UCF @ Iowa State preview
James H. Hilton Coliseum
Last Meeting ( Mar 2, 2024 ) Iowa State 60, Central Florida 52
After losing a game for the first time in nearly two months, No. 3 Iowa State looks to pick up the pieces in a return home Tuesday to face UCF in a Big 12 Conference game at Ames, Iowa.
Iowa State had the nation's longest winning streak at 12 games before the Cyclones struggled from long range and fell 64-57 at West Virginia on Saturday. They not only went 1 of 17 from 3-point range but were 17 points under their previous low for a game this season.
For the second consecutive game, Iowa State (15-2, 5-1 Big 12) was without Milan Momcilovic, who leads the team with 44.3 percent accuracy from behind the 3-point line.
Momcilovic's absence with a hand injury is expected to continue at least into next month, leaving the Cyclones -- who dipped from No. 2 on Monday in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll -- in need of a dependable offensive strategy moving forward.
"Just continue to evolve as a team and adjust to how we need to play, and how we can do things without that additional shooting threat," Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger said. "We'll work on it, and we'll get better."
Curtis Jones scored 18 points for Iowa State and leads the team with 17.8 points per game. Keshon Gilbert (15.4 points per game) scored 13, while Joshua Jefferson (11.8) added 10. Momcilovic had been scoring 10.3 per game.
Iowa State still leads the Big 12 with 83.8 points per game as a team and is second in overall shooting percentage (49.2) but is eighth in 3-point shooting percentage (34.3).
"(We need) to learn from it, be better for it, and to come out and be at our absolute best on Tuesday evening," Otzelberger said.
UCF (12-5, 3-3) is expected to be properly motivated after a heartbreaking 69-68 home loss to then-No. 10 Houston on Saturday.
Keyshawn Hall went the length of the court to give UCF a 68-67 lead with nine seconds remaining before Houston's J'Wan Roberts slipped inside for a game-winning layup with 1.1 seconds left.
Hall had just six points on 2-for-12 shooting after he scored a career-high 40 points and was 13-for-18 shooting in a 95-89 victory last Tuesday at Arizona State. He added 11 rebounds against the Cougars.
UCF's Moustapha Thiam scored 18 points against Houston, while Jordan Ivy-Curry scored 14 and Darius Johnson added 13. Hall leads the Knights with 16.9 points per game, while Johnson averages 14.9 and Ivy-Curry 14.2.
"This team is definitely growing and getting better," UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said. "I see improvement in our guys, and in practice how we're getting better and closer as teammates. Guys are understanding our system better, and they gave a great effort."
The Knights have alternated wins and losses since Big 12 play began on Dec. 31 and are looking for consecutive victories for the first time since a six-game winning streak that ended on the final day of 2024 with a victory over Texas Tech.
UCF is 1-3 against Top 25 teams this season, earning a 64-61 home win over then-No. 13 Texas A&M in the season opener on Nov. 4.
--Field Level Media