Tulsa Set for Matchup at UCF on Sunday
2/8/2020 9:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
| GAME #23: TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE (15-7) vs. UCF Knights (12-10) | |
|---|---|
| Date/Time: | Sunday • Feb. 9, 2020 • 1:00 p.m. (CT) |
| Site: | Addition Financial Arena (10,000) • Orlando, Fla. |
| Coaches: | Tulsa – Frank Haith (Elon '88), 6th year UCF – Johnny Dawkins (Duke '86), 4th year |
| TV: | ESPN3 | Drew Fellos (pxp) & Mike O'Donnell (analyst) |
| Radio: | Big Country 99.5 FM (Bruce Howard & J.R. Rollo) |
| Live Stats: | Live Stats |
| Series: | 22nd Meeting (Tulsa leads series at 13-8) |
| Twitter: | @TUMBasketball | @TulsaHurricane |
| Instagram: | TulsaMBasketball |
| Game Notes: | Tulsa (PDF) | UCF |
THE GAME
• This is the 22nd meeting between Tulsa and UCF and the 7th as American Athletic Conference members.
• UCF is 12-10 on the season ... the Knights come into Sunday's match-up off of a 68-64 victory against East Carolina on the road Thursday, Feb. 6 ... UCF has key conference wins over USF, ECU and Tulane.
• This will be the first of two meetings between Tulsa and UCF this season, as the Hurricane will face off against the Knights in the home finale at the Reynolds Center on Saturday, Feb. 29.
• The Knights enter the game 3-7 in the American Athletic Conference, while Tulsa is 7-2 in conference play.
THE SERIES
• Tulsa holds the series advantage at 13-8 ... the Hurricane is 10-0 at home against the Knights and 3-8 on the road.
• The Hurricane has won 5 of the last 7 contests against the Knights ... Tulsa lost last year's meeting against UCF in Orlando by a score of 64-62.
• Tulsa's last win against UCF came on Feb. 21, 2018 as the Hurricane won 70-61 in the Reynolds Center.
• The first game in the series came in the 1981-82 season as Tulsa defeated the Knights 69-58 in the Convention Center led by head coach Nolan Richardson.
LAST MEETING AGAINST THE KNIGHTS
• The Hurricane took on the Knights in a conference road game on Jan. 19, 2019, at the CFE Arena in Orlando, Fla., as Tulsa lost by a score of 64-62.
• DaQuan Jeffries led the way with 15 points and nine rebounds for Golden Hurricane ... Sterling Taplin added 14 points ... Tulsa scored 23 fast-break points and shot 40-percent in the contest.
• UCF scored the first six points of the game before the Hurricane ripped off a 22-3 run to take the upper hand ... the TU defense held the Knights without a point for nearly seven minutes.
• Tulsa got within a point with a 6-0 run and then tied the score at 57 with 1:04 left ... UCF scored the next four points at the free-throw line and took the advantage at 63-59 with 19 seconds left.
• B.J. Taylor led the Knights with 15 points and Collin Smith scored all 13 of his points in the second half ... UCF got another dozen points from Tacko Fall and Aubrey Dawkins.
LAST WIN AGAINST UCF
• DaQuan Jeffries came off the bench to score 19 points and Tulsa used a late 12-2 run to pull away with a 70-61 victory on Feb. 21, 2018.
• Jeffries went 6-of-8 from the floor to go along with three rebounds, two assists and two blocks ... Junior Etou added 17 points and five rebounds ... Tulsa shot 53.5-percent from the field.
• TU finished with a season-high 18 assists on its 23 baskets, led by six from Sterling Taplin.
• Tulsa built a 65-55 cushion with 1:58 to play after buckets in the paint from Taplin and Jeffries.
• B.J. Taylor scored a game-high 26 points to lead the Knights, while Dayon Griffin added a dozen points off the bench ... UCF only shot 32-percent in the second half after hitting at a 54.2-percent clip in the opening 20 minutes.
SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS
• UCF was picked to finish 9th in the American Athletic Conference ... the Knights finished last season with a record of 24-9, 13-5 in conference play.
• UCF is coached by fourth-year head coach Johnny Dawkins ... he played for the Duke Blue Devils from 1983-86 ... he was drafted 10th overall in the 1986 NBA draft and played 9 seasons in the NBA.
• The Knights are 3-7 in conference play most recently defeated ECU on the road, 68-64, on Thursday, Feb 6.
• UCF is 7-4 at home this year ... they are 3-5 on the road and 2-1 in neutral site games.
• The Knights are led by redshirt junior, Collin Smith who is averaging 12.7 points and 6.3 rebounds ... Ceasar DeJesus is also averaging double-digits for UCF with 10.5 points per game.
• Dazon Ingram averages 8.8 points and 7.4 rebounds ... he ranks 6th in the AAC for rebounds.
• Smith (Nov. 25, Dec. 16) has been selected to the AAC weekly honor roll twice, while DeJesus (Dec. 9) and Ingram (Jan. 20) have each been selected once.
THREE IN A ROW
• Tulsa has had the last 3 American Athletic Conference Players of the Week ... the latest was Elijah Joiner (Feb. 3) after a 22-point, 5-rebound, 5-assist and buzzer-beating game-winning 3-pointer vs. #23 Wichita State.
• The week before (Jan. 27), Martins Igbanu averaged 19.5 points and 8.0 boards in wins over #20 Memphis and UConn.
• On Jan, 20, Brandon Rachal earned his second weekly honor with 18.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in road wins at ECU and Tulane.
A TULSA WIN WOULD
• Give Tulsa its 14th victory against UCF ... the first against the Knights on the road since Feb. 21, 2016.
• Give Tulsa their second win in the month of February and improve Tulsa's record in 2020 to 8-2.
• Give the Hurricane their 16th win of the season, and an 8-2 record in conference play.
• Improve Tulsa's record on the road to 5-4.
