ORLANDO – After scoring a career-high 34 points on Sunday and averaging 26.5 points per game over the past week, UCF men’s basketball junior Jaylin Sellers has been named the Co-Big 12 Newcomer of the Week.
Sellers has impressed to begin his career as a Knight, averaging 22.2 points across UCF’s six games thus far. That mark currently leads the Big 12 and ranks 13th in the country. Sellers has scored 20 points or more in four games and has earned 15 or more points in each contest this season. He has led the team in scoring and in rebounds on four occasions. Not only has Sellers been scoring at an impressive rate, but his 6.5 rebounds per game are tied for the team lead and he is the squad’s leading offensive rebounder with 19.
Over UCF’s past two contests, Sellers shot 59.4% from the field and a remarkable 46.2% from three-point range. He also was a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line and averaged 7.0 rebounds per game.
Sellers arrived at UCF after two years at Ball State, playing 62 games with the Cardinals and scoring 20 or more points in six games. In just six games with the Black and Gold, Sellers has accomplished the feat four times, giving him 10 career 20+ point games. He shot a remarkable 45% from three-point land as a Cardinal in 2022-23. Over the last four games, Sellers has gone 9-for-22 from the three-point line, a 41% rate.
Sellers’ 34 points against Stetson are a career high and the most by a Big 12 men’s basketball player this season. He topped his previous career best of 24 which he achieved on Dec. 17, 2022, against Illinois St. at the Indy Classic. He shot 12-for-16 from the floor on Sunday, representing a new career high for made field goals in a game, improving on his previous high of nine. The 34 points were the most by a Knight since Brandon Mahan filled up the basket with 32 points against No. 15 Florida State on Dec. 19, 2020. Since then, only C.J. Kelly and Ithiel Horton had reached the 30-point threshold, accomplishing exactly 30 one time each last season.
The last UCF newcomer to score double digits in their first six games was Aubrey Dawkins, who helped lead the Knights to an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2018-19.
Sellers is the first UCF basketball student-athlete to garner a Big 12 honor.
Certified bucket! The Big 12’s leading scorer @JaylinSellers averaged 26.5 pts. and 7 reb. last week 🥶 pic.twitter.com/yK4WbFYJYd
— UCF Men’s Hoops (@UCF_MBB) November 27, 2023
UP NEXT
The Knights will look to bounce back Saturday afternoon when the team welcomes Lipscomb to Orlando. Tipoff from Addition Financial Arena is scheduled for 4 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.
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