Men's Hoops Set for Second Straight Top-10 Tussle; Travel to No. 2 Iowa State Tuesday

ORLANDO – The UCF men's basketball team is set for its second straight matchup against a top-10 opponent, visiting No. 2 Iowa State in Ames on Tuesday night.

GAME INFORMATION
Date: Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025
Time: 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT
Location: Ames, Iowa; Hilton Coliseum
TV: ESPN+
TV Talent: Shawn Kenney (PxP), Jess Settles (Analyst)
Radio: FM 96.9/AM 740 The Game
Tadio Talent: Marc Daniels (PxP)

KNIGHT NOTES

• UCF was just two points shy of snapping a nine-game losing skid to its old foes, No. 10/8 Houston in a 69-68 game that came down to the wire. Keyshawn Hall gave UCF a lead with a layup with 9.8 seconds to play, only for the Cougars to answer with 3.2 ticks remaining. Houston extended its winning streak on the year and against UCF to 10 with the victory.
• The Knights have been close to toppling Houston in the last two meetings. UCF has led Houston at halftime each of the last two outings, leading 31-28 last season and 38-30 this go around. The 38 points was the most scored on the Cougars in the first half this season and the 30 points was the lowest Houston had been held to in the opening frame this campaign. UCF falls to 1-16 when shooting a lower clip than Houston; the Knights are 10-9 against them when outshooting them.
• The Knights are one of six teams in the Power 4 and Big East to have three 14.0+ points per game scorers this season; they’re joined by Creighton, Texas Tech, Stanford, Notre Dame and Iowa. The trio of Keyshawn Hall (16.9), Darius Johnson (14.9) and Jordan Ivy-Curry (14.2) combine for 58.3% of UCF’s points, accounting for an average of 46.0 PPG of UCF’s average of 78.9. All three are in the top 14 of the Big 12 in scoring.
• The Knights go as their trio goes, with big differences in shooting percentages in wins vs. losses. Combined, the trio makes 14.9% more of their field goals and 13.2% more of their three-point attempts in games UCF wins.
  • In UCF Wins: Johnson: 45.2 FG%, 46.4 3PT%; Hall: 48.6 FG%, 41.5 3PT%; Ivy-Curry: 44.2 FG%, 34.6 3PT%
  • In UCF Losses: Johnson: 33.8 FG%, 32.4 3PT%; Hall: 30.4 FG%, 16.0 3PT%; Ivy-Curry: 29.3 FG%, 30.3 3PT%
• The Knights’ game at Iowa State caps UCF’s conference-opening stretch of seven games, six of which presented NCAA NET quad one opportunities. The Knights have already grabbed two of those quad one wins, beating Texas Tech and Arizona State on the road. UCF owns three quad one wins this season, including the opening night win over No. 13/15 Texas A&M. Of UCF’s first 13 Big 12 contests, nine of them present or have presented quad one opportunities.
• The Black and Gold’s gauntlent of a January gets tougher, as the game against No. 10/8 Houston was the first of back-to-back games against a top 10 opponent. It’s the first time since late last season that the Knights have faced two straight top 10 teams, as UCF lost by a combined 16 points to No. 8 Iowa State (60-52) and No. 1 Houston (67-59) on March 2 and March 6. Two of the next three are also against a pair of top 10 teams (No. 2/2 Iowa State, No. 9/10 Kansas), meaning the Houston game was the start of a four game stretch against three top 10 foes. It’s the first time in program history playing three top 10 teams in a four-game span.
• Hall has seven 20+ point games and scored double-digit points in all but three games this season. Hall has had some hot starts in road conference games, starting six-for-six including four-for-four from deep on his way to 40 points against Arizona State; and started seven-for-seven including three-of-three from beyond against Texas Tech. Hall has been heating up as the season has gone on, shooting much higher clips over the last eight games than the first nine.
  • First nine games: 38.2% from the field, 25% from three-point range
  • Next eight games: 45.9% from the field, 38.6% from three-point rang
• Freshman Moustapha Thiam has been making a big impact over his last nine games played, scoring double-digit points in six of those contests, including most recently a career-best 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field against No. 10/8 Houston. Over the last nine games played, the rookie has six efforts with three or more blocks. The freshman is pacing nicely with UCF legend Fall who posted 70 blocks in his rookie season, a Knights freshman record. Through 17 contests of the 2015-16 season, Fall had 35 blocks while Thiam sits at 38 through the first 17 of the current campaign, despite missing two games due to injury or illness, so only participating in 15 thus far. Fall had one five or better block game during that stretch while Thiam boasts three. 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 28 blocks through 17 games
• Johnson among the top 50 players in the country in steals and three-point percentage. He ranks No. 6 in the nation in steals, averaging 2.71 per contest. He ranks 44th in the nation in three-point percentage with a 41.7% clip.
• Johnson is two assists away from sole possession of second place on UCF's all-time steals list, currently sitting with 204 in his career.

THE MATCHUP

• The Knights and Cyclones have faced each other just once on the hardwood, with the lone meeting coming last season. UCF hosted No. 8/6 Iowa State on March 2, 2024, falling 60-52. It was the second straight game against a top 10 ranked opponent.

SCOUTING IOWA STATE

• At No. 3 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll, Iowa State has been ranked in the Top 5 for 20 weeks in the polls history, with 10 of those weeks coming this
  season.
• One of just 14 schools that have faced multiple Top 5 opponents this year, Iowa State has ranked wins over No. 5 Marquette (81-70), No. 25 Baylor (74-55) and No. 9 Kansas (74-57). Iowa State is one of 14 schools with at least three Top 25 wins this season.
• Iowa State has been ranked in the AP Top 10 for 19-straight weeks, the longest streak in the nation. Iowa State has been ranked in the Top 15 for
  21-straight weeks. That is the third-longest streak in the country behind Tennessee’s 28 and Duke’s 25, and the longest in the Big 12.
• The Cyclones are now 29-9 playing as a team ranked in the Top 5 in the country. ISU’s game against No. 4 Auburn was just the second Top 5 matchup in program history and the first since 1997.
• Iowa State’s 15-2 record through 17 games is tied with the 1987-88 and 1999-00 teams for the best 17-game start in school history.
• Five Cyclones are averaging double figure points this season in Curtis Jones (17.8), Keshon Gilbert (15.4), Joshua Jefferson (11.8), Milan Momcilovic (10.3) and Tamin Lipsey (10.1). ISU is one of 29 schools with five players in double figures and one of just 14 Power Five schools. Arizona State and Baylor are the only other Big 12 school on the list. Gilbert is averaging 15.4 points, 4.7 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game this year. He is one of just nine players in the country to hit those marks this season. Lipsey is averaging 10.0 points, 4.4 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game in his career. He is one of 17 players since 1947-48 to average those numbers in a career while playing at least 85 games. Gary Payton (Oregon State) and Larry Bird (Indiana State) are other notable names on the list. Jones scored 12 combined points in his first four Big 12 games last season. Since then, he has scored in double figures in 20-straight Big 12 regular season games, a streak that started with his first Cyclone start at No. 19 TCU last season. ISU is 16-4 during the streak.