UCF and visiting Jacksonville will renew an old rivalry on Wednesday in Orlando, Fla., one that used to factor into NCAA Tournament berths.
From 1998-2005, the programs met twice a year in conference play as members of the Atlantic Sun (formerly known as the TAAC).
Wednesday will be just the fifth meeting between the Knights and Dolphins since that stretch, in a marquee nonconference matchup for each school.
UCF (5-2) enters the game following a 72-57 victory over Lipscomb on Saturday. The win came at a much-needed time for the Knights and coach Johnny Dawkins, who had just suffered an 85-82 loss to Stetson the game before, snapping a 20-game winning streak over the Hatters.
“Our whole thing was, we need to regroup and respond,” Dawkins said. “That has been my message to our guys and I think we’ve taken it to heart. We want to see continued improvement and I see our guys competing every day to get better.”
UCF’s scoring was paced by Darius Johnson, who had 19 points. Jaylin Sellers and Marchelus Avery followed with 16 and 12, respectively.
Sellers, a Ball State transfer, is the team’s leading scorer on the season at 21.3 points per game. Avery, a transfer from New Mexico State, adds 11.4 points per contest.
“I think for a team that has as many new players as we have, they have done a good job of connecting with each other on a good level at an early stage,” Dawkins said.
Third-year head coach Jordan Mincy has Jacksonville (6-2) off to its best start in his tenure, but his team has not fared well in its first two games against power-conference teams.
The losses this season have been to Xavier in a 79-56 defeat, and to Pitt in a 107-56 trouncing.
Mincy’s group is coming off an 81-79 win at Georgia Southern on Saturday, largely due to Robert McCray V, who poured in 32 points on 11-for-15 shooting from the field.
“He’s a guy who is growing up before our eyes,” Mincy said. “He lives for those big-shot moments. I’m so glad to have him on our roster.”
McCray leads the Dolphins with 19.3 points per game.
–Field Level Media
