Three Key Takeaways From UCF's Blowout Of Florida A&M

UCF Hoops Ends Season-opening home stretch ends with thumping Florida A&M.

Mar 8, 2025; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; UCF Knights head coach Johnny Dawkins argues a call during the first half against the West Virginia Mountaineers at WVU Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

The UCF Knights Men's Basketball team closed its season-opening home stand with a resounding 97-60 win over Florida A&M.

Here are three key takeaways for the Knights after the game:

To start, a moment to set expectations. The Rattlers are the lowest-ranked team the Knights face this season, based on last season's NET rankings at No. 321.

With Florida A&M only getting 20 points in the first half, the Knights were on pace for what forward Devan Cambridge said coach Johnny Dawkins called "a masterpiece," when a team can limit its opponent to 50 points or worse.

However, that did not ultimately come to pass, as the Rattlers rallied back in the second half. While it did not help them close their deficit, the Rattlers stepped up in transition, got to the free-throw line more often than the Knights, and just got more shots to fall, which helped them get much closer to the Knights in terms of scoring, only falling 49-40 in the second half.

2. Knights Were More Spread Out

Fresh off guard Riley Kugel's taking a lion's share of UCF's shot attempts from the floor against Vanderbilt, the Knights spread the ball around some more against the Rattlers. Of the 14 UCF  players who took the floor, 12 of them scored points. 

Kugel may have still led the team with 10 shots attempted from the floor, but this time it only accounted for 15.1 percent of the whole team's attempts. Others like guard Themus Fulks, forward Jordan Burks, guard George Beale Jr. and guard Carmelo Pacheo also attempted seven shots or more.

This diversified UCF attack helped the Knights, who went 36-66 from the floor, get ahead of the Rattlers, who went 21-55. However, a majority of the shots separating UCF and Florida A&M came from beyond the arc.

3. New Three-Point Threats

Before Tuesday night, Kugel had served as the Knights' chief shooting threat from beyond the arc. However, the Florida A&M game showcased a few other long-ball shooting threats for UCF.

First, the Florida A&M marked the first appearance of the type of three-point shooting Pacheco employed last season with Mount St. Mary's. Six of his seven shots from the floor were from three-point land and he connected on five of them, helping him finish the night as the Knights' leading scorer with 17 points.

While not as prone to shooting from three as Pacheco, fellow guard George Beale also found some success from deep against the Rattlers. The Hampton transfer went 4-7 from the floor while going 2-4 from beyond the arc.

So, while Cambridge said after the game that Kugel is still the Knights' "go-to guy," Tuesday night provided some insight on who else could be a deep threat for UCF should they get open.

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The Knights face their first road test on Friday at 8 p.m. when they take on Texas A&M.

Catch up with more UCF News below:

Johnny Dawkins Explains How Vanderbilt's Transition Game Worked Against UCF

Three Key Takeaways From Vanderbilt's Blowout Win Over UCF

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