Marshall coach Donnie Jones said UCF might be the most dangerous team in the Conference USA men's basketball tournament.
"They're definitely a team I don't want to face again," he said.
The Knights enter the league tournament as the No. 9 seed with a 14-16 overall record. It doesn't sound impressive, but UCF has scared plenty of C-USA teams this season.
Jones saw UCF push the Thundering Herd to the limit. It took every weapon in Marshall's arsenal to claim a 121-115 triple overtime win over the visiting Knights Jan. 27.
"They never give up," Jones said.
Ten of UCF's 16 losses were by 10 points or less this season. In seven of the losses, the Knights either had a lead or tied the game in the second half. During three of the final four regular-season games, those UCF leads swelled to double digits in the second half.
"It's been really hard on us, but I do think those loses have taught us that we can play with anyone in this conference," said junior guard Taylor Young, who is averaging 17.3 points per contest in the past three games for the Knights. "It hurt our confidence before, but now we go into this tournament knowing we can win four games in four days."
The Knights start what they hope is a Cinderella run through the C-USA tournament tonight against No. 8 seed SMU (14-16). UCF lost at SMU 65-43 Jan. 27. It was one of the Knights' worst shooting performances of the season.
UCF will lean on sophomore point guard A.J. Rompza, junior forward A.J. Tyler and Young for leadership. Forward Keith Clanton and guard Marcus Jordan, who were named to the Conference USA All-Freshman team Tuesday, are major contributors and pack a big scoring punch for the Knights.
"We've had a tough year, but we're all really excited to go out there and prove we are a good team," Young said. "It's March. Anything's possible right now."
"They're definitely a team I don't want to face again," he said.
The Knights enter the league tournament as the No. 9 seed with a 14-16 overall record. It doesn't sound impressive, but UCF has scared plenty of C-USA teams this season.
Jones saw UCF push the Thundering Herd to the limit. It took every weapon in Marshall's arsenal to claim a 121-115 triple overtime win over the visiting Knights Jan. 27.
"They never give up," Jones said.
Ten of UCF's 16 losses were by 10 points or less this season. In seven of the losses, the Knights either had a lead or tied the game in the second half. During three of the final four regular-season games, those UCF leads swelled to double digits in the second half.
"It's been really hard on us, but I do think those loses have taught us that we can play with anyone in this conference," said junior guard Taylor Young, who is averaging 17.3 points per contest in the past three games for the Knights. "It hurt our confidence before, but now we go into this tournament knowing we can win four games in four days."
The Knights start what they hope is a Cinderella run through the C-USA tournament tonight against No. 8 seed SMU (14-16). UCF lost at SMU 65-43 Jan. 27. It was one of the Knights' worst shooting performances of the season.
UCF will lean on sophomore point guard A.J. Rompza, junior forward A.J. Tyler and Young for leadership. Forward Keith Clanton and guard Marcus Jordan, who were named to the Conference USA All-Freshman team Tuesday, are major contributors and pack a big scoring punch for the Knights.
"We've had a tough year, but we're all really excited to go out there and prove we are a good team," Young said. "It's March. Anything's possible right now."
