Senior 'Knight', UCF Versus Cincinnati Basketball Preview

On senior night, the Knights take on the Bearcats at Addition Financial Arena.

Author:
Jack Edwards
Publish date:
Feb 23, 2022 8:17 AM EST

ORLANDO - The Knights hopes for reaching the NCAA Tournament are fading, so winning tonight’s contest is a must. UCF now focuses on securing a first round bye in the AAC Tournament.

UCF Men’s Basketball has been sporadic to say the least this season. A few big wins have been weighed down by disappointing losses. As of now, their record stands at 16-9 overall, and 8-7 in AAC play.

The Cincinnati Bearcats will come to town on Wednesday for a late-night matchup with the Knights. Currently they sit at the seven seed in the AAC with a 7-7 record in the conference, with UCF being the six seed. Both teams are looking up at the fifth-seeded Temple Owls, who hold a 8-5 conference record, and the final first-round-bye slot for the AAC Tournament. This game will prove big for both teams as they vie for the chance to skip the first round, and to get an extra day of valuable rest in the process. It's also a tribute to the seniors for the Knights.

Cincinnati has been just as curious of a case this season as UCF has. Early in the season they knocked off Illinois, a team that sits at number 12 in the AP Top 25 rankings at the moment. They also have beaten SMU, a top AAC team. However, similarly to UCF, Cincinnati struggles on the road, at 4-4 on the season.

Wednesday’s game will be UCF’s first look at Cincinnati’s first-year head coach Wes Miller. His team features two players averaging double figure scoring averages, with their backcourt duo of David DeJulius (14.6 PPG) and Jeremiah Davenport (13.6 PPG). Both of these guys can score from all three levels, so it will be important for UCF to be able to keep them in check from the get-go.

As a team, the Bearcats are in the middle of the pack in the AAC when it comes to offense and defense, scoring 70.3 points per game while allowing 69.6 per contest in AAC play, ranking 6th in the conference in both categories. Their biggest weakness as a team is rebounding, as they rank dead last in defensive rebounds allowed, and 7th in offensive rebounds allowed in conference games. Guys like Cheikh Mbacke Diong and CJ Walker should be able to take full advantage of that.

UCF will need to lean on its usual contributors, Darin Green, Jr. and Darius Perry, but will be without senior guard Brandon Mahan, who will be missing his second straight game with an ankle injury. A lot of games this season have been decided by the performance of these players in particular. The defensive paint presence of Cheikh Mbacke Diong will be key as well, Diong is consistently reliable on that end.

This will be UCF’s final home game of the year, meaning it will also be senior night. Addition Financial Arena has mostly been a safe haven for UCF this season, they are 11-3 at home with their losses coming to Oklahoma, Temple, and Houston. If they are able to win their three remaining games, they will need to hope that Temple loses at least two of its four final games in order for the Knights to get that coveted first-round bye.

You will find me on Twitter: @jackedwards126

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