ORLANDO – The UCF men's basketball team returns to action Wednesday evening at home before returning to the road this weekend. The Knights host ECU at 7 p.m., or 30 minutes following the end of the UCF women's basketball game at Addition Financial Arena with coverage on ESPN+ and FM 96.9 The Game.
UCF (3-6, 1-5) will aim to snap its five-game losing streak on Wednesday and get back over .500 at home this season, having gone 2-2 at Addition Financial Arena. The Knights recently fell at home to SMU on Saturday, 78-65.
ECU (7-4, 1-4), meanwhile, is coming off of an 80-53 home loss to Memphis, its third straight defeat. The Pirates have also fell to South Florida, SMU and Tulane with their only league victory having been over the Green Wave, splitting the series.
The Knights have defeated the Pirates the last nine times these two teams have met and hold a 23-9 advantage in the all-time series. The last time ECU defeated UCF March 12, 2015 in the AAC Tournament.
Game Information
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 27
Time: 7 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN+
Radio: FM 96.9 The Game
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Five-Game Skid
- After starting the season 3-1 with wins over Auburn, Florida State and Cincinnati, and receiving votes in both national polls, the Knights have lost their last five times out to league-leading Houston twice, on the road at rival South Florida and Temple, and most recently at home to SMU.
- After averaging just 9.3 turnovers per game over its previous three games, UCF has turned the ball over 15.2 times per game in the five recent losses.
- It's tied for the longest losing streak for UCF under Dawkins (also lost five straight in 2019-20) and at 3-6 overall it marks the first time Dawkins' squad at UCF has been under .500 on the season.
- The last time the Knights had a record below .500 was the end of the 2015-16 campaign.
Muted by Mustangs
- A pause in play didn't prevent SMU from getting back to business, as the Mustangs defeated UCF in Orlando on Jan. 23 by a score of 78-65 to hand the Knights their fifth straight loss.
- The Mustangs shot 53.8 percent from the field, the highest shooting percentage for a UCF opponent this season, while the Knights mustered up just 38.1 percent shooting in the loss.
- SMU also benefited from 16 assists to just 10 turnovers and shot 94.1 percent from the free throw line to defeat the Knights.
Perry Puts Up Points
- Senior grad transfer Darius Perry has missed four of nine games this season, but when he's been in the lineup, he's made an impact.
- The former Louisville Cardinal led the Knights with a career-high 23 points and added six assists while shooting 3-of-6 from beyond the arc in the loss at South Florida on Jan. 2.
- UCF's most recent time out, Perry led the Knights with 14 points, seven assists and five rebounds to earn AAC Weekly Honor Roll accolades.
- Perry is currently third on the team with 12.2 points per game and is shooting 89.5 percent from the free throw line. He also has a 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio.
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