The new Dunk City, Abe's ascent and T-Will's defensive turnaround
UCF could have two tournament-bound basketball teams this winter, plus the incredible course-correction for UCF's defense
While the mass exodus of former UCF coaches on Scott Frost’s staff at Nebraska wasn’t surprising, it was good to see tight ends coach Sean Beckton retained. The UCF legend is one of the hardest-working coaches and recruiters in the sport, and he’s as genuine of a human as they come.
Frost called Beckton “elite” and it also helps that the tight ends group is having a sensational year. I’ll always root for Coach Beckton.
Today’s read is 4.5 minutes ⏲️
Trending in the Kingdom: The new Dunk City 🏀
Sorry, FGCU, but I had to do it. After last night’s high-flying 69-59 win over Robert Morris in UCF men’s basketball’s season opener, the “Dunk City” mantra now belongs in East Orlando.
Here’s the scoop: There were some serious style points handed out on second-half slams by fifth-year senior Darius Perry, junior forward CJ Walker and redshirt sophomore guard Tyem Freeman, all in a span of a few minutes, which fired up the bench and the 4,869 fans at Addition Financial Arena, as UCF earned the first victory of what could be a special season for the Knights.
Perry’s highlight-reel, rim-rattling dunk came at the 13:34 mark of the second quarter, taking flight from the lane and hammering it home. Perry led all scorers with 18 points, but this pair was the prettiest.
A few minutes later, C.J. Walker used a sweet little pump fake to get the defender up in the air and side-stepped him for the one-handed dunk. His team-high eight rebounds also helped show off his athleticism, but this was special:
Freeman’s flush came soon after on a 3-on-2 fast break, with a pretty lop that set up the finish:
This is a small flash of what UCF can be: an athletic, fun-to-watch bunch that can grind it out on defense and score in bunches. Yes, it’s Robert Morris, but the up-tempo, push-the-ball type of play was a welcomed sight.
“That’s who we are and that’s how we want to play,” UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins said postgame. “We want to be a tenacious defense and we want to turn that defense into offense. I thought we showed, in spurts, that we can do that very well.”
The Knights have now won 6 of their last 7 games dating back to last season in what was an odd, COVID-shortened campaign. Let’s see if they can continue to carry that momentum over, especially with barely any roster overhaul.
Familiar group 🤝: The camaraderie and chemistry of this UCF roster is a big reason why they could surprise some this season. The Knights return 97 percent of their points scored and 96 percent of their minutes played from last year. It was also a massive boost that Walker, the Oregon transfer, withdrew from the NBA Draft pool and decided to give it another go with the Knights.
The additions of guys like Freeman (9 points in the opener), a junior college All-American, and UNLV transfer Cheikh Mbacke Diong (4 points, 5 blocks and 7 boards) give this group even more of a boost.
There’s no telling how much all of that returned familiarity will help this season against an incredibly challenging slate, but it only benefits them to have continuity. UCF plays the likes of No. 6 Michigan and Oklahoma at home and No. 20 Florida State, Miami, and No. 22 Auburn on the road, so they’ll need to bank on that chemistry in big spots.
For what it’s worth, UCF is 8-49 all-time against ranked opponents, but 5-15 under Dawkins. Prior to Dawkins taking over, UCF had beaten just three ranked teams in the previous 32 seasons.
CBS Sports recently pegged UCF as the No. 67 team in their preseason rankings, which would project them as a bubble team to make the NCAA Tournament. Dawkins has proved he can coach against elite teams and keep UCF competitive.
Last year’s KenPom ranking of No. 100 in the country shows this group has room to grow, but COVID-19 had a bit to do with that as well. We’ll learn a lot about this team before the new year.
Key upcoming non-conference games 📆 (home games in bold):
Saturday, Nov. 13 at Miami - 2 p.m. on ACC Network
Tuesday, Nov. 16 vs. Jacksonville - 7 p.m. on ESPN+
Saturday, Nov. 27 vs. Oklahoma - 2 p.m. on ESPN+
Wednesday, December 1 at Auburn - 8 p.m. on SEC+
Saturday, Dec. 18 vs. Florida State (Orange Bowl Classic) - 3:30 p.m. on Bally Sports Sun
Thursday, Dec. 30 vs. Michigan - 7 p.m. on ESPN2
Coach Abe’s ascent, Tennessee test looms 🏀
A dominating season-opening win over Duquense could set the stage for something truly special for UCF Women’s basketball this season. Since head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson took over in 2016, the trajectory for this program has only pointed up.
Fill me in: However, there’s two milestones that have eluded Coach Abe’s bunch in her five-year run at UCF: an AAC championship and a NCAA tournament victory. Don’t be surprised if both of those get checked off the list this year.
Just look at some of the milestones since her arrival from Albany:
✅ Four-straight 20-win seasons, a program first, and that would have been five in a row if it hadn’t been for the COVID-shortened campaign last year.
