ORLANDO – After scoring the third most points in a game in UCF’s Division I history, Keyshawn Hall has been named as the Big 12 Conference’s Newcomer of the Week.
Hall had a night to remember on Jan. 14, stuffing the stat sheet with 40 points, seven rebounds and six assists. It was his game for taking from the jump, coming out to the tune of a six-for-six start from the field. He finished the first half with 29 points, shooting 11-for-13 from the floor and four-for-five from long range.
After finding himself in foul trouble, Hall had to sit for eight minutes of the second half but was still able to tack on 11 more points to his total, including a perfect seven-for-seven from the line with multiple trips to the charity stripe down the stretch.
Hall’s 40 points were the third such occurrence while UCF has been a Division I program, joining Jermaine Taylor’s 45 points vs. Rice on Feb. 25, 2009 and Mark Jones’ 42 points vs. St. Thomas on Dec. 18, 1997. Both Knights alumni went on to play in the NBA.
The 40 points from the junior transfer helped lift the Knights to an NCAA NET quad one victory, beating Arizona State 95-89. It was the most points scored by a Big 12 player this season. Hall became the first Big 12 player to score 40 points in a conference game since Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham did so on Feb. 27, 2021. Hall became the second player in Big 12 history with at least 40+ points, 5+ rebounds and 5+ assists in a regulation win, joining Oklahoma’s Austin Reaves while becoming the sixth Big 12 player to hit those marks regardless of the outcome of the game.
Just one other player has hit the 40-5-5 mark this season as Hall joined Cooper Flagg, Duke’s rookie sensation, as the only two to accomplish the feat. Hall’s night represented just the 16th time this season a player has hit 40 points. He became the 12th player to score 40 or more against Arizona State, which is currently playing in its 113th season.
The second game of the week saw UCF host No. 10/8 Houston on Saturday. Despite a tough shooting afternoon, Hall found a way to go coast-to-coast and score a go-ahead layup with 9.8 seconds left in the game, giving the Knights a 68-67 edge. The Cougars prevailed in the end, scoring the game-winner with 3.2 ticks remaining. Hall had 11 rebounds in the contest, one short of tying a season high.
Hall leads the Knights in scoring this season, averaging 16.9 points per game. If he were to hold that clip for the remainder of the campaign, it would be the highest points per game average by a Knight since B.J. Taylor had 17.4 during the 2016-17 season.
Hall becomes the second member of the Black and Gold to win a Big 12 weekly honor. Jaylin Sellers was named Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Week last season.
Handled business 💼 pic.twitter.com/OHxXAmNq7X
— UCF Men’s Hoops 🌴 (@UCF_MBB) January 15, 2025