Coming off a victorious road rally against a Southeastern Conference opponent, UCF will be seeking its third straight win Monday night when it hosts Oakland in Orlando, Fla.
On Friday night in College Station, Tex., coach Johnny Dawkins’ Knights trailed by 14 points with just over a dozen minutes left in their clash with Texas A&M and new coach Bucky McMillan.
Led by Jordan Burks’ 21 total points and Carmelo Pacheco’s 15, the Knights (3-1) stormed back and earned an 86-74 win in its second game against an SEC opponent this season. They lost 105-93 to Vanderbilt on Nov. 8.
Games against the likes of the Aggies and Commodores, solid programs in the SEC, will surely help the Knights down the road against its Big 12 competition.
“Life in the Big 12 can be tough,” Dawkins told NBC Sports. “It’s very, very challenging. It’s the best basketball conference in the country. You have the best coaches in the country, the best players. It’s a situation where, every single night, I don’t care if you’re home or away, it feels like a tournament game.”
A 6-foot-5 junior guard, Pacheco (9.3 points per game) has produced consecutive strong outings, scoring a team-high 17 in 18 minutes in a win over Florida A&M before his 15 in Texas.
Riley Kugel leads with 18.0 points per game followed by Burks’ 13.5.
Oakland (1-3) finally caught a break on the schedule and drubbed Defiance 113-47 last Saturday in its home opener behind Brett White II’s 18 points and 17 apiece from Brody Robinson and Tuburu Naivalurua. Nate Deer totaled 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Golden Grizzlies led by 47 at halftime and netted 72 points in the paint.
In their first three contests, the Horizon League school lost by double figures on the road to then-No. 7 Michigan, then-No. 1 Purdue and No. 1 Houston before finally coming home to face Defiance (Ohio), an NAIA program.
“It was good to open our season and finally play at home –it’s been a tough start with one of the toughest schedules ever played,” coach Greg Kampe said. “To be able to come home, play everybody a lot of minutes, get up and down and press.”
Isaac Garrett leads with 15.2 points per game followed by Naivalurua and Ziare Wells at 13 each. Wells paces the squad with 7.2 boards.
