2015-2016 Knights Men’s Basketball Schedule
Sat. Nov. 14 at Davidson
Wed. Nov. 18 UC Irvine
Sat. Nov. 21 UNC Greensboro
Sat. Nov. 28 at Miami (OH)
Wed. Dec. 2 at Stetson
Sat. Dec. 5 Illinois‐Chicago
Tue. Dec. 8 UMass
Sat. Dec. 12 Florida Atlantic
Sat. Dec. 19 at Detroit
Tue. Dec. 22 Bethune‐Cookman
Tue. Dec. 29 George Washington
Sat. Jan. 2 at East Carolina
Wed. Jan. 6 USF
Sun. Jan. 10 at SMU
Sat. Jan. 16 East Carolina
Wed. Jan. 20 at USF
Sun. Jan. 24 at Tulsa
Tue. Jan. 26 Memphis
Sun. Jan. 31 UConn
Thu. Feb. 4 at Tulane
Sat. Feb. 6 Temple
Tue. Feb. 9 Cincinnati
Sat. Feb. 13 at Houston
Wed. Feb. 17 at Memphis
Sun. Feb. 21 Tulsa
Wed. Feb. 24 Houston
Sat. Feb. 27 at Temple
Wed. Mar. 2 Tulane
Sun. Mar. 6 at UConn
AAC Tournament takes place between Mar. 10-13 at the Amway Center
Bold denotes home game at CFE Arena
Key match ups for the Knights:
- Season Opener on November 14th at Davidson
The Knights tip off the season on the road with arguably the toughest team on their schedule. The Davidson Wildcats are a perennial NCAA tournament team coming off a second round loss last year to Iowa and graduated Atlantic 10 Player of the Year Tyler Kalinoski. However, the Wildcats return four starters and the majority of their bench so they will be just as dangerous as ever. The reigning A-10 regular season champions under head coach Bob McKilop will look to outpace the Knights and rely on the 3-point shot for much of their scoring. The Knights will have to be at the top of their game defensively to slow them down and utilize their size advantage to find open looks on the offensive side of things.
- Home Opener on November 18th against UC Irvine
UC Irvine is another NCAA tournament team from last season and poses a very similar threat to the Knights. The Anteaters won the Big West Championship a season ago and tend to shoot successfully from long range (38.9 percent from beyond the arc last year). Perhaps the most interesting story line heading into this game however, will be between the two big men Mamadou N’Diaye and Tacko Fall. The Knights freshman center and the Anteaters redshirt junior center are both listed at 7 foot 6 inches and will both certainly see court time during the game barring injury. That result of that battle will be a major player in the final result for UCF as they will have to rebound well to avoid second chances for UC Irvine’s sharpshooters.
- Conference Match Up on January 10th at SMU
The Knights can make their mark on the American Athletic Conference this year and the first real test will come early on when they travel to Dallas to take on the SMU Mustangs. UCF faces yet another team that found themselves in the field of 68 for the NCAA tournament last season, however the Mustangs will be in retooling mode after graduating five seniors. Semi Ojeleye will be the man to watch for the Mustangs as he is eligible to join the team in January after transferring from Duke in the middle of last season.
- Conference Match Up on February 9th against Cincinnati
Cincinnati is the fourth and final NCAA tournament team from last season that UCF will take on and the stakes of this game are higher than any of those previously listed. This late season match up could make or break where the Knights are going into the AAC Tournament and a lot of pressure will be on both teams to come out on top. The Bearcats will add two play making freshmen in Justin Jenifer and Jacob Evans to a team that features the return of all of the team’s tournament starters.
