With the UCF men’s basketball team’s Conference-USA schedule underway, the conference struggles from last season will be fresh on their minds. The Knights are looking to be contenders for the C-USA Championship and earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
As every Knight fan knows, UCF started the 2010-2011 season 14-0, then lost 12 of their last 19 games to finish with an overall record of 21-12. The Knights were 5-11 against C-USA opponents last season.
UCF has started this season 10-3 in non-conference play. This past week, UCF began league play in promising fashion, earning two quality wins over Tulane and East Carolina. Without head coach Donnie Jones, who is serving a three-game suspension for recruiting violations, the Knights are off to a 2-0 start in C-USA.
Before the season, UCF coach Donnie Jones offered his thoughts about the league.
“This is my fifth year in Conference-USA. The parity has been incredible. There are so many great coaches in this league. I think you’re gonna see something very similar to last year with some teams at the top like Memphis then after that it’s gonna get played out night in and night out with a lot of parity.”
Many college basketball analysts view the C-USA as a battle for second place with Memphis as the overwhelming favorite to win it all. The Tigers are currently 10-5 heading into conference play. They have played a very tough schedule, so don’t let their record fool you. Will Barton and Joe Jackson will be the driving forces behind this Memphis team.
Another team to watch out for will be Southern Mississippi. They are currently on an 11-game winning streak and are 15-2 overall. One of their losses came in a double-overtime loss against Murray State, one of the remaining undefeated teams in the nation.
The C-USA sleeper could be Marshall, the previous school Jones coached for before coming to Orlando. They have an experienced team that can control the boards. Marshall ranks third in the nation with 42.7 rebounds per game. Damier Pitts and DeAndre Kane are both capable of leading the C-USA in scoring this season.
UCF has nine players on the team now who were part of the team last season. Many of them have the losing streak in the back of their minds.
“It left a bad taste in everybody’s mouth,” sophomore forward Tristan Spurlock said. “I know I didn’t even play last year, but I still was a part of the team. We just hated the feeling of that losing streak. I know that the guys who are back are focused. We’re not gonna let that happen again.”
After many suspensions and different starting lineups, it seemed like UCF had finally gotten their full roster back in time for conference play. This was the case until Saturday night when Jeff Jordan announced that he will not be returning to the team for the Spring semester due to personal reasons.
In 14 games so far, Jeff Jordan has done a good job at point guard, filling in for A.J. Rompza as he served his suspension. With Jeff gone, this will force Rompza and Isaiah Sykes to play more minutes at the point guard position. Marcus Jordan will likely see some time at point guard.
A key loss for UCF was Isaac Sosa, who transferred to Canisius College after last season. Sosa was the team’s leading three-point shooter for the past two seasons. One thing that is missing from this UCF team is a reliable long-range threat.
UCF has the size and bulk to match up with any team in the conference. The only concern is if teams play zone against them. The question is how will UCF attack the zone with limited shooters and a power forward, Keith Clanton, who likes to play out on the perimeter?
The Knights are poised for a run at the C-USA title, but still have a lot of work to do as a team if they want to reach their goal.
“This should be the time when we all come together and work harder so we can try to win the conference and do whatever we can to make the tournament,” sophomore guard Isaiah Sykes said. “But we’re not focused on the tournament. We’re going one game at a time.”
The Knights will return to action on Wednesday night at the UCF Arena to face Houston at 7 p.m.
