ORLANDO – The UCF men's basketball team returns home Tuesday night in hopes of getting back in the win column after a pair of losses to Houston and South Florida. The Knights host Memphis at 9 p.m. with coverage from Addition Financial Arena on ESPNU and FM 96.9 The Game.
UCF (3-3, 1-2) is 2-1 at home this season with wins over Auburn and Cincinnati and will aim to get back to .500 in league play with a win over the Tigers Tuesday night.
Memphis (6-4, 2-1) comes to Orlando having recently defeated South Florida 58-57 back on Dec. 29. The only other common opponent the Tigers share with UCF is Auburn, which Memphis lost to, 74-71, on Dec. 12.
The Knights trail Memphis 24-6 in the all-time series, but have won five of the last eight meetings between the two teams. Last season, the Tigers won the only game of the series, 59-57 in Orlando.
Game Information
Date: Tuesday, Jan. 5
Time: 9 p.m. ET
TV: ESPNU
Radio: FM 96.9 The Game
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Two-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 two times out to then 6th-ranked Houston and rival South Florida.
- After averaging just 9.3 turnovers per game over its previous three games, UCF has turned the ball over 16.0 times per game in the two recent losses.
- The Knights have shot just 41.7 percent from the field and 28.1 percent from beyond the arc during the two-game skid.
Solid Shooting From the Stripe
- While they aren't leading the nation like they were a couple of weeks ago, the Knights are still shooting at a solid clip from the free throw line this season, hitting 74.6 percent of their shots from the stripe.
- UCF ranks 63rd in the nation and ranks fourth the American Athletic Conference.
- Compare that to the last couple years, and it's impressive. Last season, the Knights ranked 172nd in the nation and sixth in the league with a mark of 71.1 percent.
- In 2018-19, when UCF went to the NCAA Tournament, the team ranked 329th in the nation and 11th in the league with a 64.9 percent mark from the line.
Perry Puts Up Points
- After missing the first two games due to injury, graduate transfer Darius Perry has begun to acclimate himself to his new team.
- 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 Saturday.
- He had 13 points while shooting 9-of-10 from the free throw line in the loss against 6th-ranked Houston on Dec. 26.
- Perry is now tied for third on the team with 11.8 points per game and is shooting 88.2 percent from the free throw line.
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