UCF basketball preview: Golden Knights Seek To Rebound At Rice On Saturday Night

CUSA Fans new UCF Correspondent Ryan Westin brings us a preview of the basketball game between the UCF Golden Knights and the Rice Owls.

Kirk Speraw and the Golden Knights, who are seeking their 19 th win of the season, head out to Houston for a Saturday night contest against the Rice Owls. Rice is currently in a two-way tie with the Knights for third place in the conference.

Earlier this week in his weekly radio show, Coach Speraw said that in order for UCF to be considered for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament that they need to finish second in Conference USA. This is that part of the Knights’ schedule that will make or break their chances at dancing in the NCAA tournament. At this time no one is discussing any Conference USA team receiving a bid other than No. 8 Memphis.

Rice and UCF are both coming off mid-week road losses. UCF was ahead early, but was not able to contain the Green Wave's surge in the second half losing 86-80. Rice also faltered down the stretch in their 84-73 defeat at UAB. Morris Almond scored 28 points for the Owls in the loss.

Key to the Game:

Contain Morris
UCF will need to "contain" Morris Almond as they did in their previous meeting this season when Almond was held to 20 points, 13 of which came from the foul line (13-14 FT). Almond is currently leading the conference in scoring with 27.8 ppg and is third in the nation. He also ranks fourth in the conference in rebounds with 6.4 rpg.

Getting to the line
Almond is leading the conference in free throws made with 191, as well as free throws attempted with 222, while shooting a stellar 86 percent from the charity stripe.

Beyond the Arc
UCF is 13-5 when they make seven or more threes in a game.

At the Break
The Knight are 15-2 when leading at halftime.

We Are There
I will be covering this game in person. Look for an upcoming interview with "the voice of UCF athletics" Marc Daniels, as we give you an inside look at what it is like to be the play by play announcer of the Knights.

Who's Next?
The UCF Arena will be rockin' when Southern Miss comes to town on February 21st as the Knights time in their current home starts to wind down. Next season the Golden Knights will begin playing in the 10,000-seat convocation center, which will be located next door to the UCF Arena. Southern Miss is 16-8 on the year and 6-5 in the conference after defeating ECU, 80-42, on Wednesday night in Greenville.