Memphis @ Central Florida preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 16, 2019 ) Memphis 72, Central Florida 79

Fourth-seeded Central Florida gained plenty of confidence with consecutive wins against ranked teams earlier this month and looks to make a run in the American Athletic Conference Tournament, starting in the quarterfinals against fifth seed and host Memphis on Friday. The Knights handed Houston its only home loss 69-64 on March 2 and held off visiting Cincinnati 58-55 five days later before ending the regular season with a loss at Temple.

“We really believe in our players and they believe in us,” UCF coach Johnny Dawkins told reporters. “It’s another thing to go out there and accomplish something by getting these types of wins. Now they see that they can do it. Now that you have accomplished that you know no matter when you on the road, no matter who you face, you feel you can win the game.” The Knights look to have a good enough resume to get an NCAA at-large bid, but they have their sights set on a first conference tournament title and can match the most wins for the team in 15 years by knocking off Memphis. The Tigers recorded a season-high 52 points in the first half Thursday and rolled to an 83-68 victory over Tulane in the first round as American first-team selection Jeremiah Martin scored 21. Memphis is 15-2 on its home court this season, including a 77-57 victory over the Knights on Jan. 27 as the Tigers held UCF’s starters to 32 points on 13-of-38 shooting from the floor.

TV: 2 p.m. ET, ESPN2

ABOUT MEMPHIS (20-12): Martin raised his production considerably in the final portion of the season, averaging 28.3 over the last 11 contests to push his season mark to 19.7, and has dished out 39 assists in the past seven contests after registering seven in the first round. Senior forward Kyvon Davenport, who had averaged just 7.5 points the final four games of the regular season, scored 17 on Thursday and hauled in seven rebounds. Senior forward Mike Parks Jr. recorded his first double-double of the season with 14 points and 13 rebounds against Tulane after managing 25 and 22 total, respectively, in his previous six outings.

ABOUT CENTRAL FLORIDA (23-7): Senior guard B.J. Taylor was named to the league’s first team after averaging a team-high 16.2 points, but must rebound from a 1-of-8 shooting performance against Temple. Junior guard Aubrey Dawkins (15.4 points), an American second-team pick, scored a career-high 36 on Saturday while draining six 3-pointers and hauling in 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. Senior center Tacko Fall was held to two points in 19 minutes by Temple, but the third-team selection is averaging 10.9 overall on 75.1 percent shooting to go along with team highs of 7.2 rebounds and 2.4 blocks.

TIP-INS

1. Memphis G Tyler Harris drained four 3-pointers on Thursday and boasts a freshman school record with 73.

2. Taylor needs four assists to move past Mike O’Donnell (319) for sixth on the program’s all-time list.

3. Martin moved past Chris Douglas-Roberts for 10th on the program’s all-time scoring list Thursday with 1,548 points.

PREDICTION: Memphis 76, Central Florida 72