Three Key Takeaways From #25 UCF's Loss To Oklahoma State
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For the first time in nearly two months, the No. 25 UCF Knights found themselves on the losing side, falling to Oklahoma State, 87-76.
The loss brings an 11-game winning streak, its longest winning streak since the 2010-11 season, to an end.
Here are the three biggest keys from the game for the Knights (12-2, 1-1 Big 12):
1. Sometimes You Just Miss
Sometimes, in basketball, the shots just won't fall. In a trend reminiscent of some of their earlier season games, the Knights went long stretches without scoring from the floor, including three separate instances of UCF missing six consecutive shot attempts or more. Forward Jordan Burks was the epitome of this struggle, going 0-11 from the floor.
Burks' performance also highlighted the night's starkest shooting comparison was beyond the arc. The Knights ended up shooting 7-33, or 21%, from three-point range on Tuesday night, their second-worst performance of the season. As for the Cowboys, despite entering the game ranked 15th in the Big 12 in three-point shooting percentage, they went 10-19, or 53%, making them the second team this season to sink more than half of their threes against UCF, joining FGCU.
2. Getting To The Line
The Cowboys came into Tuesday night leading the Big 12 in free throws made per game, and they leveraged that in the second half against the Knights. In the second half alone, Oklahoma State went 15-19, or 79% from the charity stripe, while the Knights went 6-11. It was less than the Cowboys shot better than UCF from the free-throw line; they just got there more often.
Spearheaded by forward Parsa Fallah and Vyctorius Miller, Oklahoma State's 35 free-throw attempts tie Quinnipiac for the most free-throw shots given up by the Knights this season, and their 27 conversions come just two shy of the Bobcats for the most made free throws given up this season.
The difference between the Quinnipiac game and this one was that UCF got to the free-throw line quite late. On Tuesday night, that was not the case. However, the Knights did have their ways to keep the game close.
3. It Could Have Been Worse
The Cowboys ended up controlling much of the game. They won a nine-point swing on three-point shooting, a 12-point swing on free-throw shooting, and even the defensive rebounding battle, 34-23.
What kept the Knights in the game and had them knocking on the door during some points in the second half were turnovers and offensive rebounds.
On the offensive glass, UCF torched Oklahoma State, 13-5, which turned into an 18-point swing for the Knights in second-chance points, 20-2. Forward Devan Cambridge led the charge there, getting five of his 11 rebounds on offense. He also scored 11 points for his first double-double of the season.
As for turnovers, the Knights may have given up 11 of them, almost double their number from their previous game against Kansas, but the Cowboys gave up 16, allowing them to gain an advantage in points off turnovers, 16-11.
Despite a cold shooting night, UCF still leveraged its big men and their defense to stay in the game.
While the Knights' 11-game overall winning streak is over, they still have an eight-game home winning streak they can extend when they return to Orlando to host Cincinnati on Sunday at 5 p.m.
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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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