UCF (11-3, 2-1) at Arizona (9-5, 3-0) | McKale Center | 8 p.m. Saturday | ESPN | 1290-AM
PROBABLE STARTERS
ARIZONA
G Jaden Bradley (6-3 junior)
G Caleb Love (6-4 senior)
F Anthony Dell’Orso (6-6 junior)
F Trey Townsend (6-6 senior)
C Tobe Awaka (6-8 junior)
UCF
G Darius Johnson (6-1 senior)
G Jordan Ivy-Curry (6-3 senior)
F Dallan "Deebo" Coleman (6-6 senior)
F Keyshawn Hall (6-7 junior)
C Moustapha Thiam (7-2 freshman)
How they match up
Series history: Arizona has never played UCF, which became a Division I program in 1985 and joined the Big 12 in 2023-24. UCF coach Johnny Dawkins was 1-13 against Arizona as Stanford’s coach between 2008-09 and 2015-16, going 1-1 against the Russ Pennell-coached Wildcats in 2008-09 and losing all 12 games against Sean Miller-coached UA teams.
UCF overview: After tying for 11th place in its Big 12 debut last season, the Knights are off to a curious start this season. They opened conference play with an 87-83 win at Texas Tech but returned home to get drilled 99-48 by Kansas — and then rallied to edge Colorado 75-74 on Wednesday in Orlando.
Relying heavily on isolation plays for its three best players, the Knights are an average shooting team from 3-point territory (34.0%) and 2-point range (47.3) but excel at picking up fouls and converting free throws. They score 24.2% of their points from the line, the 18th-highest percentage in Division I, shooting 77.3% when they get there (ranking 32nd in free-throw shooting percentage).
Forward Keyshawn Hall and guards Darius Johnson and Jordan Ivy-Curry all pick up at least 3.9 fouls per 40 minutes and all convert free throws at high percentages: Hall shoots 78.7% from the line, Johnson 81.7% and Ivy-Curry 86.9%.
However, one of the Knights’ top returning players, guard Jaylin Sellers, has only played in three games this season because of injury and remains questionable for Saturday’s game.
Defensively, the Knights rank 86th in overall efficiency by allowing 100.8 points per 100 possessions. They’ll force a turnover on 19.9% of opponent possesions, ranking 74th in defensive block percentage (11.9), 83rd in defensive steal percentage (11.3) and 84th in non-steal turnover percentage (8.6). Against Colorado, the Knights scored 24 points off 22 Buffalo turnovers.
He said it: “They’re physical and handsy on the defensive end. They don't press a ton. They pressed more in the second half of that (Colorado) game and it was probably more with what we call a 'gaps press' where they trap the first pass, and then they try to turn you over on that second or third pass afterwards. The did that more (against Colorado) than I've probably seen the last five or six games.
“A lot of what they do has to be attributed to Darius Johnson. He’s averaging three steals a game. He’s elite on the ball in terms of swipes and rakes and getting into guys’ bodies. He's not a high-pressure guy. He's just really, really crafty and good on the ball. (He and Ivy-Curry) are smaller guards that have to be pests defensively, and it’s worked out well for them.
“They're a team that is built on their three best players: Hall, Johnson and Curry. Deebo Coleman's playing better. He's making a 3 game now, up to 34% from 3. (Moustapha) Thiam, he's an elite shot blocker. He's big and a little thin body. He's gotten in some foul trouble in games, which has really impacted the way they played defensively. If he doesn't get in foul trouble, he's a force out there, and to not be impacted by his length, his size at the rim is something that we're gonna have to be focused on.
Kansas guard Dajuan Harris Jr. (3) knocks the ball out of UCF center Moustapha Thiam’s hand during the first half, Jan. 5, 2025 in Orlando, Fla.
