UCF hopes to find some magic when they open up play in the American Athletic Conference Championship beginning Thursday at Orlando's Amway Arena.
After a 4-1 start in league play, the Knights (12-17, 6-12 AAC) struggled down the stretch against better competition who weren't as forgiving that UCF was playing without its best player and point guard B.J. Taylor, who was forced to miss the entire year with an injured foot.
That said, crazy things can happen in conference tournaments. UCF has showed signs of being able to play at a high level, it's just a matter of doing it consistently throughout an entire game.
"We know the teams in this league are very talented, but there's been time in spurts where we've been able to play with anybody in this conference," UCF coach Donnie Jones said. "Momentum is a crazy thing. We know it's March. You can look at other tournaments that have already played. The seed just means how you did during the season. It doesn't mean anything when you get into the tournament."
One factor on UCF's side is the tournament is just a short bus ride away.
"It's a terrific arena at the Amway," Jones said. "Right up the road. We have 10 kids on our roster from the state of Florida. This is something we did recruit and sell, that you can play here at home. We'll have family members coming to the game that normally wouldn't go if it was in Connecticut or somewhere else. We do have the luxury of the family and support right here locally. I think it means something to those kids playing in front of their families."
Junior guard Matt Williams grew up a stone's throw from downtown watching the Orlando Magic and idolizing former star Dwight Howard.
"I always dreamed of playing in the Orlando Arena," Williams said. "Just me playing on that court with my teammates is going to be memorable. I remember two years ago when Coach Jones told me the conference tournament is coming here. We're all excited for it."
UCF is one of four teams playing on Thursday. No. 8 East Carolina and No. 9 USF get the tournament underway at 3:30 p.m with No. 7 UCF-No. 10 Tulane following at 6.
UCF swept the regular season series against the Green Wave (10-21, 3-15 AAC), the most recent meeting occurring just a week ago. Daiquan Walker scored 20 points on Senior Night and Tacko Fall chipped in 17 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks to propel UCF to a 73-65 win on March 2, while UCF also won the road game in New Orleans 70-62 on Feb. 4.
It's always said how difficult it can be to defeat a team three times in one season.
"We've beaten teams three times before and we've been beat three times before," Jones said. "I think you can throw it all out now with the tournaments. The good news is we've played each other in the last week, so we are familiar. Both games were close. Both of us know the value of this game to move forward. I think our guys will be ready to play."
The winner of the game will advance to play No. 2 Houston on Friday at 7 p.m. The Cougars (22-8, 12-6 AAC) have the distinction of beating every team in the conference this season.
Jones, who's obviously partial to his own squad, feels the tournament is wide open.
"Obviously Houston has had a terrific year," Jones said. "They're probably the hottest team in our league with the second seed. (No. 1 seed) Temple has had a terrific year. They've found a way to win their team. They've won all the close games. They've had guys who can make plays down the stretch, so you have to put Temple right there. (No. 4) Cincinnati has a lot of experience. Look at Cincinnati last year, had a great year, and they've got a lot guys back. Those three teams right there are teams that definitely have the experience to make that move. Then you look at (No. 6) Memphis and some of these other teams that have talent and can get it going. It's not because they don't have talent. They can get it together and make a run. Then (No. 3) Tulsa has nine seniors. There's not much discrepancy at the top with how teams finished this year."
Tacko Time
If UCF is to make a run, 7-foot-6 center Tacko Fall likely has to be the catalyst. The freshman has had a monster final two weeks of the season, averaging 11 points, seven rebounds and 2.8 blocks in the last five games.
It's taken a little time, but Jones feels Fall is finally starting to get comfortable playing with his teammates and vice versa.
"He didn't get the summer and the fall (practicing with the team) because we were fighting with the NCAA stuff," Jones said. "He missed learning how to play with our guys. None of us have played with a 7-foot-6 guy or even coached a 7-6 guy. He's learning to play the speed of the game. Guys are learning to play to him. It's been a mutual confidence. I think they've gained confidence in him and he's gained confidence in them.
"Now the game has slowed down for him a little bit... He's understanding position wise where to get to on the floor. He's understanding how to use his length. How to stay out of foul trouble. How to stay out of the lane for three seconds. All those things that kept him with no momentum and we had to take him after two minutes. His conditioning has gotten better. That comes with experience. I tried to bring him along slow and not let him get overwhelmed so he never recovered. We just kept working with him individually, showing him film, keep teaching. We're hoping this momentum carries over into this tournament because he can be a huge factor going forward."
Bench needs to step up
Jones is hopeful they'll get more on Thursday from center Justin McBride, who has seen limited minutes in recent games due to a shoulder injury.
"Justin had a good practice yesterday," Jones said. "I'm looking forward to getting him in the game and getting good minutes out of him,"
A productive McBride would go a long way as would improved bench play from Tanksley Efianayi and Shaheed Davis, both of whom have had up-and-down seasons.
"If you're going to play more than one game, you need more bench depth," Jones said. "We got tired at UConn. We didn't have enough guys."
