University of Central Florida, Tuesday Nov. 26 at 7 pm

[valpopal]

View of game from the UCF web page, which declares "the ARC as a tough place to play"; however, with the students gone and the game on a Tuesday evening before Thanksgiving, I doubt there will be a large or noisy crowd.

ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) - Last week the UCF men's basketball team picked up another impressive in-state victory under head coach Donnie Jones when the Knights topped defending ACC champion Miami. On Tuesday, UCF will face another 2013 NCAA Tournament team on the road when the squad plays at Valparaiso.

Tipoff from the Athletics-Recreation Center in Indiana is 8 p.m. Eastern. The contest will air on the UCF IMG Sports Network and WLOQ 102.5 FM in Orlando. The game is the second of three-consecutive contests on the road for the Knights, who will conclude the stretch next Tuesday at FAU.

The Knights (3-1) defeated Miami Thursday, 63-58, in Coral Gables. The win was the first in five tries against the Hurricanes in Miami for the Knights. UCF was led by Calvin Newell, who totaled 19 points. The senior guard is averaging a team-high 18.8 points.

UCF has been one of the nation's top rebounding team's this year. Jones' squad has had an edge on the glass in all four of its games and is averaging 45.8 rebounds while posting a +11.0 rebounding margin.

"The win at Miami was a great win for our program, but it is in the past now," Jones said. "We are trying to get better each and every day and I thought that last week, we got better. Valpo is a very well-coached team and it is a tough place to play. We need to be ready and need to be ready to play together."

The game at Valpo (3-3) is one of 12 for the Knights against 2013 NCAA Tournament teams this season. A year ago, the Crusaders won 26 contests.

UCF and the Crusaders will meet again in Orlando on Dec. 22 as part of the Jackson Hewitt UCF Holiday Classic.

Scott Adams will have the call Tuesday during the radio broadcast. Pregame coverage begins at 7:30 p.m.

UCF QUICK NOTES
• The Knights picked up an impressive in-state road win in its last outing, defeating Miami, 63-58, in Coral Gables. Against the defending ACC champions Thursday, UCF had four players finish with double digits in scoring, led by Calvin Newell (19 points). The Knights built a big second-half edge and then held off a late rally from the Hurricanes. The win was the first in five tries all time for UCF in Miami and the second in 26 games against ACC programs.

• Early on in 2013-14, the Knights have been one of the top rebounding squads in the country. UCF has outrebounded all four of its opponents and is averaging 45.8 boards, good for 17th in the country. The Knights own a +11.0 rebounding margin and are averaging 16.0 offensive boards. Last year, with Keith Clanton, the program's all-time leader in boards, on the squad, UCF owned just a +2.4 rebounding margin.

• The win at Miami was the latest impressive victory for the Knights under Donnie Jones. After joining the Division I ranks in 1984, UCF won just two games over "power" conference teams until Jones took over the helm of the program in 2010. In just over three years under Jones, the Knights have six wins over "power" conference programs.

• The game is the second of three straight on the road for the Knights. UCF has not had three-consecutive road non-conference games since 2008. The Knights will conclude the stretch next Tuesday back in south Florida at FAU.

• UCF will also meet Valpo on Dec. 22 in Orlando, marking the second-straight year that Donnie Jones' team has had a single-season home-and-home series. A year ago, the Knights faced USF in Tampa and Orlando.

SERIES INFO
• UCF and Valpo will be meeting for the fourth time and the Crusaders have a 2-1 series advantage
• The teams will meet next month in Orlando on Dec. 22 as part of the Jackson Hewitt UCF Holiday Classic
• The programs also had a single-season home-and-home series in 2008-09 and the home squad took both contests
• In the matchup in Indiana, the Crusaders shot 50.0 percent while limiting the Knights to only 30.4 percent shooting in a 69-52 victory for the hosts
• Jermaine Taylor led the Knights, who shot only 5-of-27 from deep, with 18 points and A.J. Rompza added 10 points in the losing effort
• UCF is 0-2 all-time in Indiana, having also faced Notre Dame in 2009

UCF GAME NOTES
A Newell Look
• Calvin Newell arrived at UCF in late 2011 as a transfer from Oklahoma with a reputation of a guard who could score in a variety of ways
• He showed flashes of his offensive ability a year ago when he averaged 11.1 points
• This season, Newell is scoring early and often for the Knights, averaging a team-high 18.8 points
• The senior has scored in double figures in all four games and most impressively for a guard, is shooting 55.8 percent from the field

[valpotx]

I think that our home court advantage will carry us again in this matchup. 

Valpo 74
UCF 68

[bbtds]

Yes, I think you're correct.

Central Florida's win over Miami in Coral Gables was concerning to me until I noticed that the Hurricanes had to take Georgia Southern (you'll remember we played the Eagles at the ARC early last season) to triple overtime before beating GSU 81-80. Before the loss to Central Florida, 63-58, the Hurricanes did beat College of Charleston 70-54.

