recent years, winning 14 of the last 15 meetings between the two teams. The Knights, in fact, have never lost to the Green Wave at home, holding a 7-0 lead in series on their own court.
GAME INFO
Date: Saturday, Feb. 22
Time: 12 p.m. ET
TV: ESPNU
Radio: FM 96.9 The Game
SETTING THE SCENE
- After starting the season 9-2, the UCF men's basketball team lost eight out of 10 games, to fall to 11-10 on the season. Since then the Knights have won three of four and are trending in the right direction down the stretch.
- The Knights currently stand in ninth place but are just a game out of being in seventh and have defeated the second and third place teams in The American.
- UCF aims to continue its upward trajectory by completing the season sweep of Tulane.
TOPPING TULANE
- UCF holds a 16-3 advantage over Tulane in the all-time series, which dates back to Dec. 8, 1983 when the Green Wave earned an 82-54 win in New Orleans.
- Tulane's two other victories came in 2007 and 2016, an American Athletic Conference Tournament game in Orlando.
- The Knights have won the last four meetings and are a perfect 7-0 against the Green Wave in games played on UCF's home court.
LAST TIME THE GREEN WAVE
- UCF picked up its first conference win back on Jan. 14 with a 74-55 beatdown of Tulane in New Orleans.
- The Knights shot 46.2 percent from 3-point range, matching a season high with 12 makes from beyond the arc.
- Dazon Ingram led the way in that victory, going for 15 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists, while Matt Milon (12), Darin Green Jr. (12) and Brandon Mahan (11) also scored in double figures.
BEATING THE BEARCATS
- The Knights are coming off their best win of the season, an 89-87 double overtime road win at then league-leading Cincinnati Wednesday night at Fifth Third Arena.
- It marked the first time UCF had won at Cincinnati in the history of the program.
- UCF got a combined 41 points off the bench from Tony Johnson Jr. and Brandon Mahan.
- The Knights shot 51.9 percent in the second half to overcome a 37-32 halftime deficit and force overtime.
- Johnson had 21 points, nine rebounds, six assists and six steals, all career highs for the freshman who came into the game averaging 2.2 points in 7.8 minutes per game.
- Mahan added 20 points, matching a career high and marking his most points scored as a Knight.
- Five UCF players scored in double figures in all, including Collin Smith, who had 17 before fouling out in the first overtime.
- The Knights' 16 steals were the first time UCF had 15 or more steals since Feb. 20, 2013.
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