From the very first possession, UCF came out and meant business. It caused West Virginia head coach Josh Eilert to call a timeout about two minutes after tip-off as the Mountaineers went down 6-0.
During the first half, the Knights had six blocks and six steals all during the first 20 minutes of the game. In the first half, the Knights’ largest lead was 18 points. To say the least, the first 20 minutes saw a ton of action in terms of defense and rebounding. The player of the first half was Ibrahim Diallo, as he had eight points, five rebounds, and three steals.
Coach Dawkins implemented a full-court press defense all throughout the first half which decimated any hopes of life for WVU as they shot 36.7% from the field.
UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins was asked about his gameplan for this game and he responded, “The plan was to contain RaeQuan Battle. I thought everyone had amazing awareness along with seeing at least one white jersey in front of Battle every time Battle got the ball.”
As the second half unfolded, UCF missed their first five shots before they made a pair of free throws. UCF went away from that full-court press defense but still stopped all momentum WVU could have by accounting for four steals and a block in the second half. They allowed WVU to get back in the game by shooting an abysmal 22% from long range.
The player of the second half would end up being Jaylin Sellers, as he had nine points, two assists, and two rebounds.
The second half saw two events unfold. WVU’s own RaeQuan Battle received double technical fouls and was ejected in the middle of the second half. On the other end, UCF’s own Shemari Allen left the game with an apparent knee injury and never returned.
Coach Eilert was asked about UCF’s defense and responded, “Their size and strength made it tough for our guys to go downhill”.
Coach Dawkins finished by saying, “We have shown we can comeback when needed but I don’t want to make a habit of that and this is probably one of the only Big 12 games we have played with a lead. We still have to be focused as other teams can make runs. I thought it was great awareness playing with the lead”.
UCF amassed seven blocks and 10 steals in total along with a smothering defense that really shut WVU down. UCF will see WVU later in the year, in West Virginia, in hopes of achieving the season sweep.
UCF showed the ability to play hard and fast all game long. They will be tested more and more throughout the year.
Next up is Cincinnati.