[a3uge]

This game will end in a 71-71 tie.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

This game will end in a 71-71 tie.

Afterwards, players will confess that they had no idea games could end in a tie.

I'm going to say high scoring matchup, a la Evansville, and I'm predicting WFMT - WXRT.

...

(that's 98.7 to 93.1, and if you didn't have to think about that, then high five!  we're friends.)

Seriously, I can't beLIEVE i'm going to be in Orlando tomorrow, and the game is in Valpo.

Then when they finally come to Florida, it's like, what, days before Christmas?

Arrgh.  Was working the night of the NIT Miami game too.  deepsigh.gif

[sliman]

UCF returns four starters from a 20-win team and, have what appears to be a sizeable and mobile front line, and high-scoring guards so I'll give them the edge as we continue to learn.  UCF 84, Valpo 72.

[talksalot]

Anyone else worried about that rebounding edge?  They POUND the offensive glass...

SERIES INFO
• UCF and Valpo will be meeting for the fourth time and the
Crusaders have a 2-1 series advantage
• The teams will meet next month in Orlando on Dec. 22 as
part of the Jackson Hewitt UCF Holiday Classic
• The programs also had a single-season home-and-home
series in 2008-09 and the home squad took both contests
• In the matchup in Indiana, the Crusaders shot 50.0 percent
while limiting the Knights to only 30.4 percent shooting in a
69-52 victory for the hosts
• Jermaine Taylor led the Knights, who shot only 5-of-27 from
deep, with 18 points and A.J. Rompza added 10 points in the
losing effort
• UCF is 0-2 all-time in Indiana, having also faced Notre Dame
in 2009

QUICK FACTS
UCF Information

Enrollment 59,785   <<{EGADS!}>>  (Illinois has just over 32,000)
Nickname Knights

UCF, Not Central Florida
Please refer to the University of Central Florida as UCF when
shortening the title. Also, please note that UCF's
teams are no longer being referred to as the Golden Knights.
Instead, they are simply called the Knights.

[truth219]

I think this will be a good tough match up for us at home. I think we can win if we come out like we did on saturday. I hope we see the same starting line up as saturday.

If lexus williams continues to put up stats like he did saturday and we keep winning, is it possible he stays in the starting line up when carter becomes eligible? Im not saying carter isnt going to start because he probably will. However, if we dont lose another game before he becomes eligible it would be hard to understand why we would change a winning combination. Again, this is just speculation.

[valpotx]

Interesting, I didn't know that they are no longer the Golden Knights.  I think Golden Knights sounds much cooler than Knights

[bbtds]

This seems like a very close game with UCF having the advantage in rebounds and Valpo being able to shoot a higher percentage. The quickness of the guards seems about the same with Valpo having a slight advantage at the FT line. The area I fear the most is the Valpo big men playing good defense against the UCF big man. Evansville was able to kill Valpo down low because the Crusader big men, Fernandez, Gueye and Capo are too slow. If Peters is able to play like he did in the 2nd half in the Evansville game we can pull this game out. Especially since this game is on Valpo's home court despite the student section not being full due to the Thanksgiving break. Valpo is still in more familiar surroundings and will have the crowd, even though it will be smaller, on it's side.

UCF    84  overtime
Valpo  86

[wh]

QUICK FACTS
UCF Information

Enrollment 59,785   <<{EGADS!}>>  (Illinois has just over 32,000)
Nickname Knights

UCF, Not Central Florida
Please refer to the University of Central Florida as UCF when
shortening the title. Also, please note that UCF's
teams are no longer being referred to as the Golden Knights.
Instead, they are simply called the Knights.

Let me guess - some self-appointed, self righteous PC sensitivity police person was concerned that gold is a symbol of the dastardly robber barons among us (a.k.a. "the 1%"), who use and abuse the poor and middle class to get their ill-gotten gains.   

[covufan]

I think the new starting lineup continues to gel

Valpo -  76
UCF -    68


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[justducky]

The area I fear the most is the Valpo big men playing good defense against the UCF big man. Evansville was able to kill Valpo down low because the Crusader big men, Fernandez, Gueye and Capo are too slow.

The great majority of UCF points come from players 6'8" or smaller but because our bigs are slow I see no exploitable advantages in staying with the big lineup for very long unless Bobby can get some open looks from outside. We might also have to zone them with that lineup and that might not work so well either. Still, because of foul management and to avoid fatigue Bobby will need to give us some time at the 4. (nine minutes? maybe more?) His coming off the bench might pit his offense and defense against a weaker opponent but I hate to start 2 let alone 3 freshmen against a team as good as UCF.

Our man and our zone will both have to work to give us a win. Should be interesting!

[a3uge]

QUICK FACTS
UCF Information

Enrollment 59,785   <<{EGADS!}>>  (Illinois has just over 32,000)
Nickname Knights

UCF, Not Central Florida
Please refer to the University of Central Florida as UCF when
shortening the title. Also, please note that UCF's
teams are no longer being referred to as the Golden Knights.
Instead, they are simply called the Knights.

