PROVO, Utah – The UCF men’s basketball team is set for the second stanza of its two-game road swing, visiting No. 19/17 BYU for a 9 p.m. tip on Tuesday night.
The Knights are looking to rebound from a seven-point loss at No. 23 Texas Tech, the seventh game against a ranked opponent this season. UCF gets another crack at BYU, a team that was ranked No. 18/17 the last time they met, handing the Knights a 63-58 loss. UCF shot just 29.3% in the game, posting a sub-30% clip for the first time this season, and something that has happened in only one other game, when the Knights visited Houston. The Black and Gold have shot north of 36% in every game following the defeat in Houston.
Jaylin Sellers and Darius Johnson led the way for the Knights against the Red Raiders, each tallying 14 points. Sellers sunk four-of-six three-pointers on the evening as he eclipsed the 1,000-career point mark. C.J. Walker scored a season-high 13 points and added eight rebounds in the process.
BYU lead the Big 12 in points per game with an 83.1 clip. It will be another clash of offense vs. defense, as UCF enters the contest rated top 10 in defense in both KenPom and ESPN BPI. The Knights rank 32nd in the nation in scoring defense, limiting foes to 65 points a game. On the flip side, BYU’s 83.1 point per game mark sits 19th in the nation.
The three-ball is BYU’s specialty, making 11.8 per game, a clip that is second in the country. They are also second in the nation in assists per game, averaging 19.7. The Knights held the Cougars below their average last time they met, as BYU sunk nine threes and tallied 12 assists.