Three Takeaways From UCF Basketball's Loss To Baylor
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The UCF Knights men's basketball team came back to earth on Saturday with their comeback against the Baylor Bears falling short, 87-86.
Here are three takeaways from the game as the home stretch of the Knights' season continues:
1. It's Hard to Come From Behind
Over this season, the direction the Knights' game has taken in the first half has tended to foreshadow how the game would ultimately end, regardless of the opponent.
On the road against a ranked BYU, the Knights let it fly from three and built up a large enough lead that the Cougars were unable to overcome. On Saturday, the shoe was on the other foot with Baylor going 8-15 from beyond the arc in the first half to UCF's 5-9. While the Knights might have had the advantage from distance in the second half, both teams took dives in their three-point production.
That initial advantage ended up being just enough for Baylor to come away with a victory, rendering UCF 1-6 in Big 12 games in which it trailed at the half. On the other side of the coin, UCF is 8-1 in Big 12 matchups in which they led at the half.
2. The Knights Play Small Ball At Their Own Peril
During Big 12 play, the Knights are 5-0 when they've out-rebounded an opponent and 3-7 when they don't. The Bears did just that, winning the battle at the glass, 35-28. Though most of that difference came from winning the first half, 21-13. This came from a chain of events that crippled UCF's frontcourt.
First, reserve center Jeremy Foumena went down with an injury only a few minutes into the game, taking one of UCF's big men off the board. Now, that alone may not have posed an issue; Foumena was out for the Knights' wins against Arizona State and Houston. However, it was in combination with another problem that things ultimately did not go well at the glass for UCF.
In addition to Foumena's absence, the rest of the Knights' frontcourt all got into early foul trouble with Jamichael Stillwell, John Bol and Devan Cambride all picking up two fouls each by the time 5:57 were left in the first half. The frontcourt options ended up getting so thin that coach Johnny Dawkins deployed center Elijah Hulsewe for the first time since Feb. 8. He ended up playing for 5:20, his longest appearance since Nov. 11.
Bol, who still led the team with seven rebounds and five blocks, even picked up his second foul, a technical, with 8:41 left in the first half, resulting in him only getting eight minutes of playing time. He ended up playing for 14 minutes in the second half, and Baylor coach Scott Drew noticed the difference Bol's presence brought.
"We did a great job getting to the rim in that first half and get some easys, and we weren't able to be very efficient second half of getting into the rim because of him."
3. Riley Kugel is Back
After missing the Knights' two-game road trip to Utah, guard Riley Kugel, who Dawkins called one of the Knights' best players, made his return to the court on Saturday, and it looked like he had not missed a beat. In fact, Kugel had his highest-scoring game of the season, getting 26 points thanks to sinking 10-19 from the floor, also season highs. He also pulled in five rebounds and dished out five assists.
"I thought he, you know, he gave us everything, considering he's been out for quite a while," Dawkins said. "He's missed several games and very limited practices, and so I thought for what he went through, and, you know, it was impressive, because a lot of players couldn't have done what he did tonight, based on the limited reps he's taken since the injury."
The Knights have one more chance to take a win on their home court during the regular season as they host Oklahoma State at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
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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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