Central Florida @ Tulane preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 4, 2018 ) Tulane 51, Central Florida 60

Central Florida got back on track Saturday, rebounding from their only conference loss -- 75-67 to Wichita State -- to defeat Tulsa 64-62 to match the school's best start in American Athletic Conference play (4-1). Now the Knights head on the road, where they are just 1-2 this season, for a Wednesday night meeting with a Tulane team that has lost seven in a row after falling to Connecticut 87-71 Saturday.

Getting back in the win column wasn't easy for the Knights, who sputtered at the start before finally fighting back. "It was a real test of our guys' will," Knights head coach Johnny Dawkins told reporters afterward, "especially getting down by as many as 15 in the first half. I thought our guys responded. In the second half, we were a different team. We started locking in defensively better and offense came from that." The Knights expect to battle for the AAC title and can't afford another slip-up against a team that is winless in conference action as they did a week ago against Wichita State, which came into the matchup without a league win but left with one. The Green Wave's last victory was over a month ago at home against Texas Southern, but the offense is beginning to come around again, hitting the 70-point mark in each of the last two games after failing to register more than 65 during the first five games of their seven-game skid.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN3

ABOUT UCF (14-3, 4-1 AAC): The Knights have shown offensive improvement from a year ago, led by the trio of guards B.J. Taylor (17.1 ppg) and Aubrey Dawkins (16.0) and 7-6 center Tacko Fall (10.3), but the scoring (74.5 ppg on the season) has dropped in recent weeks after averaging 68 points in the last four games. Sophomore forward Collin Smith stepped up to help propel the Knights to their comeback victory over Tulsa with all 13 of his points in the second half, including nine during a critical four-minute stretch. Johnny Dawkins' defense remains the team's focal point as opponents are shooting just 39 percent and averaging 63.8 points against UCF.

ABOUT TULANE (4-13, 0-5): With the Green Wave continuing to struggle, junior forward Samir Sehic is the only player to start every game this season as the team has opened with seven different starting lineups, including new ones in each of the last three games. Sehic has recorded six double-doubles, with two in the last three games after he came up short in the recent loss to UConn with 13 points and six rebounds. UConn shot 60.6 percent from the floor and 50 percent from beyond the arc in the second half against Tulane and overall shot 50.7 percent and now the Green Wave face a UCF team leading the conference in both field goal (47.5) and 3-point (35.8) percentage.

TIP-INS

1. UCF owns a 14-3 lead in the season series after winning the last two meetings, with a 7-2 advantage in New Orleans.

2. The Knights have shot over 50 percent from the floor in three of their last six games.

3. The Green Wave hit a season-low three 3-pointers in the loss to UConn.

PREDICTION: UCF 72, Tulane 58