ORLANDO – Following a week off from play, the UCF men's basketball team (9-4, 1-2 AAC) makes its return to Addition Financial Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 12 for a showdown with American Athletic Conference foes Memphis (9-5, 3-1 AAC).
The game, which is set to tip at 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+, will mark the first of two matchups this season between the Knights and the Tigers, with the Knights set to make the return trip to Memphis on Feb. 5.
Before falling to SMU and Temple in back-to-back games, the Knights were red-hot in the month of December, defeating Bethune-Cookman (12/5), North Carolina A&T (12/11), Temple (12/15), North Alabama (12/22) and Michigan (12/30). Over that stretch, the black and gold outscored opponents 389-296 while shooting 49.6 percent from the field and 37.7 percent from three-point range.
Over that same time, UCF was holding opponents to a 36.9 field goal percentage, including 27.6 percent from deep, and junior Darin Green Jr. led the team over the five-game streak with 17.0 points per game and was shooting 48.7 percent from three (19-of-39).
Memphis comes into Wednesday night's game with a chip on its shoulder as well. After coming into the season with high expectations and being ranked as high as 12 in the AP Top 25 Poll, the Tigers have since fallen out of the rankings after dropping five of their first 11 games this season, including five of six from Nov. 26 – Dec. 10.
With 14-year NBA veteran and 4-time All-Star Penny Hardaway at the helm, the Tigers have found their stride as of late and are on a three-game winning streak to open the new year. Coming into Wednesday night's game against UCF, the Tigers are 9-5 overall and 3-1 in conference games.
Memphis senior DeAndre Williams is the Tigers' leading scorer on the season, averaging 11.3 points per game on a 58.2 field goal percentage (53-of-91). Behind him, a pair of freshman big men demand attention in AAC Preseason Rookie of the Year Jalen Duren and Preseason All-AAC Second Team member Emoni Bates.
Duren leads the conference with 32 total blocks in 12 games and is third on the team with 10.8 points per game on an efficient 63.1 field goal percentage. Bates, meanwhile, has averaged 10.9 points per game.
The Knights last battled it out with Memphis in the quarterfinals of the 2020-21 AAC Championship before UCF's season came to a close following a 70-62 loss. Memphis holds the all-time series lead over UCF at 27-6 and the Tigers are winners of the last five straight in the series.
Game Information
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 12
Time: 7 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN+
Radio: 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 103-64 since starting with the Knights in 2016, a win percentage of .617, 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.
WIN OVER THE WOLVERINES
- UCF capped off non-conference play with a bang on Dec. 30 as the Knights ran away with a second-half lead to fend off visiting Michigan 85-71.
- The Knights capitalized on the energy of 9,358 strong at Addition Financial Arena, the third largest crowd in UCF history, to secure the win over the Wolverines.
- The crowd also marked the most for UCF at a home game before January of any year.
- The win finalized UCF's non-conference record at 8-2 and marked the Knights' fifth straight win and first over the Wolverines.
- The Wolverines carried a 35-31 lead into halftime, and the deficit only grew for the Knights to kick off the second half as Michigan extended its lead to 12 just two minutes into the second half before the Kngihts called time to regroup.
- The stoppage worked as the black and gold went on an 18-2 run shortly after play resumed to take a 55-51 lead and they didn't look back.
- The Knights shot 72.0 percent from the floor and hit all eight of their three-point attempts in the second half to outscore the Wolverines 54-36 in the half and secure the victory.
- Darin Green Jr. poured in a career-high 27 points on a career-best seven made three-pointers.
- Meanwhile, Brandon Mahan had season highs of 26 points and five made threes to lead the way.
- The duo of Green and Mahan combined to go 12-of-16 from beyond the arc as they totaled 53 of the Knights' 85 total points.
DECEMBER STREAK
- UCF was riding high on a five-game winning streak after defeating Bethune-Cookman (12/5), North Carolina A&T (12/11), Temple (12/15), North Alabama (12/22) and Michigan (12/30) before their streak came to an end with a loss at SMU on Jan. 2.
- Over that stretch, the Knights outscored opponents 389-296 while shooting 49.6 percent from the field and 37.7 percent from three-point range.
- The Knights held a +7.2 rebounding margin over opponents during their winning streak.
- Meanwhile, UCF was holding opponents to a 36.9 field goal percentage, including 27.6 percent from deep.
- Junior Darin Green Jr. led the team over the five-game streak with 17.0 points per game and was shooting 48.7 percent from three (19-of-39).
- Darius Perry was dishing the ball out with solid efficiency as he led the Knights with 29 assists over that stretch (5.8 per game).
MONEY AT THE LINE
- As a team, UCF has knocked down 77.7 percent of its free throw opportunities through the first 13 games of the season, which is second in the conference and 17th in the nation as of Jan. 11.
- The Knights' current single-season record for highest field goal percentage is 76.1 percent (1975-76).
- Before missing his first free throw of the year in the win over Michigan, fifth year senior Brandon Mahan had not missed a free throw dating back to 02/01/21 at Memphis (last 20 games).
- Mahan was a perfect 48-for-48 in free throw attempts over that stretch.
- If he qualified, Mahan would lead the conference with a 93.9 mark on free throw attempts.
- Six Knights are shooting 75.0 percent or better from the line as of Jan. 11 (min. eight attempts).
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