UCF is an enigma: lost by 25 at Kansas State, beat Kansas at home, lost to BYU, then beat Texas in Austin. They turn it over a lot, don’t shoot it well, foul a lot, and their assist numbers are low, but they are 12th nationally in steals, 14th in turnovers forced, and 22nd in offensive rebounding.

Wednesday in Austin, they destroyed the Horns on the boards (37-23), had a 12-3 advantage in offensive rebounding, and scored 19 points off turnovers. Houston is a big favorite, but UCF wants to play in the mud and fluster the opponent. Anything can happen in a game like that, as UT found out.

the daily #169 | 1/20/2024 | Archives

UCF Personnel

*#3 Darius Johnson 6’1″ Jr. – 14ppg, 3rpg, 4apg

Strong point guard;
Good three-level scorer;
Outstanding three-point shooter;
Solid in the mid-range; Nice step-back jumper;
Capable of attacking the rim;
Good at distributing on the drive and kicking:

*#11 Ibrahima Diallo 7’0″ 5th season – 7ppg, 7rpg, 2.5bpg (San Jose State/Ohio State)

Massive post player;
Solid around the basket;
Great shot blocker; (Ranked #23 in the nation in shots blocked per game with 2.12bpg);
Great rebounder on both ends;
Guards can “dig” the ball when he dribbles in the post;
Decent in the pick and roll:

*#21 C.J. Walker 6’8″ 5th season – 8ppg, 5rpg (Oregon)

Long/athletic foward;
Not bad in the post;
Monster trap could give him fits;
Not a great three-point shooter:

*#24 Jaylin Sellers 6’4″ Jr. – 18ppg, 4rpg (Ball State)

LEFTY; Athletic/Guard;
Three-level scorer;
Good three-point shooter and leads team in 3pt attempts;
Capable mid-range shooter:

*#2 Shemarri Allen 6’4″ 5th season – 8ppg, 4rpg (UMKC)

Solid at attacking the rim;
Capable, but not a great three-point shooter;
Good defender;
Extremely loose with the ball; PRESSURE!!

#13 Marchelus Avery 6’7″ Sr. 9ppg, 4rpg (New Mexico State)

Long/athletic forward;
Great motor;
Good around the basket;
Solid three-point shooter:

#5 Omar Payne 6’10” 5th season – 5ppg, 4rpg (Jacksonville/Illinois/Florida)

Very athletic big man;
Great offensive rebounder;
Good shot blocker;
Decent in the pick and roll;
Fourth school in the last four seasons;
Poor footwork in the post:

#12 DeMarr Langford Jr. 6’5″ Sr. – 2ppg, 2rpg (Boston College)

Not a good shooter;

Keys to Victory

Keep the boards clean. UCF is a good offensive-rebounding team (#22 nationally – 13.6 orpg) with size and athleticism. It is imperative for UH to put a body on someone after every shot attempt. They crash the boards hard to give themselves extra opportunities on offense.
Take care of the basketball. The Knights are one of the best teams in the nation at turning teams over. This was an issue for the Coogs in their first two Big 12 games. Texas Tech was not a high-defensive pressure team. UCF is and will try to make this a very sloppy game. UH must make great decisions on offense.
Find their shooters. They have three good shooters (Sellers, Johnson, and Avery). The Coogs must always know where they are and not allow wide-open threes.
Attack the paint on offense. The Coogs are at their best on offense when the guards attack the paint off the bounce or feed the post. UCF does not do a great job of guarding the paint, and this is a great opportunity for the Coogs to make plays inside or absorb the defense and kick out for the open three.
Attack in transition offense. UCF struggles in transition defense. They are slow to get back and find their man. This is an opportunity that the Coogs need to take advantage of when possible. If the UH bigs will rim-run and the guards quickly get to the wings, there will be opportunities for early offensive looks rather than UCF being able to set up their defense.