Men's Hoops Heads West for Road Test at Arizona

ORLANDO – The UCF men's basketball team is set for its first of two road games in the state of Arizona, starting with a meeting with the Wildcats on Saturday night on national television.

GAME INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025
Time: 10 p.m. ET
Location: McKale Memorial Center; Tucson, Ariz.
TV: ESPN
Talent: Dave Pasch (PxP), Sean Farnham (Analyst)
Radio: FM 96.9/AM 740 The Game
Talent: Marc Daniels (PxP)

KNIGHT NOTES

• Following its Big 12 home-opening loss to Kansas, the Knights improved to 8-2 in games immediately following a 20+ point loss in Coach Dawkins’ UCF tenure with a 75-74 victory over Colorado on Jan. 8. The Knights have won five straight contests after a 20+ point loss, a margin that has been a rare occurance during the Dawkins era. The Buffaloes shot north of 50% from the field throughout the game’s entirety and built a lead as big as 10 in the second half, but the Knights found a way to stop them when it mattered most. UCF held Colorado scoreless over the final 3:01 of the contest, including two scoring opportunities inside of five seconds left to improve to 2-1 in league play. Jordan Ivy-Curry led the Knights in scoring with 22 points, sinking four three-pointers in the process, the fourth time in the last six games doing so. Keyshawn Hall and Darius Johnson joined him in double-digit points, tallying 18 and 17, respectively. The Black and Gold forced the Buffaloes to commit 22 turnovers, a season-high coughed up by Colorado and the second most the Knights have forced this season behind the 23 they forced against Tarleton State on Dec. 8. UCF’s meeting with Colorado was the second win over the Buffaloes in program history and first since the 2017 meeting in the NIT between the two sides that saw the Knights earn a 79-74 win.
• UCF’s win over Colorado was the first of three consecutive meetings against Big 12 Conference newcomers. Following the home victory, the Knights will cross paths with Arizona on Jan. 11 and Arizona State on Jan. 14, both for the first time in program history. Colorado is the lone newcomer that UCF will face twice during the conference slate and one of two the Knights draw at home. Utah, the fourth addition to the Big 12 this summer, will pay its first trip to Addition Financial Arena on Feb. 23. The Knights enter the weekend with a chance to improve on their 1-0 mark against this year's crop of Big 12 newcomers after going 0-6 against Big 12 newbies as a new member themselves during the 2023-24 campaign. UCF earned all seven of its conference victories last season against Big 12 legacy teams.
• The Knights haven’t played back-to-back games this far west since the 2019-20 season when they took part in the Wooden Legacy in Anaheim. UCF fell by one to Pennsylvania in the opening game of the tournament before earning consecutive wins against Pepperdine and Charleston. It’s the furthest west UCF has been for a single game since their 2023 NIT game at Oregon. UCF’s inaugural meeting with Arizona won’t be the first time UCF has been in the building though. The Knights took part in the Fiesta Bowl Classic in the McKale Memorial Center on Dec. 19 and 21, 2005, dropping both games to Western Kentucky and Sam Houston State. The pair of contests were the last time UCF played a game in the state of Arizona.
• The Knights are one of four teams in the Power 4 and Big East to have three 14.0+ points per game scorers this season; they’re joined by Texas Tech, Notre Dame and Creighton. The trio of Keyshawn Hall (15.6), Jordan Ivy-Curry (15.4) and Darius Johnson (14.7) combine for 58.2% of UCF’s points, accounting for an average of 45.7 PPG of UCF’s average of 78.5. All three are in the top 12 of the Big 12 in scoring.
• UCF has made 10 or more three-pointers in six contests so far this season, including three times in the last four contests. The Knights hit 10 or more three pointers just twice last season. Additionally, UCF already has three games where they’ve shot 50% or better from the floor after doing that just four times in the previous campaign. The Knights shot over 50% in back-to-back contests, doing so in the final game of nonconference and the first of Big 12 play. UCF recorded a 51.8% clip from the field and 43.5% from long range at Texas Tech as well as a 58.7% clip with a 58.8% mark from deep against Jacksonville. UCF’s 58.7% clip from the field against Jacksonville was its best in a game since its mark of 60.4 against Temple Jan. 2, 2019, and the squad’s 58.8 success rate from beyond the arc (10-for-17) marked its highest since it nailed 12 triples (12-for-20, 60%) against Michigan Dec. 30, 2021. UCF’s efforts against Jacksonville and Texas Tech marked its fourth and fifth game with at least 10 3-point field goals this season, joining its contests against Florida Atlantic Nov. 12 (13), LSU Nov. 24 (10) and Milwaukee Nov. 27 (11).
• The Black and Gold are averaging 4.9 blocks per contest, a mark that is 37th in the nation and sixth in the country. The 2023-24 season was the fifth straight season where the Knights improved on their blocks per game from the previous season. UCF finished last season with an even 5.0 blocks per game, ranking first in the Big 12 and 19th in the nation. UCF has earned seven or more blocks in five games this season, including two straight seven-block performances against Kansas and Colorado.

THE MATCHUP

• Saturday's matchup will be the first time the two sides have met on the hardwood.

SCOUTING ARIZONA

• With wins at No. 16 Cincinnati and No. 21 West Virginia last week, it marked the first time since 2003 that Arizona won back-to-back games on the road against ranked opponents.
• Arizona enters the game on a 5-game winning streak, shooting 52.9% overall during the streak and holding opponents to 28.9% shooting from the 3-point line.
• KJ Lewis scored a career-high 21 points in the win at West Virginia on Tuesday. Henri Veesaar set a new career high with three blocks against the Mountaineers.
• The Wildcats are 53-4 (.930) at home over the last three-plus seasons under Lloyd, tied for the sixth-best winning percentage in the country.
• During the last five games, Arizona has 102 assists and just 51 turnovers. In the 9 games, prior to that, The Wildcats had 139 assists to 115 turnovers.
• Arizona has registered a 10-0 run or better 16 times through 12 games this season, tied for 16th most in the country. On the flip side, the Wildcats have allowed a 10-0 run just twice.