Rice @ UCF: Post-game Review (L 66-69)

Apparently we are not a mirror of Davidson University. Jermaine Taylor looked like Stephen Curry last night, just without the minimal scoring help Curry gets. I understand that most of our players are playing their first year in college (Rompza, Tyler, Sosa, Gaynor, Weathers, Baez from last night), but were they this scared to shoot the ball in high school? I can’t imagine that Kirk would tell them NOT to shoot, so I’m not sure what they’re afraid of. Not one starter other than Jermaine took more than 5 shots last night. FIVE.

AJ Rompza had a rough game last night, getting in foul trouble early. I have to say, we need AJ Rompza in the game. He seems to be the only player out there that doesn’t play like he’s terrified and overmatched. He plays with intensity and confidence, and that is exactly the thing we need this year. Our gears of our offense seem to grind to an immediate stop whenever Rompza comes out of the game. No one on our team has the speed or will to drive to the hole and either go up for the layup or kick it out for a shot.

Part of the deficit we incurred through most of the game had to do with our perimeter defense, the other part came from Rice’s incredible three point shooting. To begin the first half Rice had open shots on three pointers innumerous times, and nailed just about all of them. When we actually started to get a hand in the face of shooters, they STILL hit shots. I saw at least two incredible fadeaway shots sink from beyond the arc, and for that I will give Rice their props.

One other side-effect of having no one to drive to the hoop or play strong inside (plus a few terrible “no calls” by the officials), is a huge lack of foul shots. Jermaine shot 12 for 13 from the line, that’s awesome. No one else on our team took a foul shot last night. Not a single player. Seems like an issue to me.

UCF @ Rice Owls: Preview

Sadly Vin and I were unable to see the UAB game, as I had class and he was unable to get the Brighthouse channel to work in our apartment. We wouldn’t presume to write about the game when we were unable to see it.

Matt’s things to look out for:
Now, for the Rice game. The Owls are 6-9, with all of their wins coming against smaller schools other than their most recent victory over SMU. Texas and Oklahoma both put a hurting on the Owls, losing by 21 and 12 respectively. Rice begins a very tough road playing the Knights, followed by Memphis and UAB. The Owls gave us a run for our money last year at home. Although they were near the bottom of C-USA in standings, the game was close. This year looks to be around the same for Rice, although there’s no reason to overlook this game. They have a duo of guards who both average over 10 points per game, Cory Pflieger and Rodney Foster. They seem to spread the ball around well, with other scorers averaging 8.8, 8.4, and 7.7 PPG. Their offense is far short of prolific, scoring only 65 points per competition as a team. Foster and Pflieger both shoot just short of 40% from beyond the arc, so we’re going to have to play tough outside defense. Tony Davis should have no trouble on the boards since Pflieger, a guard, leads the team in rebounding. Without watching any of Rice’s games so far this year, I really can’t make any more judgments with any confidence. A win here should bring our confidence back up a bit after losing two heartbreakers to UAB and Memphis back to back.

Vin's game day thoughts:
The Knights head into their game against RICE 0-2 in conference play after losing heartbreakers to Memphis and UAB. Both of those games the Knights had decent size leads in the 2^nd half and let each slip away. I may be going out on a limb, but I’m calling this game a must win. You never want to start 0-3 in conference, and a win on the road is crucial for the guys. Beating RICE could really spark some serious motivation and confidence for the Knights, and we need that now more than ever.

This isn’t just about the team either, if the Knights want to play in an environment like the Memphis game, they need to win. We all know our fan support is called into question a lot, and I fear a loss to RICE could really push the fair-weather fans away. I refuse to miss a home game, unfortunately I’m in the minority when it comes to the student body. Kirk and the rest of the Knights deserve a packed house every game and a win today can help keep the fans in their seats for Southern Miss.

[REMINDER: UCF returns to the KNIGHTMARE for their battle against Southern Miss this Wednesday, January 21^st. Be there! WEAR BLACK!]

Go Knights!