NJIT @ Central Florida preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 30, 2007 ) New Jersey Tech 50, Central Florida 82

Central Florida opens a four-game nonconference homestand on Saturday with its first-ever meeting with NJIT. The Knights have won two in a row, finishing off the Paycom Wooden Legacy tournament with triumphs over Pepperdine (78-65) and Charleston (77-56).

"We have a very good team as long as we continue to play the right way," UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins told reporters. "Our strength is in our numbers and everyone is comfortable in their role. That allows us to play the way we want to play." The Knights put together their most complete performance against Charleston, holding an opponent below 60 points for the first time this year while the offense posted a season-high 19 assists and turned the ball over just five times, their lowest amount in a game since Dec. 5, 2015. "That's (the standard) we're striving for," Dawkins said after the Charleston win. "We can't wait to get back and see the film to talk about what our standards are and play like this on a more consistent basis. Our guys were excellent tonight." NJIT comes in on a four-game skid, the last three of which were on the road, including a 75-65 loss at Army on Wednesday.

TV: Noon ET, No TV

ABOUT NJIT (2-6): Junior guard Zach Cooks has scored in double figures in every game, with at least 20 points in seven of the contests for a team-high average of 23.3 points to rank eighth in the nation entering Friday. The team is shooting 40.3 percent from the floor and 30.6 from 3-point range, but the team has been held below 65 points in half their games. Souleymane Diakite leads the team with 7.9 rebounds per game, but Diego Willis and San Antonio Brinson each pulled down seven in the loss to Army, with Willis' total a career high.

ABOUT UCF (5-2): Junior forward Collin Smith remains the Knights' leading scorer, averaging 15.4 per game, and he has posted double figures four times in the last five games after scoring 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting against Charleston. Point guard Dazon Ingram is second on the team in scoring (10.6) but first in rebounds (7.1) and assists (27 total), while freshman Darin Green Jr. sits third in scoring with a 10.1 average per game on 39.5 percent shooting (15-of-38) from long distance. The Knights have had a different leading scorer in four of the seven games and the team's two best shooting performances came the last two outings - 51.8 percent from the floor and 40 percent from 3-point range against Pepperdine and 48.4 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from deep against Charleston.

TIP-INS

1. The Knights are 2-1 at home with wins over Prairie View A&M and Charleston and a loss to Miami.

2. Smith is shooting 54.1 percent from the floor, but he's second on the team behind Ceasar DeJesus (55.0).

3. This matchup will finish off the Highlanders' season-long, four-game road trip.

PREDICTION: UCF 69, NJIT 55