Central Florida @ Memphis preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 11, 2018 ) Central Florida 68, Memphis 64

Memphis' three-game winning streak came to a screeching halt Thursday as the Tigers came up short at Temple 85-76. Penny Hardaway's troops will face another big challenge on Sunday as they look to defeat American Athletic Conference preseason favorite Central Florida and end the Knights' four-game hold on the Tigers that included victories in both ends of last year's home-and-home series.

For UCF to extend that streak, however, it will need to win consecutive true road games for the first time this season and defeat Memphis on its home court for only the second time ever as the Knights had lost 14 in a row before last year's triumph. But these Knights are proving they can make their own way and they are enjoying their best start since opening the 2003 campaign with 16 wins in the first 18 games. The Tigers are also in the hunt for the conference title, but they won't get there if they shoot as poorly as they did in the loss to Temple, when they wound up hitting just 1-of-23 treys to barely extend their 3-point streak to 605 straight games. "We won every category except for 3-point shooting," Hardaway told reporters. "And it's hard to win like that."

TV: 4 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network

ABOUT UCF (15-3, 5-1 AAC ): Under head coach Johnny Dawkins, the Knights have become known for their defensive prowess and they showed why in shutting down Tulane 75-50 on Wednesday for their biggest margin of victory on the road this season and one of seven times they held an opponent below the 60-point mark. For the year, the Knights sit second in the conference in scoring (63.0) and opponents' field goal percentage (38.7), and they are a perfect 15-0 when leading with two minutes left in the game. The Knights are also developing an offensive personality behind the scoring of BJ Taylor (17.1 ppg) and Aubrey Dawkins (16.2) and UCF leads the AAC in field goal percentage (47.2) while ranking third from long distance (35.2).

ABOUT MEMPHIS (12-7, 4-2): The Tigers couldn't get the job done from beyond the arc against Temple, but they still fought back from a 20-point first-half deficit to make it a two-point game late. Jeremiah Martin continued to play well since returning to point guard as he led the way with 28 points to regain the team scoring lead (15.4 ppg) from forward Kyvon Davenport (14.8). Memphis boasts the conference's top scoring offense (83.6 ppg) and the Tigers have produced a plus-13 rebound margin the last two games after struggling with a minus-33 the prior three games combined.

TIP-INS

1. Memphis owns a huge 21-5 advantage since the teams first met back in 1973 but UCF has won four straight since Jan. 22, 2017.

2. All three Knights losses this season were by single digits.

3. Memphis and UCF both feature father-son duos, with the Tigers featuring coach Penny Hardaway and son, Jayden, while the Knights have coach Johnny Dawkins and son, Aubrey.

PREDICTION: UCF 79, Memphis 76