Mountaineers Scale Past Knights in Dominant Display at WVU Coliseum
The University of Central Florida Knights faced a challenging contest against the 23rd-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers, concluding with a score of 84-43. The Knights' season record now stands at an unmentioned number-number, while the Mountaineers improved their tally.
The game at WVU Coliseum saw the UCF Knights struggle to find their rhythm early on, managing only four points in the opening quarter compared to West Virginia's 18. The second quarter did not fare much better for UCF as they added just nine points to their total, trailing significantly by halftime. Despite a more productive third quarter where they scored 18 points and finished with 12 in the fourth, it was not enough to close the gap created by West Virginia's consistent scoring across all quarters.
UCF's shooting was below par throughout the game; they shot just 30 percent from both field goals and two-point range. From beyond the arc, they made five out of seventeen attempts resulting in a three-point shooting percentage of roughly 29 percent. Their free throw performance also left room for improvement as they made six out of fifteen shots from the line, rounding up to about 40 percent accuracy.
Defensively, UCF managed eight steals and three blocks but were outrebounded by West Virginia who collected a total of thirty-five rebounds over UCF's twenty-two. The Knights also committed twenty personal fouls and turned over the ball twenty-two times which contributed to their difficulties on court.
On offense, fast break points were one area where UCF showed some efficiency with ten points scored but this was overshadowed by West Virginia’s eighteen fast break points. Points off turnovers were another aspect where UCF lagged behind; they scored seven compared to West Virginia’s twenty-six.
West Virginia capitalized on every opportunity presented by UCF’s mistakes and dominated inside with forty-four points in paint versus sixteen from UCF. They also had better assist numbers with sixteen assists reflecting good ball movement against six from UCF which indicates struggles in creating scoring opportunities.
Looking ahead for fans of The University of Central Florida Knights is an upcoming home game against Iowa State Cyclones scheduled for February 3rd at Addition Financial Arena located in Orlando, FL. This event will be broadcasted on ESPN+ providing fans an opportunity to support their team following this tough outing.