It felt like unfamiliar territory.
One thing is for certain: The Michigan Wolverine fanbase certainly knows how to travel.
Whether Wolverine fans were in town for this game, their game vs. Georgia in the Orange Bowl that is taking place just three hours south at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Friday night – or for both – it was certainly a sight to see as roughly 65% of the Addition Financial Arena was filled with Maize and Blue.
They had plenty to cheer about. That is until the 16:01 mark in the second half, which is the moment that propelled UCF to its 85-71 victory over Michigan.
Major Second Half Knights’ Surge
Things seemed to be falling apart for the Knights at the start of the second half, as a 9-1 Michigan run gave the Wolverines a 44-32 lead, forcing UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins to call a timeout.
Look. I don’t know what Dawkins said (or did) during that timeout, but it certainly worked, as the Knights came out of the timeout reborn.
Exiting the timeout, the Knights were a completely different team – absolutely catching fire from three-point land.
A three-pointer by fifth year senior guard Brandon Mahan at the 16:01 mark was just the start of what ultimately became an 18-2 UCF run.
The next shot? A three-pointer from junior guard Darin Green Jr, who was dominant all night – shooting 10 of 13 from the floor (7-9 3P).
After that? Another three from Mahan – who pulled up from beyond the arc after hauling in a board.
After Mahan’s three, the Knights seemingly got tired of hitting three-pointers, so they continued the run with a pair of dunks.
The first one came from Green, which drew a major eruption from the crowd.
The following came from junior forward CJ Walker off an immediate turnover forced by Green.
This run ultimately gave the Knights a 55-51 lead. A lead they would never let go.
UCF’s Defense: Aggressive
Johnny Dawkins had his team playing scrappy, tough-nosed defense from the very start.
Within the game’s first two minutes, the Knights were already playing full-court press defense against Michigan’s offense. This proved effective with the Knights forcing five Michigan first half turnovers, opposed to their three.
UCF ultimately forced nine total Michigan turnovers in the game, producing 11 points off of those.
Green, Mahan, and senior guard Darius Perry each had two steals apiece.
Green led all scorers with 27 points, in addition, recorded three rebounds and four assists.
Mahan finished just behind Green in scoring with 26 points on 8 of 10 shooting (5-7 3P), also grabbing seven boards.
With the win, UCF moves to 9-2 on the season.
The Knights will look to improve to 2-0 in American Athletic Conference play when traveling to SMU on Sunday.
Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.