✅ UCF earned its first at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament in 2018-19
✅ Highest NCAA seed in program history, at No. 10, last season.
✅ First-ever appearance in AAC title game in 2018-19 and a return to the title game in 2020-21, finishing runner-up to USF.
✅ Boasting the nation’s No. 1 scoring defense, at 50.5 points per game last year.
UCF returns all five starters from last season, added depth with a few transfers and hasn’t had any turnover on its coaching staff. Overall, they’ve got 13 returners and just two roster departures. Just like on the men’s side, that continuity will be key to living up to the hype in 2021-22.
Back for more 👌: Three players - Masseny Kaba, Tay Sanders and Jnaya Walker - returned for a fifth season, thanks to a new NCAA rule, which granted all athletes an extra year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Buckle up 📆: The non-conference schedule will test Coach Abe’s bunch, with games against six programs that made the NCAA Tournament last year: Tennessee, Belmont, Idaho State, Arkansas, Mercer and Iowa, which was a Sweet 16 squad.
“We wanted to get ready for our conference,” Coach Abe said on media day last week. “If we prepare ourself at the beginning, then when we go into our conference, I feel like we’re going to be way more prepared to play some of these bigger games. We have a lot of really good teams coming in…I’m excited just for the challenge and for our players to play Tennessee, play Virginia and play USC. We have a lot of really good competition coming in.”
The first key test will be against No. 12/15 Tennessee on Friday. Coach Abe, who played two seasons at Georgia, said it may not be the same program that it was under Pat Summit, but hosting a name brand like UT is going to be historic. It’s the first-ever meeting between UCF and Tennessee.
The Lady Vols boast one of the top players in the sport in All-American Rae Burrell, who was their best 3-point shooter last season. She left Tennessee’s season-opener with an injury, so we’ll learn more about her status tomorrow.
Tennessee might be the biggest threat to South Carolina in the SEC. They were picked to finish No. 2 in the SEC standings, the Lady Vols' highest preseason prediction since 2015-16 (2nd).
Vols coach Kellie Harper, who is the first NCAA DI women's coach to lead her alma mater, plus three other schools, to the NCAA Tournament, praised the Knights ahead of Friday’s game.
"UCF, that's going to be a really tough game,” Harper said. “First on the road, after a quick turnaround, against one of the top defenses in the country and a very veteran team. That's a huge challenge for us.”
How to watch 📺: UCF vs. No. 12/15 Tennessee - 6 p.m. on ESPN+ (click here to watch)
T-Will’s turnaround on defense 🔄
UCF’s defense has really started to round into form as the season progresses, providing a huge lift to the first-bowl eligible team in Florida.
Tell me more: The start to the season was less than ideal for defensive coordinator Travis Williams’ bunch, but the #UCFierce improvement has been tangible.
Limiting points 🙅♂️: In their last three wins over Memphis (24-7), Temple (49-7), and now Tulane (14-10), UCF allowed just 24 points combined, the least amount of points given up in three-straight games since late in the 2014 season. They’ve also limited all three to less than 300 yards of offense.
Forcing turnovers ➕: The Knights defense currently ranks 22nd in the country with 16 takeaways. They’ve forced nine fumbles, which is 8th-best in the nation. Turnovers have been the key to UCF’s dubs this season, going 4-0 when having fewer turnovers than their opponents, and 3-0 when recording three or more takeaways.
No fly zone 🚫: The Knights haven’t allowed a 300-yard passer this season and they’ve held opposing quarterbacks to less than 200 yards passing in three of their last four games. UCF’s 29th-ranked pass defense is incredibly impressive considering the injuries in the secondary.
What they’re saying 🗣:
“The guys are playing with an edge,” Williams said, per the Orlando Sentinel. “You talk about a knife being dull, a knife can’t cut if its dull. I’m super proud of the guys just going about their business with an edge. That’s the main thing we talk about.”
The Athletic’s Max Olson did an analysis of the game’s defensive stop rates, which is basically the rate at which a team gets a stop and gets off the field. It’s the “percentage of a defense’s drives that end in punts, turnovers or a turnover on downs.”
UCF has had one of the biggest improvements in the country in stop rate, jumping 51 spots in recent weeks, which is the second-best rise of any team in the FBS, per Olson:
Nevada (+53, No. 96 to 43)
UCF (+51, No. 82 to 31)
Cal (+50, No. 98 to 48) and East Carolina (+50, No. 80 to 30)
Florida State (+43, No. 100 to 57)
Illinois (+36, No. 94 to 58) and Miami (Ohio) (+36, No. 92 to 56)
UCF’s stop rate of 72.1% is 31st in the nation. Last season, their stop rate was 63.8%, which was 59th in the country.
This week’s game against SMU will be a massive test for this defense. The Mustangs lead the AAC in total offense (484.0, 10th NCAA), scoring offense (40.1, 8th NCAA) and passing offense (322.2, 10th NCAA).
Game info 📺: UCF at SMU - 12 p.m. EST on ESPNU.