Men's Hoops Set for Nonconference Finale vs. Jacksonville

ORLANDO – The UCF men’s basketball team is set for its final nonconference contest of the 2024-25 schedule as it hosts Jacksonville for a 6 p.m. tipoff Saturday.

GAME INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024
Time: 6 p.m. ET
Location: Addition Financial Arena; Orlando, Fla.
TV: ESPN+
Talent: Austin Lyon (PxP), BJ Taylor (Analyst)
Radio: FM 96.9/AM 740 The Game
Talent: Marc Daniels (PxP), Taylor Young (Analyst)
Live Stats: Click Here

KNIGHT NOTES

• Dallan 'Deebo' Coleman had his best showing as a Knight in the AutoNation Orange Bowl Basketball Classic vs. Tulsa on Dec. 14, tallying a season-high 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting along with tying his career-best in rebounds with nine. Coleman was named MVP of the game, joining Marcus Jordan on the Orange Bowl’s MVP list; Jordan had 23 points against Miami back on Dec. 18, 2010 in an 84-78 UCF win. Coleman was one of four Knights in double figures at this year’s Orange Bowl; Jordan Ivy-Curry had 16 points while Moustapha Thiam and Keyshawn Hall had 14. Coleman led the Knights in scoring, rebounds and steals and free throws made on the day. The Knights’ victory this season was the second in UCF’s three times at the Orange Bowl, with the other appearance being a 68-66 loss to Missouri in 2022 on a buzzer-beating three-pointer.
• Darius Johnson has climbed into the top four of UCF’s assists and steals career leaderboard, sitting fourth and third, respectively. At 29 steals through nine games in 2024-25 (2.9 p/gm), Johnson is on pace to add an additional 61 steals, which would give him 90 at the end of the regular season. That would be the third most in a season in UCF history (record is 110 by Jerry Prather in 1977-78) and be the record for most in UCF’s D-I era (record is 73 by Johnson in 2023-24). Johnson has made four or more three-pointers in four of UCF’s 10 games thus far, shooting a remarkable 45.2% from beyond. In addition to his great shooting, he has 46 assists, ranking seventh in the Big 12.
• Despite allowing 81.2 points per game on defense over the first six games of the season, the Knights have held their last four opponents to an average of 65.3 points, including two sub-60 performances against California Baptist (59) and Tarleton St. (51). UCF has forced 17.0 turnovers per game over the last four contests compared to 13.0 over the first six. The Knights have forced double-digit turnovers in each game this season but have generated 15 or more in three of the last four games, including a season-high 23 against Tarleton State on Dec. 8.
• The Knights are averaging 14.6 forced turnovers per game this season, continuing a trend from the last three seasons of UCF forcing north of 14 turnovers per game, including a 14.21 clip last season and a 14.82 mark in 2022-23, the highest during the Dawkins era. UCF’s defense ranks in the top 85 in turnover percentage according to KenPom with a 19.8% clip which indicates that about one of every five Knight possessions stemmed from a turnover. The Knights finished ranked 29th last season after recording a 20.4% mark. A big part of the high turnovers forced mark has been steals, as the Knights have snatched 8.4 steals per game, a mark that ranks 77th in the country and seventh in the Big 12. UCF averaged 8.7 steals per game last season, ranking 22nd in D-I.
• Freshman Moustapha Thiam has made a major impact over UCF’s last three games, averaging 11.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.7 blocks per game. He recorded six blocks against Tarleton State on Dec. 8 before rejecting another five shot attempts while scoring a season-high 14 points vs. Tulsa in the Orange Bowl Classic on Dec. 14. It was his third 5+ block performance of the season after blocking six shots against No. 13/15 Texas A&M on opening night. The freshman is pacing nicely with UCF legend Tacko Fall who posted 70 blocks in his rookie season, a Knights freshman record. Through 10 contests of the 2015-16 season, Fall had 26 blocks while Thiam currently sits at 25 through the first 10 of the current campaign. Fall had one six-block game during that stretch. Taylor Hendricks, UCF’s first lottery and first round pick in program history, had 59 in 2022-23, the second most by a UCF rookie. Hendricks had 17 blocks through 10 games.
• UCF is 41-12 in the month of December under Johnny Dawkins, never losing more than two games in any December while he has been at the helm. Two of Dawkins’ five victories over top-25 teams at UCF have come in December. The Black and Gold are 31-4 at home in December during Dawkins’ tenure. The Knights have averaged 72.5 points per game in December under Dawkins while holding foes to just 61.4 points per game, a double-digit margin of 11.1 points per contest.
• The Knights are currently on a 10-game winning streak at home against non-conference foes in the regular season dating back to last season where UCF beat Maine, Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman to wrap up the out-of-league slate. Currently, the Knights are on a seven-game home winning-streak, the second longest in the Dawkins era (JD record is 10).

THE MATCHUP

• UCF has won eight of its last 10 games against Jacksonville, including a dominating 94-52 victory last season on Dec. 6. The 42 points was the largets margin of victory in the Knights' 14 victories over the Dolphins. The Black and Gold hold the all-time series lead 14-12.
• UCF has found success against in-state opponents under head coach Johnny Dawkins, going 27-11 against teams from Florida since his arrival. UCF added a tally to the win column with the 100-94 win over Florida Atlantic on Nov. 12 and have the opportunity to pick up another in-state victory against Jacksonville on Dec. 21. The Knights have topped Florida, Florida State, Miami, South Florida, Stetson, FIU, Jacksonville, Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M during Johnny Dawkins’ tenure as UCF’s head coach and added Florida Atlantic to that list this season.

SCOUTING JACKSONVILLE

• The Dolphins enter the contest with a record of 6-5. They won their last contest, beating ETSU in the ASUN/SoCon Alliance 60-52. They picked up a win over a Power 4 foe earlier in the season, winning at Virginia Tech 74-64 on Nov. 20.
• Robert McCray V leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.6 points per game along with 5.0 rebounds per contest. He also boasts 52 assists, 17 steals and 10 blocks through 11 games this season. Zach Bell, like McCray, also averages double-digit points, scoring an even 10.0 per game.