Conference USA Tournament - Opening Round, Evening Session

(9) Central Florida 69, (8) Southern Methodist 53

March Madness didn't quite take over the BOK Center on Wednesday evening, but a team with a surprising yet little known March history, the Central Florida Golden Knights, notched the first “upset” of the C-USA Tournament, a 69-53 smackdown of eighth-seeded Southern Methodist.  Kirk Speraw's squad was far from perfect in its win, but the Knights played with a sense of awareness and joie de vivre that was best exemplified by UCF's 26 dimes, dished out on 29 field goals.  Any team that plays the type of ball Central Florida played Wednesday night is a dangerous team. 

The Big Picture:   Nine-seed Central Florida erased an 18-11 first half deficit with a 24-12 spurt that turned a deficit into a 34-30 halftime lead.  Despite some anxious moments early in the second half, the Golden Knights continued to extend their lead throughout the final stanza, eventually coasting to the finish line with a bulge that never dipped below 10 points in the final 10 minutes of the game. 

The Good:   The Golden Knights are one of the tallest teams in C-USA and Speraw's side took full advantage, relentlessly pounding the rock inside against a much smaller SMU team.  UCF outscored SMU in the paint, 32-16.  The Golden Knights also shot 54 % for the game.  This was due entirely to UCF's bigs, Keith Clanton and A.J. Tyler, and their ability to get the rock in good positions in the post. When they made catches in preferred spots on the floor, Clanton and Tyler converted their chances. The Golden Knights' interior duo combined to go 10-of-13 from the field.  When your bigs make nearly 77 % of their shots, you're going to win ballgames. 

The Bad: SMU's second half collapse was, if not epic, relatively substantial.  The Mustangs did almost nothing right in the second half, as the Golden Knights continued to extend their lead.  SMU turned the rock over 11 times in the final 20 minutes of the game.  The Ponies bricked freebies, going 9-of-14 from the line.  They managed only a single second chance point, and they misfired on all four 3-point shots.  That’s not quite the type of play that's required to survive and advance in a conference tournament.

The Ugly: Not even pre-tension-building workout Charles Atlas got pushed around as much as the Mustangs did in the frontcourt on Wednesday night.  Not only did Tyler and Clanton get easy looks in the paint all game, but they also helped UCF to a 27-18 rebounding advantage, which includes a 9-4 dusting of SMU on the offensive boards.

What’s Next

SMU coach Matt Doherty's next move should be to create an off-season workout program that helps his team to get tougher.  He may want to consult comic book ads for the Charles Atlas dynamic tension workout system.  As for Central Florida, the Knights live to fight another day.  Quarterfinal opponent UTEP figures to pose a much stiffer test than did SMU, but UCF has, at best, a puncher’s chance on Thursday evening.  It's a slender reed, but it's March and history tells us anything can happen.