TAMPA, Fla., (Jan. 20, 2023) – South Florida plays its third game in six days when it hosts UCF Saturday afternoon at Yuengling Center.
The Bulls were unable to keep up with a sizzling hot offensive effort by Cincinnati Wednesday night and suffered an 85-69 setback at home.
The Knights, who were without three key players, fell at Tulane on Saturday 77-69.
BullsInsider.com has your quick facts and what to watch for against UCF:
Quick Facts
Matchup: USF (8-11; 1-5) vs. UCF (13-5; 4-2)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 21
Time: Noon ET
Location: Tampa, Fla. | Yuengling Center
Watch: ESPNU
Radio: 102.5 The Strike HD-2 & Bulls Unlimited (TuneIn)
History: This is the 47th all-time meeting between the two programs. The Bulls lead the series 25-21 but have lost the last two games and three of the last seven.
The Opponent: In conference only games, UCF is ranked in the top-5 in both offensive and defensive efficiency. Currently, Houston and Cincinnati are the only other teams with that distinction. Center Michael Durr (thumb) and C.J. Walker (leg) are out for this game.
Taylor Hendricks leads UCF in scoring (14.4 ppg), rebounding (6.9 rpg) and blocks (1.72 bpg). He is a long athletic forward who can play as a space-4 or as a 5-man in a small lineup. He is very active and very efficient. Hendricks will trail in transition, spot up on drives and he is a good pick-and-pop guy. Very capable of taking his man off the bounce and is a very good offensive rebounder. Hendricks has been named AAC Rookie of the Week a record tying six times this season and appears in the first round on every 2023 NBA Mock Draft I’ve seen.
Well-traveled wing C.J. Kelly – UCF is his fourth Division I team – has good size at 6-foot-5, 200 pounds and is always hunting shots. Six out of every ten shots he attempts are threes and he is making 38.7 percent of them. He doesn’t need much time or space to get his shot off. He will shot fake on closeouts to get to a pull up jumper but he is not great off the bounce. He will shoot behind ball screens and dribble hand-offs.
Another Knight ‘shooter’ is senior guard Ithiel Horton. He will spot up in transition and on drive-and-kickouts. Unlike his teammate Kelly, Horton will use ball screens to attack off the bounce. We like his mid-range pull-up game. Horton also goes to the glass, averaging 3.9 rebounds per game.
Remember Brandon Suggs at ECU? Well, he’s at UCF now and he does a little of everything for them. He is best in transition, slashing, cutting and posting up in the half-court (especially on mismatches). He has only attempted 17 threes but has made 53 percent of them. Force him left and wedge him out when shots go up. Suggs has good length and is active and versatile.
Combo guard Darius Johnson suffered a lower leg injury Jan. 4 at ECU and has not played since. If he is able to go Saturday, watch for him to set up his drives with double crossovers. He plays off two feet at the rim. Johnson’s game is built on his strength. At 6-foot-1, 190-pounds, he is a strong body guard who wants to get downhill but he will shoot it from deep.
Offensively, UCF puts pressure on defenses with quick throw ahead threes in transition. In the half-court they do a good job of driving into the paint for layups and kickouts. They have multiple shooters so USF needs to be there on the catch with a high hand. They average 13 OREB per game.
Defensively, UCF is mostly man (92.1 percent) but will play a 2-3 zone and will use 3/4 a court 2-2-1.
KEYS TO A WIN
USF must be disciplined in boxing out and rebounding, especially on #25, Hendricks. Play good transition defense, guard the three-point line, keep UCF off the foul line – they rank 24th in the nation in FT% -- take care of the ball.
