The UCF basketball program experienced quite the turnaround during coach Johnny Dawkins’ first season.
The same can be said for the team’s three seniors, who are preparing to compete in their final home game at CFE Arena Sunday against No. 15 Cincinnati. Tipoff is at 3 p.m. and the game will air on CBS Sports Network.
Matt Williams, who almost left the Knights program last spring, blossomed into the American Athletic Conference league’s most prolific 3-point shooter. Nick Banyard, a transfer from Illinois State, emerged as one of the team’s captains thanks to his fiery leadership skills. And Tank Efianayi elevated his game this season. He jumped from marginalized role player last year to key contributor, increasing his production from 3.8 to 9.3 points per game.
And all three will be counted on to pull off the daunting task of taking down the Bearcats to help bolster the Knights’ postseason chances.
“We love it,” Dawkins said of hosting the league’s top team during senior day. “We want to play the best. They’re one of the top ranked teams in the country and that’s what you want. You want to be in big games like that for our program and for our team. So we’re excited for the opportunity.”
Efianayi, a shooting guard, missed the past three games due to tendonitis-like symptoms in his knee and will be a game-time decision, Dawkins said.
Even with a thinner roster — UCF has just six scholarship players available to compete without Efianayi — the program hit a late season stride, winning its past three contests against Tulsa, East Carolina and Temple.
The most critical part about that three-game stretch, however, was the Knights’ ability to pull off come-from-behind road victories against the Pirates and the Owls. Before those victories, UCF only won on the road once against struggling Tulane on Dec. 28.
“That gives us a lot of confidence,” Banyard said of the team’s recent road wins. “…In both of those games, we ended up fighting back toward the end so that definitely shows our maturity and definitely gives us a lot of confidence as to what we can do at home against a good team.”
Matt Williams reflects on senior season with UCF basketball
Matt Williams reflects on senior season with UCF basketball
Matt Williams reflects on senior season with UCF basketball
Matt Williams reflects on senior season with UCF basketball
UCF coach Johnny Dawkins, guard B.J. Taylor and center Tacko Fall preview the Knights' matchup with Tulsa Tuesday.
UCF coach Johnny Dawkins, guard B.J. Taylor and center Tacko Fall preview the Knights' matchup with Tulsa Tuesday.
UCF's 2017 football schedule was released by the American Athletic Conference Thursday morning.
UCF's 2017 football schedule was released by the American Athletic Conference Thursday morning.
UCF head coach Scott Frost talks about how they've learned to save scholarship spots after National Signing Day to attract more and better recruits.
UCF head coach Scott Frost talks about how they've learned to save scholarship spots after National Signing Day to attract more and better recruits.
For the second straight season under UCF coach Scott Frost, the Knights finished with a top-three signing class in the American Athletic Conference.
For the second straight season under UCF coach Scott Frost, the Knights finished with a top-three signing class in the American Athletic Conference.
Emotions will be especially high for Williams, who graduated from Orlando’s Jones High. He considered transferring to Wake Forest after last season, after which previous coach Donnie Jones was fired.
Instead, Dawkins won over Williams. The guard has thrived all season, scorching rival USF with a program record 11 3-pointers on Jan. 17. Of course, that is Williams’ favorite moment at CFE Arena.
“It makes me feel proud. I made a good decision by staying,” Williams said. “My teammates embraced me staying, which made it that much more important to me. And I feel like I made the best decision by just staying here and not leaving. And I got a lot of love from everyone involved at UCF.”
The Knights (18-10 overall, 9-7 AAC) will need every bit of Williams’ offensive firepower and more to give themselves a viable chance to knock off the Bearcats (25-3 overall, 14-1 AAC).
Defense wasn’t a problem for UCF during the programs’ first meeting this season on Feb. 8. It was an early scoring deficit fueled by 39 percent field-goal shooting and 3 of 15 3-point shooting that did the most damage.
“I think the key is defense and rebounding,” Banyard said. “…Offensively we’re not gonna always have our best game. We didn’t have our best against ECU or Temple, but we always found a way to get it done on the defensive end. So I think that’ll be our biggest deal is rebounding and defending and the rest will take care of itself.”
sgreen@orlandosentinel.com
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