Men's Hoops Travels to Waco for First Time to Battle Baylor

ORLANDO – The UCF men's basketball team hits the road to visit Baylor in Waco for the first time in program history. 

GAME INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025
Time: 2 p.m. ET
Location: Waco, Texas; Foster Pavilion
TV: ESPN+
TV Talent: Lowell Galindo (PxP), BJ Taylor (Analyst)
Radio: FM 96.9/AM 740 The Game
Radio Talent: Marc Daniels (PxP)

KNIGHT NOTES

• UCF is seeking its fourth quad one victory in the NCAA NET on Saturday in paying the program’s first trip to Waco to face Baylor. A fourth quad one victory would be the most in program history, if all teams were to stay at that level the rest of the way.
• The Black and Gold are seeking their third road win of Big 12 play which is as many as they had all last season.
• UCF’s last outing saw them give up 90+ points for the sixth time this season. In the Dawkins era, that had only happened five other times across his previous eight seasons.
• The Knights’ offense continues to produce points, averaging 79.8 points per game, a mark that is well above the previous best clip in the Dawkins era of 72.3 accomplished during the 2018-19 season. On the flip side, the defensive numbers show the most points allowed of the Dawkins era, surrendering 79.4 points per game when the previous highest never eclipsed 70 at 69.4 in 2020-21.
• Junior Keyshawn Hall enters Saturday’s contest with 981 career points, needing 19 points to reach 1,000 for his career. Hall has collected 403 points as a Knight while registering 481 with George Mason last season and 97 with UNLV before that.
• He would be the second Knight to accomplish the feat this season, as Darius Johnson hit 1,000 Nov. 19 vs. Tennesee Tech. Johnson became the 21st Knight to score all 1,000 points in a UCF uniform, becoming the first member of the Black and Gold to score all 1,000 with UCF since Tacko Fall did it in 2018-19. Darius’ dad Kelvin and brother Xavier both scored 1,000 points college. Xavier finished his five-year career with 1,452 points after three years with George Mason and two with Southern Ill. Kelvin finished with 1,400 in four years at Richmond. UCF currently boasts a trio of 1,000 point scorers: Darius Johnson Jordan Ivy-Curry and Jaylin Sellers. As of the start of Big 12 play, UCF is one of six Big 12 schools with a trio of 1,000+ point scorers. The other five schools in the Big 12 that meet the criteria are Arizona, Baylor, Kansas, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and West Virginia.
• Hall is currently leading the Big 12 in scoring during conference play, averaging 21.5 PPG in league play. He’s shooting 48.6% from the field and 60% from deep over the last five games, along with averaging 23.3 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 2.6 APG. Hall has seven 20+ point showings in conference play, including two 34+ point performances. He has pieced together four straight 20+ point outings: 26 vs. TCU (Jan. 25), 34 at #11 Kansas (Jan. 28), 20 vs. BYU (Feb. 1) and 23 vs. Cincinnati (Feb. 5).
• 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; joined by Creighton, Texas Tech, Stanford, Northwestern and Notre Dame. The trio of Keyshawn Hall (18.3), Darius Johnson (15.0) and Jordan Ivy-Curry (14.3) combine for 59.6% of UCF’s points, tallying an average of 47.6 PPG of UCF’s average of 79.8. The Knights go as their trio goes, with big differences in shooting percentages in wins vs. losses. Combined, the trio makes 8.4% more of their field goals and 4.1% more of their three-point attempts in games UCF wins.
  • In UCF Wins: Johnson: 44.8 FG%, 46.1 3PT%; Hall: 48.4 FG%, 43.5 3PT%; Ivy-Curry: 44.0 FG%, 34.9 3PT%
  • In UCF Losses: Johnson: 37.1 FG%, 36.8 3PT%; Hall: 38.2 FG%, 32.5 3PT%; Ivy-Curry: 36.6 FG%, 39.7 3PT%

THE MATCHUP

• The Knights and Bears have only met once before, crossing paths in Orlando last season. The Knights built a 10-point first half lead but ultimately fell 77-69 on Jan. 31, 2024.

SCOUTING BAYLOR

• Baylor’s VJ Edgecombe and UCF’s Moustapha Thiam were teammates for Austin Rivers Southeast Elite on 2024 Adidas AAU circuit, while Darius Johnson was starting PG on the 2021 SE Elite team.
• Last time out, without the services of Edgecombe, Baylor dropped its second-straight contest to Texas Tech, 73-59 in the Hub City. 59 points were Baylor’s second-fewest this season, while its 19 field goals tied a season low
• Baylor’s Norchad Omier led the way for BU with a game-high 16 points and 12 rebounds, his 11th double-double of the season, tying him for the most by a Baylor player since Freddie Gillespie had 11 in 2019-20. Now with 79 career double-doubles, Omier is tied with Oscar Robertson and Michael Brooks for the ninth-most in NCAA history, his next double-double will tie him with Drexel’s Malik Rose for eighth-most
• Baylor’s dynamic freshmen duo of Edgecombe and Robert Wright have taken their games to the next level, averaging 23.3 and 16.6 points per game, respectively, over the last five games.
• Averaging 14.9 and 13.1 points per game respectively, for the season, Edgecombe and Wright are looking to become the first BU freshmen to average 13.0+ points per game in the same year since Lawrence Roberts and John Lucas III averaged 16.6 and 13.2 in 2001-02
• Last time at Foster Pavilion, Baylor won its fifth-straight home game against the Kansas Jayhawks in dramatic fashion, 81-70. Down by 19 at the break, BU erased the KU lead less than seven minutes into the second half, and matched the largest halftime comeback in Big 12 history. In the process Baylor became the only team over the last 15 seasons to beat a ranked opponent by double-digits after trailing by 20+ points.
• Baylor has 70 conference wins over the last six seasons, second only to Kansas’ 73, the next closest team in that span is Texas Tech with 55.
• Scott Drew is one of six active coaches with a national title, and now has wins over three of the other five this season (Calipari, Pitino and Self)