Written by Sam Foth.
After a hard-fought battle that resulted in a loss against #1 Arizona, the UCF Knights sought to get a redeeming win on the road against the #9 Iowa State Cyclones, who are coming off a two-game losing streak, with the most recent loss being against Cincinnati.
At the 15-minute mark in the first half, even after a Riley Kugel 3 to start the game, Iowa State scored 10 points off of 5 UCF turnovers, and UCF quickly found themselves down 7-15.
UCF’s struggles would continue as at the 12-minute timeout, the deficit would grow to 11 as the Knights were down 12-23 with Riley Kugel scoring 7 out of those 12 points.
With help from Riley Kugel and Themus Fulks, at the five and a half minute mark, the Knights went on a 7-0 run to cut into the deficit and make it a 5-point game, being down 26-31.
After that big scoring run, the Knights would fail to put up any more points for the last nearly six minutes of the first half. The 5-point difference would turn into an 18-point difference as UCF was being dominated by Iowa State at the half with a score of 26-44.
This deficit is largely because UCF had 13 turnovers against Iowa State’s 2. Iowa State also was able to go to the free-throw line eight times in the half, while UCF didn’t go to the charity stripe at all. Riley Kugel scored half of UCF’s points with 13, making him the top scorer for both teams.
The UCF scoring drought would end with a Devan Cambridge three, but with just over 15 minutes left in the second half, the UCF offensive and defensive struggles would continue, and they would continue to find themselves down 33-50.
At the 12-minute timeout, Iowa State would still have a commanding lead with a score of 40-56 as it seemed that the two teams were trading baskets.
After an Iowa State 8-0 run topped off with a Milan Momcilovic three, UCF would call a timeout at the 8-minute mark after they dug themselves in a 23-point hole as the score was 43-66.
Iowa State would continue to dominate to the final buzzer as UCF would continue to struggle. The UCF Knights would fall by 30 points to the #9 Iowa State Cyclones with a final score of 57-87.
Both Jordan Burks and Riley Kugel topped the UCF scoring with 15 points. Milan Momcilovic was the leading scorer for Iowa State and for both teams, as he racked up 20 points on 7 for 12 from the field.
Iowa State’s Joshua Jefferson also put up a triple-double with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists.
The main difference maker in this game was the turnover differential. UCF put up a season high 19 turnovers while Iowa State only had 5. UCF also only shot 38% from the field compared to Iowa State’s 52%.
The free-throw shooting was also a difference maker as UCF only shot four free throws, making all four, compared to Iowa State shooting 21 free throws, but making only 12 of them.
UCF falls to 14-4 and 3-3 in Big 12 play while Iowa State goes to 17-2 and 4-2 in conference play.
UCF seeks to redeem themselves after this two-game losing streak as they go on the road to play the Colorado Buffaloes in the CU Events Center on Saturday, January 24th at 3:00 PM EST. It will be available to stream on ESPN+.
