Men's Hoops Hosts Tennessee Tech Tuesday

ORLANDO – The UCF men’s basketball team is set for its fourth and final game of its season opening homestand, hosting Tennessee Tech for a Tuesday tilt inside Addition Financial Arena. A victory would get the Knights out to a 4-0 start, tying their best start under head coach Johnny Dawkins.

GAME INFORMATION
Date: Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Location: Addition Financial Arena; Orlando, Fla.
TV: ESPN+
Talent: Austin Lyon (PxP), Mike O'Donnell (Analyst)
Radio: FM 96.9/AM 740 The Game
Talent: Marc Daniels (PxP), Taylor Young (Analyst)
Live Stats: Click Here

KNIGHT NOTES

• UCF picked up a win over in-state foe Florida Atlantic, reaching the century mark in points scored in a 100-94 victory. The win marked the first time UCF has hit 100 points since a 107-104 double overtime win over Memphis on Jan. 11, 2023. It was the first time since March 7, 2014 that the Knights accomplished the feat in regulation, beating Houston 104-83. The Black and Gold were able to reach the 100-point threshold thanks to a trio of 20+ point scorers. Keyshawn Hall led the way with 26 points and was joined by Jordan Ivy-Curry with 22 and Darius Johnson with 21. The last time the Knights had three 20+ point scorers was at No. 15 Florida State on Dec. 19, 2020 when Brandon Mahan had 32 points, Isaiah Adams had 22 and Darin Green Jr. had 20. UCF was also victorious in that contest, beating the Seminoles 86-74 in Tallahassee.
• After scoring 52 points across the first four games of the season, Darius Johnson needs just six points to hit 1,000 in his career. All of his 994 points have been at UCF and is looking to become the 21st Knight to accomplish the feat. Tacko Fall and BJ Taylor were the last Knights to finish their careers with over 1,000 points, both graduating at the end of the 2018-19 season. Fall finished with 1,160 points, ranking him 18th in UCF history while Taylor had 1,618, ranking seventh. Darius’ dad Kelvin and brother Xavier both scored 1,000 points college. Xavier finished his five-year career with 1,452 points after three years with George Mason and two with Southern Ill. Kelvin finished with 1,400 in four years at Richmond. Johnson got halfway to 1K just from last year’s scoring alone, posting an even 500 points, including 90 over the final four. Jordan Ivy-Curry (1,234) and Jaylin Sellers (1,151) are already 1,000 career point scorers on the Knights.
• Johnson has picked up right where he left off last season. Including the last four games of the 2023-24 season, Johnson has been on a tear, averaging 20.3 points, 4.4 assists, and 1.9 steals per game. He’s buried at least four triples in four of his last seven games, shooting 53.2% (25-for-47) from beyond in those contests. Five of the last six contests have seen Johnson earn three or more assists, totaling 26 assists. His 12 assists to start the 2024-25 were the most in a pair of games to start the year since BJ Taylor had 15 in 2016-17. Johnson’s 17 through the first three games surpassed Taylor’s 16 to start the 2016-17 campaign.
• The Knights will be going for their third straight in-season tournament victory when they visit The Greenbrier for the inaugural Greenbrier Tip-Off. Tuesday's matchup against Tennessee Tech is part of a scheduling tie-in with the other division of Greenbrier Tip-Off teams that competed this past week. UCF will face Wisconsin in the opening game on Nov. 22, a team that made last season’s NCAA Tournament, before facing either Pitt or LSU on Nov. 24. A tournament victory at The Greenbrier would be the fourth under Dawkins and the third straight. UCF won last season’s in-season tournament, the Jacksonville Classic, by topping South Dakota State and Charlotte. UCF won the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship during the 2022-23 campaign with a 60-56 overtime victory over Oklahoma State and a 57-50 win over Santa Clara. Coach Dawkins’ first tournament victory was during the 2018-19 campaign where the Knights beat Cal St. Fullerton, Saint Joseph’s and Western Kentucky at the Myrtle Beach Invitational.

THE MATCHUP

• The two teams will face as part of the Greenbrier Tip-Off scheduling format, as Tennessee Tech just completed a two-game tournament at The Greenbrier, falling to UTRGV in the finals. UCF's next opponent, Wisconsin, will face UTRGV on Tuesday as well.
• Tennessee Tech owns a 2-1 series lead all-time over the Knights, but haven't earned a win over the Black and Gold since their early Division-I days. The Golden Eagles snatched wins in January and December of 1985. UCF didn't cross paths with Tennessee Tech again until Dec. 21 2006 when the Knights earned a 73-66 win in Puerto Rico at the San Juan Shootout.

SCOUTING TENNESSEE TECH

• The Golden Eagles enter the contest with a 3-2 record with wins over Bryan College, West Georgia and VMI. Tennessee Tech opened the season with a close five-point loss to Georgia before ripping off three straight victories.
• Tennessee Tech beat VMI 72-71 at the Greenbrier Tip-Off before falling to UTRGV 83-58
• The Golden Eagles boast a quartet of double-digit point scorers, led by Mekhi Cameron who played in just the first game of the season, posting 21 points. Rodney Johnson Jr. has played in all five contests including four starts while posting 14.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Daniel Egbuniwe and Jaylon Johnson have earned starts in all five games, posting 13.8 and 12.4 points per game, respectively.