UCF and UConn are finding themselves in new territory.
Though it's still early, the 12-3 Knights sit atop the American Athletic Conference standings with a 3-0 record after opening league play with wins against Tulane, Temple and East Carolina. It's UCF's best overall start since 2010-11 and the first time they've been 3-0 in the league since joining the AAC in 2013-14. The 12 victories also match the win total of each of the past two seasons.
On the other hand, UConn, a storied program with four national championships in the last 18 years and coming off a conference championship season, fell to 0-3 in the American on Thursday after dropping a 70-61 decision at Memphis. It's been a season of struggle for Kevin Ollie's Huskies, who are 5-9 overall with some eyebrow-raising losses that include Wagner and Northeastern.
The two programs square off in Hartford on Sunday at 5 p.m with television coverage from CBS Sports Network.
"They're a well-coached team," UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins said. "They have a great tradition. What they've accomplished over the last several decades has been amazing. Coach Ollie has won a national championship. They're a proud program. They're a program that's going to come out and compete for 40 minutes every single game.
"I don't pay attention to the favorites or non-favorites. What we try to do is try to focus on what we have to do in our game plan. I expect our players to do the same. It's an opportunity for us to continue to get better. We know we're going against a really good program and it's on the road. There's a lot of things we must face. We have to be mature about going up there and compete."
Injuries have decimated UConn's roster, leaving the Huskies with just eight available scholarship players. They'll get no sympathy though from UCF, who have played the bulk of the season with just six available scholarship players while A.J. Davis and then B.J. Taylor recovered from injuries.
Guards are in short supply at UConn, though Jalen Adams (15.9 ppg) and Rodney Purvis (12.8 ppg) are as talented as they come. Adams leads the American in assists with 5.7 per game.
"Their record is not indicative of the caliber team they have," UCF assistant coach Robbie Laing said. "They've dealt with some of the same issues we have. People in and out of the lineup. They've lost some guys for the entire year that they were counting on. They've had to retool. They're coming back home. They need to win. They're 0-3. We now have a target on our back. We're at the top of the league. This is the kind of game they'll play with some urgency. Good ballclub. Really great guards, possibly with NBA potential. It's going to be a challenge."
7-foot center Amidah Brimah (6.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg) poses another big test for UCF's 7-foot-6 Tacko Fall, who was stymied earlier this week by East Carolina's 7-footer, Andre Washington.
Brimah, who tested the NBA Draft waters last year, leads the American in blocked shots with 2.9 per game. Fall is the league leader in rebounding (11.2 rpg) and field goal percentage (.800), while fourth in blocks (2.3).
Fall, who is averaging 14.3 points this season, was held without a field goal against ECU.
"Tacko has a big challenge ahead of him," Dawkins said. "Brimah and their bigs are accomplished. They're older on the front line. That's going to be a great experience for him. Every time he can play against guys that are capable shot blockers and definitely rim protectors such as the ones UConn has, that's going to help him continue to grow.
"(East Carolina) did a number of things (to limit Fall). First, they had a senior center who is really good. He's a really good shot blocker, Washington. Of course they double teamed him, so having double teams along with a shot blocker guarding him. These are things we have to show him on tape. We as a staff have to watch and continue to make adjustments to help him grow as a player and help us grow as a team."
Taylor back in action
Following a seven-game absence, point guard B.J. Taylor returned to the lineup on Tuesday against East Carolina. He had suffered a freak thumb injury in the Dec. 3 road win at UMass, which required surgery.
With the Pirates making things difficult for Tacko Fall, Taylor's return came in the nick of time, scoring a team-high 19 points including sinking 10 of 12 free throws.
"I feel good. My body is fine," Taylor said Friday. "Once I start playing I don't even think about my injury. Coach tells me, in practice and stuff, you need to be careful because once I get out there and start playing I'm just going at 100 percent."
Dawkins originally planned to ease Taylor back into action, but the game dictated otherwise as he played 33 minutes.
