Southern Methodist @ Central Florida preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 10, 2019 ) Central Florida 71, Southern Methodist 65

SMU got back on track Thursday, halting a five-game slide with a 77-59 triumph at home over Connecticut. The Mustangs now look to avenge an earlier 71-65 loss to Central Florida as they visit the Knights for a Sunday afternoon matchup.

This time, the Knights are the ones trying to bounce back as they come off a disappointing 60-55 road loss at No. 25 Cincinnati that ended their three-game winning streak. UCF nearly pulled off the victory in a battle for second place in the American Athletic Conference but came up just short, although head coach Johnny Dawkins didn't want to talk about moral victories afterward. "We know that if we want to do anything special, we've got to stay focused," Dawkins told reporters. "Every game counts the same." The Knights need to put the loss behind them and focus on a Mustangs team that set season bests for field-goal percentage (57.1), field-goal percentage defense (30.0) and blocked shots (eight) in the win over Connecticut.

TV: Noon ET, CBS Sports Network

ABOUT SMU (13-12, 5-8 American): Star guard Jahmal McMurray only played five minutes against UCF two weeks ago and missed all three of his shots as he was struggling with a minor injury, but he has scored 22 and 25 points in the two games since. Sophomore forward Isiaha Mike had back-to-back double-doubles against UCF (18 points, 10 rebounds) and Temple (14 points, 11 rebounds) and he has hit double digits in nine straight games, including 14 points in the win over Connecticut. The Mustangs fell one rebound short of matching the Knights in the earlier meeting, but they have outrebounded 16 opponents this season and are 10-6 when they win the battle of the boards.

ABOUT UCF (19-6, 9-4): Despite falling to Cincinnati, the Knights shut down the conference's leading scorer, Jarron Cumberland, holding him to just 11 points on 3-of-13 shooting. Knights guard Aubrey Dawkins (15.4 ppg) posted a season-high 26 points (9-of-12 shooting) in the earlier win over SMU and had a game-high 18 points against Cincinnati, giving him 23 double-figure scoring outings this season. Senior B.J. Taylor remains the team's leading scorer with 16.7 points per game but was held in check by SMU with just eight points, only the second time all season that he failed to score 10 or more.

TIP-INS

1. SMU holds a slim 11-8 lead in this series, but UCF has won the last two meetings.

2. The Knights need one victory to post their second 20-win season in the last three years.

3. The Mustangs are 10-5 when leading at the half.

PREDICTION: UCF 73, SMU 66