“(Offensively) Hall is an elite driver, good shooter. His game is attacking the basket and getting to the free-throw line. He's one of the best in the country doing that. Johnson is kind of the head of their snake in terms of getting into their actions and how they want to operate and he’s an elite shooter. He’s averaging 2½ (made) 3s a game, and finds a way to get downhill, takes advantage of mismatches and isolations and does a great job getting to the paint. All three of those guards are really, really good at drawing fouls.
“They run isolation at the elbows. They'll get some ball screens that will create creases in driving lanes for those guys to attack. A lot of it is how disciplined are we going to be with our weak side and our help with the guys that are off the ball.
“Our one-on-one defense is going to be tested. You have to understand that you might be on an island by yourself out there at times and you can't relax — because the moment you relax, these guys are going to attack you.” — UA assistant coach T.J. Benson, who scouted the Knights
Key players
UCF — Keyshawn Hall
A transfer from George Mason, Hall does a little bit of everything for the Knights — and lives especially large at the free-throw line. Hall draws an average of 5.2 fouls per 40 minutes and takes an average of 5.7 free throws a game — and hits them at a 78.8% rate. On Thursday, Hall compensated for a failure to inbound with five seconds left against Colorado with a game-saving block on the Buffaloes’ ensuing possession.
Arizona — KJ Lewis
UCLA guard Sebastian Mack (12) gets his shot blocked by Arizona guard KJ Lewis during the first half, Dec. 14, 2024, in Phoenix.
Coming off his best offensive game of the season at West Virginia on Tuesday, Lewis will have his hands full defensively this time in trying to contain the Knights’ aggressive perimeter players.
Sidelines
Kicks for charity
UA coach Tommy Lloyd and the Wildcats made their second annual trip to Diamond Children’s Medical Hospital on Thursday to join patients who were asked to paint shoes they will wear on Jan. 25 against Colorado, during the annual “Coaches vs. Cancer” weekend.
Lloyd said he hasn’t seen the shoes he will wear but “heard they were really good” — and in any case, the looks are secondary to the cause: After the staff wears their shoes during the Colorado game, the shoes will be auctioned off afterward, with proceeds to benefit the hospital.
“We love being involved with kids and when kids are struggling, it breaks your heart,” Lloyd said. “So anytime our guys can go over there and be part of an event that is helping kids feel better or helping kids have the opportunity to feel better, we want to participate.”
Adjustments, cont.
Life goes on in strange ways for former Pac-12 coaches used to playing regional games, often in a tidy Thursday-Saturday format.
Lloyd’s radio show had to be moved from Mondays to Thursdays because Big 12 gamedays are typically Saturday and between Monday-Wednesday, meaning a Big 12 “week” stretches from a weekend into the next week.
So when Lloyd spoke on his radio show about UA’s second game of its last trip, at West Virginia on Tuesday, he apologized for incorrectly referring to the date.
“I keep saying Saturday," he said.
Things were even weirder for Colorado coach Tad Boyle, who found himself sitting in an Orlando arena on a Wednesday night in conference play.
“These time zone changes are real and the wear and tear in your body is real,” Boyle said. “As I look at it in college basketball, I see who's playing and I scratch my head thinking, 'There's got to be a better way.' But this is the way it is. So you deal with it.”
Strategic branding
Part of the state university system of Florida, UCF is officially known as the University of Central Florida, but the school’s athletic department prefers a different approach.
“We’d like to make sure we are referred to correctly on all accounts,” UCF’s official game notes state. “Please refer to the University of Central Florida as 'UCF,' not 'Central Florida,' on all references. Also, we are not the 'Golden Knights,' instead, we are simply known as the 'Knights.'”
UCF dropped the “Golden” from its nickname in 2007-08 as part of a branding effort.
Numbers game
6: Different conferences UCF has played since moving to Division I in 1984, plus two stints as an independent.
93: UCF’s rank in both offensive and defensive efficiency after its 75-74 win over Colorado on Wednesday.
57.9: Combined scoring average last season of transfers on UCF’s roster.
— Bruce Pascoe
