How To Watch UCF Hoops Face VMI For Its Sixth Straight Win
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Venue: Addition Financial Arena (Orlando, Florida)
Tip-off: Saturday, Nov. 28, 1:00 p.m. EST
TV/Streaming: ESPN+ (Play-by-Play: Austin Lyon, Analyst: Mike O'Donnell)
Radio: UCF Knights YouTube Channel (Play-by-Play: Eric Lopez)
Live Twitter/X Updates: @itsBrysonTurner and @UCFKnightsOnSI
Odds: UCF is a 23.5-point favorite, according to Fanduel.
Series History: UCF Leads series, 1-0 (First Meeting: 1978)
Quick Facts:
1. It's Been a Long Long Time
This season's matchup may not be the first between these two programs in their history, but it is the first in quite a long time.
The two teams first met in Winter Park for the Tangerine Bowl Basketball Tournament on Dec. 28, 1978. UCF, newly renamed from Florida Technological University just 22 days earlier by the stroke of Gov. Reubin Askew's pen, was coming off its best season in program history, a Final Four appearance in the NCAA Division ll Tournament.
Back then, the Knights were still led by their founding coach, Totchy Clark, and UCF's current coach, Johnny Dawkins, was 15 years old.
The Knights, still a Division II team at the time, pulled off the upset over the Division I Keydets, 108-91.
2. Absent Playmaker
The lone VMI Keydet to earn a spot on the SoCon's preseason all-conference team was senior guard Rickey Bradley Jr., who was also tabbed as the conference's preseason player of the year. However, he has yet to see the court this season.
In his place, junior forward Ty Johnson has taken over as the team's leader on the court, taking a lion's share of its offensive chances. So, thanks to ranking third in the nation in field goal attempts (123), he also currently ranks Top 10 in the nation in points (161). He also leads the nation in three-point attempts, which has helped the Keydets rank ninth in the nation in three-pointers per game as a team so far this season.
Guard AJ Clark, meanwhile, has led the Keydets at the glass with 70 rebounds, the 20th-most in the nation, though Johnson is not far behind with 61.
3. Milestone Win on the Line
A win on Saturday afternoon would mark a milestone for Dawkins's UCF tenure, as he would pick up win No. 175 at the helm of the Knights. Dawkins is currently 174-121 overall, now seven games into his 10th season in Orlando.
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Catch up on more UCF News below:
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Bryson Turner is a sports journalist who covers UCF Athletics. Turner has contributed to the Black and Gold Banneret, the home for UCF Athletics on SB Nation. He has called the Orlando area home since the age of 8 and received his bachelor's and master's degrees from UCF.
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