The UCF men’s basketball team (20-8, 9-5 C-USA) will be looking for a sweep of the perennial powerhouse Memphis Tigers (21-8, 11-3 C-USA) when they travel to FedExForum to square off with their Conference-USA leading rivals Tuesday night.
This is the first time the Knights have even been in a position to sweep the Tigers, who hold a 10-1 all-time record against UCF. The lone defeat came earlier this year when the Knights used a last-minute spurt and Keith Clanton And-1 play to edge the Tigers, 68-67, on Jan. 19 in a thriller at the UCF Arena.
However, sweeping Memphis will be no easy task, especially on the Tigers home floor, where they are 14-2 this season.
The Tigers have won six of their last seven games to surge past Southern Miss for the top spot in the Conference-USA standings over the last week. They have won their last six games by an average of 18.3 points and are playing their best basketball of the season currently.
The Knights will have to play near perfect basketball to take down the Tigers. Last year, the Tigers demolished UCF in Memphis by a score of 77-61.
However, the Knights should have some confidence entering the game, after an impressive 63-45 win over a red-hot UTEP team this past Saturday. The Miners came into the game, having won four straight games, including W’s against Memphis, Southern Miss and Tulsa (the league’s top three teams) before the Knights halted their victory streak.
UCF got more stellar play from Isaiah Sykes, who finished with a game-high 23 points, to go along with 11 rebounds for the sophomore’s sixth double-double of the year.
The Knights will have their hands full with C-USA Player of the Year candidate Will Barton, who is averaging a league-high 18.1 points per game.
UCF has only won five games away from Orlando this year, so they will need to be completely focused to steal one from a Memphis team that has only lost on its home floor to a C-USA opponent once this year (UTEP).
The Knights will need Marcus Jordan to break out of his recent scoring slump if they are going to have any chance of victory. The junior guard has shot 34-of-95 (35 percent) from the field over his last 10 games and is only averaging 11.3 points per game in that span.
If he can snap out of his funk, and the Knights get great production from Clanton and Skyes, the Knights will have a good shot. UCF will need to stay out of foul trouble against a bigger and longer Memphis squad.
The Knights will also have to be spectacular on both sides of the ball, as Memphis leads Conference-USA in scoring offense at 72.5 points per game, as well as scroring defense, limiting opponents to 59.2 points per game.
The keys to the game for the Knights will be to limit the Tigers production inside, limit second chance scoring opportunities, get rebounds and make their foul shots. If UCF can play their game and overcome a tough road environment, the Knights might experience the program’s first-ever victory at Memphis.
Tip-off is set for 9 p.m. and will be televised throughout the southeast on CSS and in Central Florida on Bright House Sports Network.
