Men's Hoops Hosts Utah Sunday Afternoon

ORLANDO – The UCF men's basketball team welcomes Utah to Orlando for the first time in program history, just the second all-time meeting between the two schools.

GAME INFORMATION
Date: Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025
Time: 4 p.m. ET
Location: Orlando, Fla.; Addition Financial Arena
TV: ESPN+
TV Talent: Drew Fellios (PxP), BJ Taylor (Analyst)
Radio: FM 96.9/AM 740 The Game
Radio Talent: Marc Daniels (PxP), Taylor Young (Analyst)

KNIGHT NOTES

• Prior to this season, UCF hung its hat on winning games on the defensive side of the ball. This season, its been the offense. In Dawkins’ previous eight seasons at the helm of the Black and Gold, the Knights averaged 68.9 points per game with the best clip in points per game sitting at 72.3 back in 2018-19, the last time UCF made the NCAA Tournament. This season, the offense has errupted, averaging 79.0 points per contest with 14 games of 80 or more points this season (51 total in JD era). The Knights’ defense has allowed an average of 65.8 points per game over the previous eight seasons under Dawkins and has allowed 80.6 on the current campaign. The previous season-high never eclipsed 69.4 points per game (2020-21). UCF’s defense allowed 90 points five times across Dawkins’ first eight seasons and has allowed eight 90+ point games this season.
• After the second meeting with Colorado this season, UCF is 2-2 against this season’s Big 12 crop of newcomers. The final contest against a new Big 12 team this season is against Utah in Orlando Feb. 23. UCF finished its early season three-game stretch against three of the newest Big 12 additions, topping Colorado 75-74 and adding a road win at Arizona State 95-89. The lone loss was wedged between the two wins, falling to Arizona on the road 88-80. UCF went 0-6 against last season’s group of newcomers and added a loss to BYU in the Big 12’s postseason tournament. All seven of UCF’s conference wins during the 2023-24 campaign came against legacy Big 12 schools.
• Keyshawn Hall currently leads the Big 12 in scoring in both the regular season (19.1 ppg) and in conference play (22.0 ppg). He’s shooting 50% from the field and 35.3% from deep over the last five games, along with averaging 23.4 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 1.4 APG. Hall has nine 20+ point showings in Big 12 play alone, including three 34+ point performances: 40 at Arizona State Jan. 14, 34 at Kansas Jan. 28 and 34 at Oklahoma State Feb. 19.

THE MATCHUP

• UCF is set to host Utah for the first time in program history as a new member of the Big 12 Conference. Similar to how the Knights met conferencemate Oklahoma State outside the continental United States (Bahamas, 2022) for their inagural meeting, UCF met Utah for the first time in Puerto Rico in 2006. The Black and Gold faced the Utes in the opener of the San Juan Shootout, topping Utah before falling to Appalachain State the next day. The Knights then went on to beat Tennessee Tech, a team they faced earlier this season, winning two of three in San Juan.

SCOUTING UTAH

• With five games remaining in the regular-season, the Runnin’ Utes are just one game out of .500 sitting at 7-8 in Big 12 play. Per the Big 12 Conference, every Big 12 team that has finished .500 or better in league play has made the NCAA Tournament since 2014-15 and every team that has finished .500 in league play has made the tournament since 2009-10.
• Utah dominated the battle of the boards this past Monday against Kansas State, out-rebounding the Wildcats 51-28. In addition, the Utes also had a 21-6 advantage on the offensive glass. The last time Utah grabbed 21 offensive rebounds was last season against No. 8/8 Arizona in triple overtime. However, the last time Utah pulled down 21 offensive boards in a regulation game dated back to Dec. 28, 2013, against St. Katherine. The +23 rebounding differential against Kansas was the first time Utah had out-rebounded an opponent by 20-plus boards since out-rebounding UCLA 50-28 (+22) last season and wound up handing the Bruins their second largest margin of defeat in program history 90-44.
• Utah took advantage of Kansas’ miscues last Saturday, turning 12 turnovers into a 22-7 edge in points off turnovers. The 22 points off turnovers accounted for 29.7-percent of Utah’s offense. The Utes also dominated the glass against the Jayhawks to the tune of 46-36 in overall rebounds, but most importantly, it was the 16-6 difference on the offensive glass – which Utah turned in 14 points.
• Utah’s sophomores have been slowly improving as the season has gone on. In the last five games, Jake Wahlin is averaging 8.2 points and 7.0 rebounds while shooting .484 (15-of-31) from the field. His 8.2 points average is fourthmost on the squad in that stretch while his 7.0 boards per game is second behind fellow sophomore Keanu Dawes. Dawes has also made a steady incline the last five games, averaging 5.2 points with a team-leading 7.4 rebounds and a .438 shooting clip. Meanwhile, the 6-9 forward has pulled
  down the second-most offensive boards ont he team during this five-game stretch behind Ezra Ausar and Lawson Lovering - who have 12 offensive boards each.