2008-09 MEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE/RESULTS No. 6 UCF (17-13, 7-9 C-USA) November (3-3) 2009 Conference USA Championship • March 11-14 • Memphis, Tenn. • FedEx Forum Sun. 16 North Carolina A&T W, 81-62 TEAM INFORMATION Tues. 18 at Valparaiso L, 69-52 Cancun Challenge (Albuquerque, New Mexico) Head Coach Kirk Speraw Top Scorer Jermaine Taylor (26.6) Key Wins at New Mexico, vs. USF, vs. Sat. 22 at New Mexico W, 72-71 Alma Mater Iowa, 1980 Top Rebounder Jermaine Taylor (5.2) Valparaiso, vs. Tulsa UCF Record 264-215 (16th year) Key Storyline Senior guard Jermaine Wed. 26 at Ole Miss L, 78-46 Top Assists A.J. Rompza (5.1) Career Record 346-236 (19th year) Top Steals A.J. Rompza (1.6) Taylor ranks third nationally, averaging Cancun Challenge (Cancun, Mexico) 26.6 points per game. Sat. 29 vs. South Dakota State W, 66-64 Sun. 30 vs. Morehead State (CBS College Sports) L, 71-65 GAME NOTES UCF Tidbits • Jermaine Taylor, who ranks third nationally in scoring at 26.6 points per game, and the No. 6 Knights will open December (5-1) play at the Conference USA Championship Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. Eastern against No. 11 Southern Miss Sat. 6 USF (CSS) W, 71-63 • The Knights, who concluded the regular season sixth in the C-USA regular-season standings, have fi nished in the Fri. 12 Florida Tech W, 110-68 top-half of the conference standings each year since joining the league in 2005 Jacksonville, Fla. About Southern Miss Sat. 20 vs. Florida (FSN-Florida) L, 89-61 • The No. 11 seed Golden Eagles are 14-16 overall and went 4-12 in league play Mon. 22 Valparaiso W, 85-60 • Southern Miss is 5-2 in neutral games this year UCF Holiday Classic (Orlando, Fla.) • The Golden Eagles, who are averaging 66.2 points per game, are led offensively by Jeremy Wise (16.2 ppg) Mon. 29 Penn W, 81-64 • Opponents are averaging just 66.9 points versus the team Tues. 30 Chicago State W, 89-75 Series Information • UCF has a 3-2 edge in the all-time series with Southern Miss January (7-2) • The teams met once this season and host UCF rolled to a 73-61 win over the Golden Eagles on Jan. 21 behind 31 Sat. 3 Sam Houston State W, 86-70 points from Jermaine Taylor • The Knights shot 56.0 percent overall and recorded 21 assists on 28 made fi eld goals Tues. 6 Holy Cross (Bright House Sports Network) W, 70-57 • Taylor connected on 13-of-23 shots and Taylor Young dished out a career-high nine assists with zero turnovers Sat. 10 Memphis* (CBS College Sports) L, 73-66 in the win Tues. 13 at UAB* (CSS) L, 60-52 • At the 2008 Conference USA Championship, Taylor totaled 25 points, but it was not enough as the fi fth-seeded Sat. 17 at Rice* W, 77-52 Golden Eagles held on for a 68-62 win over No. 4 UCF in the quarterfi nals • Southern Miss scored 20 of its 41 second-half points at the free-throw line as UCF was whistled for 20 fouls after Wed. 21 Southern Miss* W, 73-61 intermission Sun. 25 Marshall* W, 87-69 • In fi ve career games against Southern Miss, Taylor is averaging 14.6 points Wed. 28 SMU* (Bright House Sports Network) W, 70-45 • Taylor has averaged 23.0 points in his last three contests versus the Golden Eagles Sat. 31 at Tulane* W, 79-74 (ot) Last Time Out • Jermaine Taylor scored 27 of his game-high 36 points after intermission to help the host Knights overcome a February (1-6) 17-point defi cit and post a 74-71 win over East Carolina on Saturday Wed. 4 Houston* (CBS College Sports) L, 97-69 • East Carolina led by 17 points with 18:17 to play in the second half • On senior night at the UCF Arena, Taylor connected on four 3-pointers after intermission as UCF outscored the Sat. 7 at East Carolina* L, 89-75 Pirates 51-34 after the break Wed. 11 at UTEP* L, 73-68 Sat. 14 Tulsa* W, 74-72 Up Next for the Knights Sat. 21 at Houston* L, 77-72 • The winner of the UCF-Southern Miss game will face No. 3 UAB in the quarterfi nals at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Thursday Wed. 25 Rice* (Bright House Sports Network) L, 69-66 • The Knights nearly topped host UAB on Jan. 13, but the Blazers went on a 17-0 run to end the game and posted Sat. 28 at Marshall* L, 67-62 a 60-52 win at Bartow Arena • Jermaine Taylor scored 18 points for the Knights, who led by 10 points with 10:35 remaining in the contest March (1-1) UCF in the C-USA Tournament Wed. 4 at Tulsa* L, 79-70 • UCF is 1-3 all-time at the Conference USA Championship Sat. 7 East Carolina* W, 74-71 • The Knights will be playing in the opening round of the tournament for only the second time since joining the Conference USA Championship (Memphis, Tenn.) league in 2005 Wed. 11 Southern Miss 3:30 p.m. • UCF participated in the opening round of the 2006 event, topping East Carolina, 65-52 • A year ago, UCF earned the No. 4 seed and a fi rst-round bye Thu. 12 Quarterfi nals (CSS) • In four games at the C-USA Championship, Jermaine Taylor is averaging 11.5 points Fri. 13 Semifi nals (CBS College Sports) Sat. 14 