Stop me if you’ve heard me say this before: THIS SHOULDN’T BE A STRESSFUL GAME FOR US. UCF comes into this game right where we are, honestly. They’re slightly ahead of us in the Big 12 standings, but we’re similar record wise and we both lost our last game. There isn’t anyone that outright scares me on their team, but they are certainly talented. They have 4 guys who score in double figures so they know how to spread the wealth. If I was to be worried about one single guy it would be Themus Fulks; their lead guard. He’s a Senior averaging 13 points and 7 assists a game. Arguably, his biggest strength is his 3 point shooting because he’s shooting a 44% clip this year, albeit on limited attempts.
It should be a good one to watch, but I’m hoping that we can use this game to finish the Big 12 schedule strong. We’re finished with the Titans of the conference, and how the rest of our schedule it full of teams who have a worse or similar record than we do. This really is a do or die game for us, and I hope we make it out on the other side.
There is a certain lack of physicality in our game. We’re only down 29-28 at the half, but we just aren’t matching UCF’s intensity. Now, the team stats don’t say that: we’re killing them on the boards and points in the paint, but they’re just being so much more aggressive on both ends of the floor.
If it wasn’t for Chance Moore and Brenen Lorient I think that UCF would be walking all over us. Realistically, we should be down much more than we are: we’re shooting 8 (yes you read that right) % from 3, we’ve fouled more than they have, and we’ve only went to the line twice.
Our halftime adjustments have been a point of emphasis this year. About 60% of the time we’re able to make the necessary adjustments and overcome a deficit or sustain a lead. The other 40%? You can look at Ohio State, Baylor, and Texas Tech for those blunders.
If we could just have a normal shooting game I think we’d be ahead by 8-12 points, but again, Honor Huff has been guarded the second he stepped foot in the parking lot and NO ONE else has been able to step up. Story of my life.
Thankfully for us, this game was part of the 60%, but believe me UCF made us work for it. We were down as much as 14 in the 2nd half but we ended the game on a 36-15 run to pick up the 74-67 win on the road. To their credit, they came out with an aggressive gameplan in the second half and they were also able to get Honor Huff going. After only scoring 3 points in the first, Huff was able to end the game with a game high 21 by attacking the rim with more frequency.
Jasper Floyd also came up huge in the 2nd half, and if it wasn’t for his playmaking and defensive ability, UCF very easily could have came back and won this game. Late in the half Jasper hit a huge 3 and picked off a pass to seal the deal. That’s the kind of play you expect from your Senior guard and I’m glad that he was able to deliver for us.
If we’re able to win out the rest of our schedule I think that our March Madness hopes are still alive. This game was a big more stressful than I would have liked, but a win is a win, and hopefully this one will turn into 6 more.
Without further ado, The Roundball Big 3 of the Game:
Honor Huff – 21 points (18 in second half)
Jasper Floyd – 17 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals
Chance Moore – 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 stocks
Our next one is on Wednesday when we host Utah at home. They’re toward the bottom of the conference rankings, and as much as I would like to pencil this one in as a win, I just can’t do that yet with this team.
I love you, Dad. I miss you. I’ll see you soon.
Round The Game 
Leave a comment