ORLANDO – As announced on Wednesday, the UCF men's basketball team will return to action on Saturday, hosting 6th-ranked Houston at Addition Financial Arena. The Knights and the Cougars will tip off at 1 p.m. on ABC.
UCF (3-1, 1-0) is receiving votes in both national polls after earning wins over Auburn, 15th-ranked Florida State and Cincinnati to start the 2020-21 season. Houston (6-0, 1-0), meanwhile, heads to Orlando for its first true road game of the season, having won five games at home and a neutral site game against then 15th-ranked Texas Tech.
The Knights' Brandon Mahan is the regining AAC Player of the Week, while Isaiah Adams was named the league's Freshman of the Week on Monday. The Cougars have earned three weekly honors from The American this season. Marcus Sasser was the Player of the Week on Nov. 30, while Tramon Mark has been the Freshman of the Week twice.
Houston defeated UCF in Orlando last season in the only meeting between the two teams and the Cougars hold a 16-11 advantage in the all-time series. In 2019, UCF knocked off the then 6th-ranked Cougars in Houston to propel the Knights to an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Game Information
Date: Saturday, Dec. 26
Time: 1 p.m. ET
TV: ABC
Radio: FM 96.9 The Game
DAWKINS ERA AT UCF
- Johnny Dawkins has made an immedate impact as head coach for the UCF men's basketball team, winning 86 games in just over four years at the helm.
- Dawkins is 86-49 since starting with the Knights in 2016, a win percentage of .637, the second best of any UCF coach (Torchy Clark, .754 from 1969-83).
- He has the third most wins of a UCF coach, trailing Clark's 274 and Kirk Speraw's 247 from 1993-10.
- Dawkins has led UCF to its first NIT Final Four (2017), first at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament (2019) and first NCAA Tournament win (2019).
BEATING THE BEARCATS
- The Knights followed up their road upset of then no. 15 Florida State with a home win over Cincinnati to open American Athletic Conference play on Tuesday.
- It marked UCF's fourth win over the Bearcats in program history and the first time that the Knights have won consecutive games over Cincinnati, having won on the road the last time the two teams played.
- Brandon Mahan led UCF with 25 points and tied a career-high with 10 rebounds, while Isaiah Adams and Darin Green Jr. added 15 and 12 points, respectively.
- The Knights forced 19 Cincinnati turnovers and only gave the ball away eight times themselves.
YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE MAHAN
- In his second season with the Knights, Mahan has been impressive in his first four games of the 2020-21 season, leading The American and ranking 10th in the nation in scoring with 22.5 points per game.
- The Texas A&M transfer played in all 30 games as a junior in 2019-20, starting 14 times.
- Mahan averaged 7.5 points and 3.7 rebounds per contest while knocking down 31 three-pointers and shooting 73.8 percent from the free throw line a season ago.
- As a senior he leads the league with a 95.8 percent mark from the free throw line, ranks second with a 52.9 percent mark from 3-point range, and is fourth with a 60.4 percent mark from the field.
- Mahan is currently the Knights leading rebounder with 5.8 boards per game and has knocked down 2.3 shots from beyond the arc per game.
- He earned AAC Player of the Week honors for his 32-points outing in the win at no. 15 Florida State.
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