Let me guess - some self-appointed, self righteous PC sensitivity police person was concerned that gold is a symbol of the dastardly robber barons among us (a.k.a. "the 1%"), who use and abuse the poor and middle class to get their ill-gotten gains.   

It was changed with a re-branding of the entire university. Florida Technological University was the original name for the school, and the first mascot was actually a "Citronaut" - which is obviously a cross between Citrus and Astronaut.



Cute. But then they became known as the "Knights of the Pegasus" and then the "Fighting Knights" and some references to just "Knights" somewhere in between. In 1993 they officially switched to "Golden Knights" and then changed their mind in 2007 to go back to "Knights" with a complete re-brand. Apparently "Golden" was added to drive merchandise sales and it never really caught on. The re-brand to just "Knights" was a smart one because "Golden Knights" is fairly long and doesn't really have a nice ring to it (like Golden Gophers, Red Raiders, or Mean Green). They are one of 4 schools with a Knight nickname, and are the only school simply known as Knights. This of course, excludes non D1 colleges (for full list, see this awesome infographic http://www.fastcodesign.com/1672303/infographic-an-amazing-map-of-every-college-mascot).

[wh]

Williams exceeds expectations at Valparaiso

http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/basketball/college/williams-exceeds-expectations-at-valparaiso/article_f769d25a-2f04-5e79-a738-acbcdbc7bd3d.html

[wh]

No classes means more practice for Valparaiso

http://posttrib.suntimes.com/sports/23997745-556/no-classes-means-more-practice-for-valparaiso.html

[wh]

The spread: Valpo -4

[classof2014]

Won't be an easy game. It's a winnable game and hopefully being at home we can pull it off. It will be close and decided within the last 2 minutes. I think it comes down to who is better at their FTs.

The score will be 81 to 78 either way win or lose.

[historyman]

Valpo 79
UCF 85

[valpotx]

No classes means more practice for Valparaiso

http://posttrib.suntimes.com/sports/23997745-556/no-classes-means-more-practice-for-valparaiso.html

He is saying that UCF and Mercer are less challenging than a team we beat by 32??  Also, he mentions that Peters has 'started almost every game.'  Do some research people!

[a3uge]

No classes means more practice for Valparaiso

http://posttrib.suntimes.com/sports/23997745-556/no-classes-means-more-practice-for-valparaiso.html

He is saying that UCF and Mercer are less challenging than a team we beat by 32??  Also, he mentions that Peters has 'started almost every game.'  Do some research people!

Yeah JMU is really bad this year... UCF will be okay in the AAC and Mercer should win the ASun over FGCU. I thought it was just out of context or something, but it's clearly not.

[bbtds]

Even better for everyone involved with the team is that this holiday week consists of three more home games against seemingly less challenging competition than James Madison, and no classes.

I think Gorches use of the word seemingly is a lot like the word projected or projections when talking about Lexus Williams and Clay Yeo. He thought James Madison, an NCAA tournament team last year, was going to be better than UCF and Mercer. Many on this board thought Clay Yeo was going to perform a lot better than Lexus Williams. In my view the projections of players and teams get thrown out the window. In Lexus' mind I'm sure he was projecting himself as at the top this Valpo freshmen class. And in the end how he performs is all that matters and not projections. It's also why I find little value in proclaiming someone better than their projections. To me that is just condemning the forecaster and their projection of the player. It's not rewarding the player.

[a3uge]

Even better for everyone involved with the team is that this holiday week consists of three more home games against seemingly less challenging competition than James Madison, and no classes.

I think Gorches use of the word seemingly is a lot like the word projected or projections when talking about Lexus Williams and Clay Yeo. He thought James Madison, an NCAA tournament team last year, was going to be better than UCF and Mercer. Many on this board thought Clay Yeo was going to perform a lot better than Lexus Williams. In my view the projections of players and teams get thrown out the window. In Lexus' mind I'm sure he was projecting himself as at the top this Valpo freshmen class. And in the end how he performs is all that matters and not projections. It's also why I find little value in proclaiming someone better than their projections. To me that is just condemning the forecaster and their projection of the player. It's not rewarding the player.

Mercer was projected to finish 2nd in the ASun preseason coaches and media poll while JMU was projected 7th in the CAA, so that still doesn't make any sense. I'm sure he saw that JMU made the tourney and UCF/Mercer didn't and made some horrible conclusions from there.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

i haven't been a gorches fan since his ridiculous story years ago about why (a Mel Dumezich-led) Whiting shouldn't have to play bigger schools.  he prominently featured a quote from an anonymous parent that said b-b-b-but "the girls got so upset when they lost".

He's just not very good at what he does, at least outside of bowling.  i'll give him that.

[mvandersee]

No idea why Bryce stuck Vashil back in there while him and Moussa both had 4 fouls. No trust in Bobby to play the 5?