MANHATTAN, Kan. – The saying goes that you only get one chance to make a first impression, and for UCF men’s basketball, that time arises this weekend. The Knights will play their inaugural Big 12 Conference contest on Saturday as the Black and Gold take a trip to Manhattan, Kan. to face Kansas State for a 6 p.m. ET tip on ESPN 2.
Men's Hoops Set for First Impression in Big 12 at Kansas State
by Ken Landis“The guys realize that we’re going into the number one conference in college basketball. With those expectations, our guys have a feeling of what we have to do to take this next step. I think practice has been really good and we’ve been building momentum throughout the preseason. Going forward, if we can continue to build on it and get better, we’ll be competitive in the Big 12 as well. That’s how we’re looking at it. The message for us is simple, and its that we belong. That’s the message we’re going to drive home to our guys as we compete in this new league.”
Johnny DawkinsUCF Men's Basketball Head CoachThe Knights wrapped up a 9-3 non-conference slate with a convincing 98-54 win over Bethune-Cookman back on Dec. 29, a game in which UCF’s defense, which has been solid all season, shone bright. The Black and Gold forced 26 Wildcat turnovers, a season-high and the most during head coach Johnny Dawkins’ tenure. Five Knights scored double digit points during the contest, the first occurrence of the season. Five different defensive metrics have the Knights ranked in the top 40 nationally, headlined by a No. 10 ranking in turnovers forced per game.
UCF’s stingy defense will travel to an even stingier environment in Bramlage Coliseum, dubbed the “Octagon of Doom.” Kansas State is 22-2 in their home arena under Jerome Tang in his second season at the helm in Manhattan. Its lone home loss of the current campaign was a shocking one, a 62-46 loss to Nebraska back on Dec. 17, as the Wildcats registered just 12 second-half points. Kansas State is a couple games removed from that loss though, beating Wichita State 69-60 at T-Mobile Center in downtown Kansas City and registering a home win over Chicago State.
The Knights bring a top 10 defense to Manhattan, ranking No. 8 in defense in ESPN’s Basketball Power Index (BPI). Historically, each UCF team under Dawkins has been stout on the defensive side of the ball, and this season’s version has proved to be one of the top, if not the best, so far through non-conference play. UCF forces opponents to turn the ball over 17.08 times per game, representing the No. 10 mark in the country. Additionally, the Knights rank 15th in blocks per game, 19th in steals per game, 20th in opponent field goal percentage and 36th in scoring defense. When comparing this season’s defense to that of the 2018-19 team that won an NCAA Tournament contest, this year’s squad ranks higher nationally in turnovers forced, blocks per game and steals per game. That tournament team of five seasons ago held opponents to 64.5 points per game, while this year’s team is averaging 0.3 less points per contest but have a better national ranking compared to 2018-19.
UCF’s paint has been locked down all season long as Ibrahima Diallo, Omar Payne and a host of others have been denying offenses access inside. Diallo once again ranks first in the Big 12 in blocks per game, averaging 2.25. He led the league from Nov. 17-Dec. 29 and retook the lead on Jan. 2. Payne has piled up a good amount of rejections as well, averaging 1.33 per contest.
On the offensive side of the ball, Darius Johnson has been on fire from three-point range in his last six games, shooting a clean 50% (15-30), raising his season average to 37.3%. Jaylin Sellers has been a consistent threat to opposing defenses, averaging 18.6 points per game, a mark that ranks second in the Big 12. He has scored double-digit points in each contest so far and has 15 or more points in 10 of UCF’s total contests. Sellers is one of just three players in the Big 12 to have a 30-point game this season. The Black and Gold have gotten contributions from the entire squad, as they rank 40th nationally in bench points, tallying 28.92 points per contest. Marchelus Avery has led the way off the bench, averaging 11.3 points each game and is shooting a remarkable 45.2% from three-point land.
UCF was 5-2 in conference openers in the American Athletic Conference under Dawkins, including three straight to end the team’s 10-year tenure as members of the league. Kansas State has been average historically in conference openers, going 55-55 all-time, including 12-15 in its Big 12 era. However, the Wildcats have won two of their last three openers, including an 82-76 overtime victory over West Virginia last season.
The Wildcats boast a trio of scorers who average over 15 points per game as Cam Carter (16.5 points per game), Arthur Kaluma (15.2) and Tylor Perry (15.0) account for 62% of Kansas State’s points this season. All three rank in the top 20 of the Big 12 in scoring, making them the only team in the league to do so. When the ball doesn’t go through the net, a host of Wildcats are on the scene, scooping up offensive rebounds at a rate of 14.38 per game, a clip that ranks 12th in the country. Saturday’s contest could be decided in a battle of the boards, as both teams are stride for stride with each other, with both teams averaging 40.9 rebounds per game.
The Knights and Wildcats have met just twice in their pasts, with the most recent meeting coming in 2007. UCF nearly upset No. 18 Kansas State at the Old Spice Classic, as future UCF NBA player Jermaine Taylor rallied the Knights from down 13 points midway through the second half to tie things at 61-all. He had 20 points in the contest, but the Black and Gold couldn’t close out the upset as a running jumper at the buzzer rimmed out, giving the Wildcats a 73-71 overtime victory. Kansas State also had an NBA player that day as Michael Beasley scored 30 points. The first meeting between the two programs will be exactly 21 years in the past when the ball goes up in Manhattan on Saturday as the Wildcats earned a 71-59 home victory on Jan. 6, 2003.
UCF assistant coach Robbie Laing was a member of Kansas State’s coaching staff from 2000-03 as an assistant and recruiting coordinator. Laing aided in landing consecutive recruiting classes from 2001-02 according to Hoop Scoop magazine. At Kansas State, Laing coached Larry Reid, who played in the NBA’s G-League for three years. He also coached Pervis Pasco, Kelvin Howell and Jarrett Hart who went on to play professional basketball internationally. An Orlando connection existed long before Laing eventually ended up in The Sunshine State, as Marcus Hayes of Oviedo was rostered in 2001-02.