UCF basketball looks to get back on track with season winding down

When UCF and Colorado meet, one team will end their season-long losing streaks.

The Knights have lost dropped five in a row, the fourth such streak under coach Johnny Dawkins , while the Buffaloes hold the fifth-longest losing streak in the nation at 13 consecutive games and remaining winless in conference play.

Its been a disappointing stretch for UCF (13-11, 4-9 Big 12), and with only seven remaining games left the window to make a postseason tournament is shrinking.

The Knights would likely need six wins to have a legitimate shot at an NCAA tournament bid, something the program hasnt done since the 2018-19 season.

Anything less and the outlook turns to the National Invitation Tournament or College Basketball Crown.

If UCF snaps out of this funk, it must improve on the defensive end.

Dawkins team is allowing 79.8 points per game, the most by a Knights team since the 1995-96 season.

Weve got to defend better, said Dawkins.

Weve just got to be better at it.

We must have a better sense of urgency when guarding and understanding precisely what we want to do regarding execution.

It starts with that and then you must finish that play by rebounding [the ball].

A lot of times, you get a stop on defense, but then you give up an offensive rebound and a putback.

So, it must complete the defensive possession by getting the rebound.

While the offense averages 79 points per game the most by a Knights team since the 1993-94 season (80.6) it remains ranked in the bottom half of Division I teams in field goal accuracy (42.2%).

One positive during the past two weeks has been the play of redshirt freshman guard Mikey Williams .

Williams is coming off a career game in Tuesdays 77-65 loss to Iowa State, where he set marks for minutes (28), field goals (6), attempts (12) and points (14).

He averages 4 points in 10 minutes per game, an occasional spark off a listless bench.

He wants to be great, but theres a process, said Dawkins.

Hes gone through that process and earned his opportunities.

His opportunities werent given to him.

When you earn something, you tend to appreciate it more than when somethings given to you.

Williams missed the first 10 games with an ankle injury.

He returned on Dec.

21 against Jacksonville and has played in 12 of the 13 conference games.

Its taken time to adjust his game to the level and style of play in the Big 12.

Im used to getting to the basket, so picking and choosing when to shoot my pull up, when to get to my floater [is important] because its physical, said Williams.

Youve got seven-footers down there, wrestling you on every play so driving to the basket, trying to draw a foul most of the time isnt always the smart thing to do.

Meanwhile, Colorado (9-5, 0-13) ranks last in the conference in turnover margin (minus-3), committing an average of 14.7 turnovers per game.

The last time these two teams met, UCF pulled off a 75-74 win in Orlando on Jan.

8.

Everything that we want is still in front of us, said Dawkins.

Thats the beauty of being in the conference that were in.

We must find a way to get back on the right track.

Matt Murschel can be reached at [email protected] Up next UCF at Colorado When: 3, Saturday, CU Events in Boulder, Colo.

TV: ESPN+.

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