ORLANDO – The UCF men's basketball team (7-2, 1-1) will be back in action Wednesday night at Addition Financial Arena as the Knights are set to take on North Alabama (7-4, 0-0) at 7:00 p.m.
The Knights, who are coming off a short pause to their season following the cancellation against Florida State over the weekend, will look to make it four straight wins with a victory over North Alabama on Wednesday night.
The game against the Lions will air on ESPN+ and Marc Daniels will be on the call on FM 96.9 The Game.
Junior Darin Green Jr. has led the UCF offense during the Knights' recent run of three straight wins, averaging 17.7 points per game after shooting 50.0 percent (12-of-24) from beyond the arc. On the season, Green's 44.6 percent mark on threes leads the AAC and he ranks second in The American with 3.22 threes per game.
Fifth-year senior Brandon Mahan has also been a strong contributor for the Knights over their last three games, averaging 13.3 points on 12-of-28 shooting, including 7-of-16 from three. Mahan is a perfect 24-of-24 on free throws this season and his 45 straight free throws dating back to Feb. 1 of last season is the longest active streak in Division I men's basketball (min. 2.5 attempts per game).
The Lions, meanwhile, have won six of their last seven games after dropping three of four to open the season. Wednesday will mark the first meeting between UCF and North Alabama.
A UCF win over the Lions would move UCF to 7-2 to open the season, including a 5-1 mark at Addition Financial Arena. It would also move UCF to 13-3 over its last 16 games played dating back to last season.
GAME INFO
Date: Wednesday, Dec. 22
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN+
Audio: FM 96.9 The Game
DAWKINS ERA AT UCF
- Johnny Dawkins picked up career win No. 100 in the Knights' win over N.C. A&T on Dec. 11, becoming just the third coach in UCF history to reach the milestone.
- Dawkins is 101-62 since starting with the Knights in 2016, a win percentage of .620, the second best of any UCF coach (Torchy Clark, .754 from 1969-83).
- He has the third most wins over any UCF coach, trailing only Clark's 274 and Kirk Speraw's 247 from 1993-2010.
- Dawkins is the fastest coach to reach 100 wins in program history in the Division I era, needing only 162 games to do so.
- Dawkins had his squad off to a 4-0 start to begin the 2021-22 season, tying his 2017-18 mark for his best start to a season at UCF.
- 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).
- Prior to Dawkins' arrival at UCF, the program had won three games against ranked opponents from 1984-2016. Since Dawkins has taken over, the Knights have won five games against ranked opponents.
- UCF had never won two games against ranked teams in a single season, and the Knights did it in a span of five days, taking down No. 6 Houston and No. 19 Cincinnati late in the 2018-19 season.
- UCF is now 8-50 all-time against ranked opponents, but 5-16 against ranked teams under Dawkins.
MONEY AT THE LINE
- As a team, UCF has knocked down 78.8 percent of its free throw opportunities through the first nine games of the season, which leads the conference and is 17th in the nation as of Dec. 17.
- The Knights' current single-season record for highest field goal percentage is 76.1 percent (1975-76).
- Fifth year senior Brandon Mahan has not missed a free throw dating back to 02/01/21 at Memphis (last 19 games).
- Mahan is a perfect 45-for-45 in free throw attempts over that stretch.
- Mahan is currently UCF's all-time free throw percentage leader at 86.9 percent over his career.
- Mahan is one of just two players in the nation who has not missed a free throw this season (min. 2.5 attempts per game).
- Six Knights are shooting 75.0 percent or better from the line as of Dec. 14 (min. eight attempts).
A+ start in the AAC
- The Knights got off to a great start in American Athletic Conference play on Dec. 15 after securing a 65-48 win over Temple in Philadelphia.
- UCF held Temple to 19 first half points, the least amount of points UCF has allowed to an opponent in the first half since holding SMU to 14 on March 4, 2020 before going on to win, 61-58.
- UCF outscored the Owls by 18 in the second half after shooting 65 percent from the field, compared to just 19 percent through the first 20 minutes.
- Three Knights posted double-digit scoring totals in the victory as Brandon Mahan (18), Darin Green Jr. (17) and Tyem Freeman (14) all had solid outings.
- Mahan's 18 were a season-high for the fifth-year senior. He was also a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line.
- Freeman's 14 point scored marked a career-high for the first-year Knight, plus he added seven rebounds and three assists, also career-highs.
- With the win, UCF is now 4-2 all-time in league openers under head coach Johnny Dawkins.
MORE OF MAHAN
- Back for his third and final year in the black and gold, Brandon Mahan was a key contributor to the Knights in 2020-21, picking up third-team all-conference honors to end the year.
- He was selected preseason second-team all-conference ahead of the 2021-22 season.
- Mahan was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line in UCF's 95-89 win at Miami on Nov. 13.
- Mahan is currently UCF's all-time free throw percentage leader at 86.9 percent over his career.
- The Birmingham, Alabama native broke out in his second year with the Knights in 2020-21, totaling 12.3 points per game and tying for the UCF high with 5.0 rebounds per contest.
- The 6-foot-5 guard owns an 84.0 free throw percentage during his career with the Knights, currently the highest mark in program history.
- Mahan ranked sixth in the nation with his 90.6 percent mark from the free throw line in 2020-21 and was third in the American Athletic Conference with a 43.8 percent clip from 3-point range.
- He was also Top 15 in The American in threes made per game, field goal percentage, and minutes played per game, helping him to earn third-team all-conference honors following the end of the regular season.
- Mahan's best outing from last season was his 32-point effort in UCF's win at 15th-ranked Florida State on Dec. 19. He went 10-of-13 from the field and 10-of-10 from the line to top the Seminoles.
GREEN IS GOOD
- Junior Darin Green Jr. has made a big leap forward in year three with the Knights as he leads the team with 15.9 points per game to open the season, ranking first on the team and eighth in the conference.
- Green has led UCF in points in six out of its first nine games to open play, with double-digit points in all but one game.
- He was named to the American Athletic Conference honor roll on 11/15 and 12/13
- Green's 44.6 percent mark on threes leads in the AAC.
- Green ranks second in The American and 30th in the nation with 3.22 threes per game.
- He has posted two games with five made threes to open the season (11/27 vs Oklahoma & 11/13 at Miami).
- Green posted a team-high 23-point effort in UCF's 95-89 win at Miami on Nov. 13.
- Green was solid in year two for the Knights during the 2020-21 season, averaging 11.3 points per game, which ranked 17th in the conference and third on the team.
- The Charlotte, North Carolina product also led the Knights with 53 made 3-pointers in 2020-21 and ranked seventh in the league with 2.3 made threes per game.
- Green was also monumental in UCF's 86-74 win over then 15th-rated Florida State last season as he knocked down six 3-pointers and scored a season-high 20 points against the Seminoles.
- In his freshman season in 2020-21, Green set a UCF freshman record with 68 made 3-pointers
- He led The American with 41.7 percent shooting from 3-point range and 2.3 threes made per game.
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