UCF dropped to 3-4 in Big 12 last Saturday with a 68-57 loss at Cincinnati. It was a tale of two halves: The Knights had a 12-point lead at halftime, but struggled on both ends during the second half. It didn't help that Shemarri Allen and CJ Walker were unavailable due to injury and so was Ibrahima Diallo for a large portion of the game - he generated five fouls in five minutes of play.
UCF returns to Orlando this week with a pair of home games: No. 18 Baylor on Wednesday and No. 23 Oklahoma on Saturday.
Baylor is 14-5 overall and 3-3 in the Big 12. The Bears started off league play with three wins against Oklahoma State, BYU and Cincinnati. They're on a three-game losing streak with setbacks to Kansas State, Texas and TCU in triple overtime, all with razor-thin margins.
The Bears have five players scoring in double figures, led by Ja'Kobe Walter (14.8 ppg) and RayJ Dennis (13.9 ppg).
Oklahoma is 15-5 overall and 3-4 in the Big 12. The Sooners opened league play with a win against Iowa State, then dropped a pair of games to TCU and Kansas. Wins against West Virginia and Cincinnati followed and now they've lost two straight to Texas and Texas Tech, losing to the Red Raiders by just one point. OU visits Kansas State on Tuesday.
OU is led by Javian McCollum (14.3 ppg) and Otega Oweh (13.9 ppg).
Johnny Dawkins
Dawkins thought some players did step up at Cincinnati in the absence of some players, but the Bearcats scored too many transition points. Also thought rebounding was lacking. Playing defense without fouling. Those are areas of emphasis.
Dawkins says they need to play with more composure on the road. It was no surprise that Cincinnati made a run. When the Bearcats turned it up, UCF didn't respond like they should have.
Regrading the injury status of Shemarri Allen and CJ Walker, Dawkins said both are getting better and still recovering. They're improving.
They have to regroup and respond this week.
On Ibrahima Diallo's foul trouble at Cincinnati, they were tough fouls. He fouled the fastest he's ever seen - five fouls in five minutes. He needs to have a better understanding of his value to the team and not pick up excessive fouls.
Darius Johnson has been up and down. Dawkins said he needs to assert himself. His grandfather just died and that was tough on him. Even as other guys start to emerge, such as Marchelus Avery and Antwann Jones, Darius must stay in his role as one of UCF's leading scorers. "Stay consistent with who you've been."
On Baylor, they're a well-coached team. Talented players. It will be a challenge, just like every game in this conference. It will take a 40-minute game to have success.
Jaylin Sellers had back issues in the Cincinnati game. Dawkins said he was struggling a bit with it during the game, but he's getting treatment. All players are going through something this time of year. He just needs to take care of his body.
Baylor is the leading scoring offense in the Big 12. They need to concentrate on what they do well which is defend, make it a half-court game and lock in.
These upcoming games are important being at home. They must defend their home court.
Dawkins is one win away from his 300th win. It would be great to get the win on Wednesday. UCF and the Orlando community means a lot to him.
Tyler Hendricks is back from his injury. Dawkins thinks he can help the team, he saw a few minutes of play at Cincinnati. He likes his defensive activity and can rebound, and has a good feel offensively. He just needs to get more comfortable.
Obviously the player absences impacted them at Cincinnati, but no excuses. Every team is going through something this time of year. They should have executed better.
CJ Walker is day to day. They think he'll be okay. He's making progress. Hopefully it's short-lived.
On the Big 12, Dawkins always knew it was a great conference with tremendous parity. No nights off. Every game feels like an NCAA Tournament game. Every atmosphere is electric. Every opponent is well coached with talent.
Sometimes shots don't go down, so you have to make sure you play defense. You should always control that aspect of the game.
Darius Johnson
Being up 12 at halftime against Cincinnati, they had momentum but had the wrong approach in the second half. They should have stepped on Cincinnati's throat, but didn't and the game got away from them.
These upcoming games vs. Baylor and Oklahoma are huge. An opportunity to prove themselves.
Darius had an off night offensively vs. Cincinnati. He's been dealing with the death of his grandfather, whom he was very close to. Darius said he really hasn't been himself these past two games.
On Baylor, they shoot the three well. One of the top defensive teams in the country. They like to get out in transition.
Darius said his grandfather was one of his best friends. His grandmother died a month after he was born and his grandfather moved in with his family. He was with Darius for almost 22 years. He lived 104 years and even survived COVID. He's never lost anyone that close to him, so it's been tough. He recognized that he lived a long and great life.
His grandfather (John Henry Chaney) loved baseball. He would always support Darius at his games. His father's favorite team overall was probably the Washington Redskins.
Darius appreciates the support from the fanbase and doesn't want to let them down.
They need to get back in the win column and start stacking wins instead of winning one and then losing one. They need to do what it takes to position themselves for the postseason.
Losing Shemarri Allen was tough. He's also big with helping Darius at the point. Even so, they still should have won the Cincinnati game.
Darius feels their biggest strength has been their defense. They're top 10 defensively. Offensively is where they need to improve.
If they hold a team under 50 points, it's called a defensive masterpiece. They also want to force more than 10 turnovers.
Jaylin Sellers
Sellers says they've struggled to put two halves together, which was obviously evident at Cincinnati.
He's been struggling with a back injury since the Kansas game and it was bothering him at Cincinnati. He's been getting treatment on it.
On Baylor, they shoot the three well and can get out in transition.