Championship (CBS) Show and Improve • UCF has already improved upon its win total from a year ago as the squad went 16-15 in 2007-08 All times are Eastern. • The Knights have increased their win total despite losing fi ve seniors, including two starters Times subject to change. Hey Young World * - denotes Conference USA game • With eight true freshmen and 12 total underclassmen, UCF is the fi fth youngest team in the country • The Knights currently have just three upperclassmen - seniors Jermaine Taylor and Kenrick Zondervan and junior UCF ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS Drew Speraw Associate Director/MBB Contact Doug Richards The Get Fresh Crew Offi ce Phone (407) 823-2142 • During the campaign, underlcassmen have played 62.6 percent of the minutes for the Knights Cell Phone (407) 405-5823 • Freshmen have accounted for 38.9 percent of the minutes E-mail [email protected] • That number would have been higher, but rookie forward Dave Diakite only played in fi ve contests early in the Web Site UCFAthletics.com season before suffering an injury Sure Shot • The Knights enter the Conference USA Championship as arguably the top shooting team in the league • UCF is the lone squad to rank in the conference top-four in both fi eld goal and 3-point fi eld goal percentage • The team is third from the fl oor (44.9) and fourth in the league from deep (35.6) • The Knights are connecting on 7.2 triples an outing, good for second in the conference Sharing the Rock • Thanks to A.J. Rompza and Taylor Young, the Knights pace Conference USA and rank in the top-40 nationally in assists, averaging 15.5 a contest UCF PROBABLE STARTERS Pos. Name No. Ht. Wt. Cl. PPG RPG APG Notes PG A.J. Rompza 3 5-9 160 Fr. 4.5 3.2 5.1 Among C-USA leaders in assists per game SG Isaac Sosa 11 6-3 180 Fr. 8.2 1.7 1.2 Shooting 46.3 percent from deep SG Jermaine Taylor 1 6-4 210 Sr. 26.6 5.2 1.9 Ranks third nationally in scoring PF A.J. Tyler 25 6-9 225 So. 6.8 4.3 0.6 Has started fi ve-straight games C Kenrick Zondervan 13 6-9 240 Sr. 7.1 4.5 0.9 Averaged 9.3 points in C-USA play Jermaine Taylor • All-America Candidate Senior • Guard • 6-4 • 210 • Tavares, Fla./Tavares Top of the World • One of the premier players in the country, Jermaine Taylor leads Conference USA and ranks third nationally in scoring at 26.6 points per game • The shooting guard has led the Knights in scoring in 29 of the team’s 30 contests in 2008-09 • Taylor has paced the squad in points in 25-consecutive games • He has recorded nine 30-point showings and one 40-point performance • In each of UCF’s last 14 games, Taylor has scored at least 20 points • Below is a list of the leading scorers in the nation, through games of March 8: 1. Stephen Curry, Davidson (28.9) 2. Lester Hudson, Tennessee-Martin (27.3) 3. Jermaine Taylor, UCF (26.6) 4. David Holston, Chicago State (25.8) 5. Jodie Meeks, Kentucky (24.7) Number One Spot • The senior established a pair of Conference USA single-season scoring records • He averaged a league-record 29.1 points in conference play, totaling a C-USA-best 466 points • Morris Almond of Rice holds the league’s overall single-season scoring mark with 844 points in 2006-07 • Taylor has scored 797 points this year, already good for a school Division I record • If the season ended today, Taylor’s overall scoring average (26.6) would be a league record Field Mob • Taylor’s 286 fi eld goals in 2008-09 are already a Conference USA single-season record • In league play, his 163 fi eld goals were also good for a conference record Move Something • Taylor, who is UCF’s all-time leading scorer at the Division I level with 1,964 points, needs 22 points versus Southern Miss to move to third on the Conference USA career scoring list • Steve Logan of Cincinnati (1999-02) is third at 1,985 points Set the Record Straight • Against Southern Miss, Taylor should set a UCF single-season scoring record • His 797 points trail only Bo Clark, who scored 806 points in 1976-77, on the school single-season register JERMAINE TAYLOR BY THE NUMBERS Award Tour 1,964 • Taylor was recognized for his stellar play this season on March 9 when he earned All-Conference USA First Team Taylor has scored 1,964 career points, making him UCF’s honors • He became the fi rst Knight since 2003-04 (Dexter Lyons, Atlantic Sun) to receive fi rst-team all-league all-time leader at the Division I level recognition • On March 4, Taylor earned a spot on the National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District 11 First Team 29.1 Seven’s Travels He averaged a C-USA-record 29.1 points in league play • Taylor closed the regular season in incredible fashion, averaging 35.1 points in UCF’s last seven contests this year • He shot 85.5 percent (59-of-69) at the free-throw line, making 9.9 trips to the charity stripe per game • Taylor totaled at least 35 points fi ve times during the span, including a 45-point performance versus visiting Rice on Feb.