"It's important for B.J. to continue to develop," Dawkins said. "B.J. is in a position where he's missed seven games of the season after missing all of last season. Part of B.J.'s development is understanding how to handle these situations. We probably played him more minutes than we expected to. I thought he responded well. I think it's important for him to understand about his recovery, what he has to do on his days off in preparation for our next game. It's important for us to continue to pace him as a staff. I think we're doing a pretty good job of pacing him, getting his timing back and getting his chemistry back with this team."
Defense is the trademark
What's keyed the turnaround in Johnny Dawkins' first season in Orlando? Stifling defense. UCF leads the nation in field goal percentage defense (32.2 percent) and rebounding (45.7) and is second only to Virginia in points allowed (57.1 ppg).
"We worked on defense the whole summer," B.J. Taylor said. "Our whole offseason workouts were defense. That's what we focused on. Whether we wanted it or not, that's what it is now. You put that much work in on something and it kind of becomes who you are. This team's identity is defense. We get our momentum from defense . We get our energy from playing good defense. Coach stresses it and all the guys have bought into it. Now we want to be a defensive team. We don't want teams to score on us. We don't want teams to get past a certain point. We play little games and challenge ourselves with what we can do defensively. We've bought into what coach is saying about being a defensive team. That's a big part of us being so good on that end."
Laing once coached from the other bench
Robbie Laing vividly remembers one of the first times he coached against UCF.
Now an assistant coach under Dawkins, Laing previously spent 10 years as the head coach at Campbell (2003-13) and later served on staff at Florida Atlantic. His first two seasons at Campbell overlapped UCF's final two years in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
"I definitely remember (playing UCF)," Laing said. "I remember we played a flip-flopped, reverse chronological conference schedule where we played UCF the first game of the conference schedule and then played them in the last game of the conference schedule. We played in Buies Creek initially and came down here for the last game of the year. It was actually senior night here. It wasn't a fond memory of mine because we got blitzed pretty well."
The date was Feb. 28, 2004. UCF sent their seniors out in style with a 106-56 victory, setting a school record with 16 three-pointers. Senior Dexter Lyons scored a career-high 33 points. Several more seniors got in on the action with Rob Ross pouring in 19 points, Josh Bodden adding 13 and Roberto Morentin chipping in nine. UCF later went on to win their first of back-to-back A-Sun championships.
Laing and Campbell later returned in 2008 to play in the UCF Holiday Classic, though they didn't match up against the Knights. He was also a member of FAU's staff during the 2014 and 2015 meetings.
"When we came with FAU, I said, man, this place has really changed," Laing said. "It's really special. This is a goldmine. I'm still equally impressed today after being here for six, seven, eight months."
Dawkins, who had no prior coaching connections with Laing, says they hit it off from the start.
"I thought our personalities would really work well together," Dawkins said. "I had a chance to spend a dinner with him one evening and I really just liked his personality. I heard a lot of good things about him as a person and a coach. I thought it would be a good fit. I've really enjoyed having him and his family being a part of ours. He's a great man. As good as he is on the court at what he does, he's a better person. That's very important to me and how we want to interact and work with our young players."
Fun Facts
UCF is 1-8 all-time against UConn, the lone victory being a 68-63 decision in the 2011 Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas. The Huskies, ranked No. 4 at the time, had won the national championship the season before.
UConn splits their home schedule between their on-campus home (Gampel Pavillion) in Storrs and the XL Center about 30 miles away in downtown Hartford. Sunday's game is in Hartford, which is also the site of this year's American Athletic Conference tournament.
As the head coach at Stanford, Johnny Dawkins coached against Kevin Ollie and UConn in the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons. Stanford won both games of the home-and-home series, including a 2013 visit to Hartford during UConn's national championship season. The Huskies were ranked No. 10 at the time.
UCF has limited opponents to 45 points or less on four occasions this season. In the school's entire Division I history which dates back to the 1984-85 season, the Knights had only done that six times previously.
The school is promoting tailgating opportunities for their four weekend conference games beginning with next Saturday's 4 p.m. contest against Houston. Memory Mall will open four hours before tip-off and feature a live D.J.
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