Central Florida @ Wichita St. preview
Charles Koch Arena
Last Meeting ( Feb 13, 2020 ) Wichita St. 75, Central Florida 58
Like many programs dealing with a disjointed schedule because of COVID-19 disruptions, arrangements for Wichita State's practices have required considerable thought.
"What I want to try to do is just keep these guys as busy as possible," Shockers interim coach Isaac Brown said. "We've got to make practice like a game since so many games are being postponed."
Wichita State (8-4, 4-2 American Athletic Conference) will play just its second game in 18 days Saturday when it hosts UCF (4-6, 2-5) in Wichita, Kan. The clash will be the first of three straight at home, where the Shockers have won six straight in league play dating back to last season.
Back-to-back matchups scheduled against South Florida on Sunday and Cincinnati on Wednesday had to be postponed, the latest in a series of COVID-related issues in the AAC.
Nonetheless, Brown found plenty of details to address with his team in practice, much of it stemming from their worst loss the season, 72-52, at Memphis on Jan. 21.
"We all felt bad after that game. I felt bad all night, all day going into practice," Brown said. "We had film (study). That's when we keep it 100 and we tell the truth and we all called ourselves out on film and we got better."
Against Memphis, misses on all 12 first-half attempts from 3-point range created a big hole. Leading scorer Tyson Etienne, the team's only double-figure scorer (16.7), missed 11 of his 12 field-goal attempts and finished with a season-low three points against the Tigers.
UCF snapped a five-game losing streak, matching the Knights' longest under fifth-year coach Johnny Dawkins, by toppling East Carolina 71-64 on Wednesday.
Although Dawkins faulted the energy of the Knights in the second half when the Pirates rallied, the win should boost his team's confidence.
"We've been in a tough stretch," he said. "A lot of challenges go with it. Getting a win like this will go a long way for the guys in terms of their mindsets."
Dawkins' theory will be severely tested because of a revamped schedule. The Wichita State visit begins a stretch of four games in eight days, including back-to-back games at Memphis on Monday and Wednesday followed by a game against Tulsa on Feb. 6.
"It reminds me of my NBA days. We had these road trips," Dawkins said. "We're going to look at as a positive, playing a lot of basketball, the game we love."
Brandon Mahan leads UCF with a 14.4-point average. Darin Green Jr. (12.9) is shooting 41.4 percent from 3-point range.
--Field Level Media