These next two games are very important since they're home games.
Regarding the second-half offensive woes at Cincinnati, he thought they were trying to play one-on-one too much and not sharing the ball which stagnated everything.
UCF returns to Orlando this week with a pair of home games: No. 18 Baylor on Wednesday and No. 23 Oklahoma on Saturday.
Baylor is 14-5 overall and 3-3 in the Big 12. The Bears started off league play with three wins against Oklahoma State, BYU and Cincinnati. They're on a three-game losing streak with setbacks to Kansas State, Texas and TCU in triple overtime, all with razor-thin margins.
The Bears have five players scoring in double figures, led by Ja'Kobe Walter (14.8 ppg) and RayJ Dennis (13.9 ppg).
Oklahoma is 15-5 overall and 3-4 in the Big 12. The Sooners opened league play with a win against Iowa State, then dropped a pair of games to TCU and Kansas. Wins against West Virginia and Cincinnati followed and now they've lost two straight to Texas and Texas Tech, losing to the Red Raiders by just one point. OU visits Kansas State on Tuesday.
OU is led by Javian McCollum (14.3 ppg) and Otega Oweh (13.9 ppg).
Johnny Dawkins
Dawkins thought some players did step up at Cincinnati in the absence of some players, but the Bearcats scored too many transition points. Also thought rebounding was lacking. Playing defense without fouling. Those are areas of emphasis.
Dawkins says they need to play with more composure on the road. It was no surprise that Cincinnati made a run. When the Bearcats turned it up, UCF didn't respond like they should have.
Regrading the injury status of Shemarri Allen and CJ Walker, Dawkins said both are getting better and still recovering. They're improving.
They have to regroup and respond this week.
On Ibrahima Diallo's foul trouble at Cincinnati, they were tough fouls. He fouled the fastest he's ever seen - five fouls in five minutes. He needs to have a better understanding of his value to the team and not pick up excessive fouls.
Darius Johnson has been up and down. Dawkins said he needs to assert himself. His grandfather just died and that was tough on him. Even as other guys start to emerge, such as Marchelus Avery and Antwann Jones, Darius must stay in his role as one of UCF's leading scorers. "Stay consistent with who you've been."
On Baylor, they're a well-coached team. Talented players. It will be a challenge, just like every game in this conference. It will take a 40-minute game to have success.
Jaylin Sellers had back issues in the Cincinnati game. Dawkins said he was struggling a bit with it during the game, but he's getting treatment. All players are going through something this time of year. He just needs to take care of his body.
Baylor is the leading scoring offense in the Big 12. They need to concentrate on what they do well which is defend, make it a half-court game and lock in.
These upcoming games are important being at home. They must defend their home court.
Dawkins is one win away from his 300th win. It would be great to get the win on Wednesday. UCF and the Orlando community means a lot to him.
Tyler Hendricks is back from his injury. Dawkins thinks he can help the team, he saw a few minutes of play at Cincinnati. He likes his defensive activity and can rebound, and has a good feel offensively. He just needs to get more comfortable.
Obviously the player absences impacted them at Cincinnati, but no excuses. Every team is going through something this time of year. They should have executed better.
CJ Walker is day to day. They think he'll be okay. He's making progress. Hopefully it's short-lived.
On the Big 12, Dawkins always knew it was a great conference with tremendous parity. No nights off. Every game feels like an NCAA Tournament game. Every atmosphere is electric. Every opponent is well coached with talent.
Sometimes shots don't go down, so you have to make sure you play defense. You should always control that aspect of the game.
Darius Johnson
Being up 12 at halftime against Cincinnati, they had momentum but had the wrong approach in the second half. They should have stepped on Cincinnati's throat, but didn't and the game got away from them.
These upcoming games vs. Baylor and Oklahoma are huge. An opportunity to prove themselves.
Darius had an off night offensively vs. Cincinnati. He's been dealing with the death of his grandfather, whom he was very close to. Darius said he really hasn't been himself these past two games.
On Baylor, they shoot the three well. One of the top defensive teams in the country. They like to get out in transition.
Darius said his grandfather was one of his best friends. His grandmother died a month after he was born and his grandfather moved in with his family. He was with Darius for almost 22 years. He lived 104 years and even survived COVID. He's never lost anyone that close to him, so it's been tough. He recognized that he lived a long and great life.
His grandfather (John Henry Chaney) loved baseball. He would always support Darius at his games. His father's favorite team overall was probably the Washington Redskins.
Darius appreciates the support from the fanbase and doesn't want to let them down.
They need to get back in the win column and start stacking wins instead of winning one and then losing one. They need to do what it takes to position themselves for the postseason.
Losing Shemarri Allen was tough. He's also big with helping Darius at the point. Even so, they still should have won the Cincinnati game.
Darius feels their biggest strength has been their defense. They're top 10 defensively. Offensively is where they need to improve.
If they hold a team under 50 points, it's called a defensive masterpiece. They also want to force more than 10 turnovers.
Jaylin Sellers
Sellers says they've struggled to put two halves together, which was obviously evident at Cincinnati.
He's been struggling with a back injury since the Kansas game and it was bothering him at Cincinnati. He's been getting treatment on it.
On Baylor, they shoot the three well and can get out in transition.
These next two games are very important since they're home games.
Regarding the second-half offensive woes at Cincinnati, he thought they were trying to play one-on-one too much and not sharing the ball which stagnated everything.
