The Legacy of Coach Nolan (ch2k8)

[nolan887]

Re: Top 25 Polls

Good start so far, although it's somewhat deceiving since your schedule has been quite fluffy. That said, you look like you may be able to give Memphis a run for their money in C-USA this year.

Yea, I'm definitely going to customize my schedule for next season. I only play Memphis once in conference play, and then possibly a second time in the conference tournament. I am the lowest overall rated team in C-USA, so it should be interesting to see how well I do in conference play.

[nolan887]

Re: The Legacy of Coach Nolan (ch2k8)

NOLAN COACHES KNIGHTS TO FIFTH STRAIGHT WIN

UCF Knights (11-2) at UTEP Miners (7-7)
Don Haskins Center
El Paso, TX
January 8, 2014

El Paso, TX - Conference USA play started today with the UTEP Miners hosting the UCF Knights at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso. While some say that Coach Nolan scheduled an easy schedule to make himself look better, he proved them wrong by going out and beating a superior UTEP team on the road today. As has been their modus operandi for most of their games this season, the Knights' big men Pearson and Kleinzweig pounded the rock down low scoring 28 and 20 points respectively. UCF was also able to win the turnover battle which has been plaguing them all season by only turning the ball over 10 times to UTEP's 13. After a good bounce back from his injury last game against Radford, Dominik Hill was cold from the floor all day today. He went 0-4 from 3pt range and 1-6 from the field, tallying only 2 points. While we wont write him off due to a poor performance in one game, it will be critical to the Knights to have Hill back to 100% health and certainly something to watch out for.

"Like I said early this season, when we get Kody and Pearson going in the same game, we are a very hard team to beat," Coach Nolan said after the win. "It is great to have Pearson putting up the numbers he is this year as a junior because he is pushing Kody to be a better player while both of them are greatly contributing for our success. We went out there today and put the game out of reach from the get-go. Moe Jelenic had a good game for the Miners, but you can't overlook the fact that most of his points came against our bench players in the second half. I'm not knocking his skills, I'm just saying. It is great to start the conference play off with a win, and now we have to shift all of our focus to a great Memphis squad on Saturday. Perennial C-USA coach of the year Calipari will be a tough guy to game plan for, but we are up to the challenge."

The Knights' 9 point halftime lead was as much as 18 before the Miners went on a scoring run to close out the game, but unfortunately for UTEP it was too little too late. UCF was able to go out today and play solid defense, win the turnover battle, and rest many of their starters. If this continues, the Knights might be the most well rested team going into the conference tournament at the end of the regular season, and that could prove very deadly.

University of Central Florida (11-2) at University of Texas: El Paso (7-7)
January 8, 2014 1 2 F University of Central Florida 43 32 75 University of Texas: El Paso 34 32 66 Top Performers University of Central Florida - Stats Pearson Shannon - 28 Pts, 7 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk Kody Kleinzweig - 20 Pts, 4 Reb, 5 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 Blk University of Texas: El Paso - Stats Moe Jelenic - 25 Pts, 5 Reb, 2 Ast Tristan Benson - 6 Pts, 4 Reb, 6 Ast, 3 Stl	Team Stat Comparison UCF UTEP FG Made-Attempted 29-65 23-59 3P Made-Attempted 0-4 4-21 FT Made-Attempted 17-28 16-21 Rebounds 38 34 Assists 20 18 Steals 11 9 Blocks 3 3 Turnovers 10 13

[nolan887]

UCF vs. Memphis

NOLAN'S KNIGHTS STUN THE WORLD

UCF Knights (12-2) vs. Memphis Tigers (11-4)
UCF Arena
Orlando, FL
January 11, 2014

Orlando, FL - The outcome of today's game was already set in stone by almost all members of the media and anyone who a fan of college basketball. Memphis, a team ranked #13 in the country going into the season, against UCF, the team picked to finish last in the conference this year. Obviously the Tigers were going to show up in Orlando, quickly dismantle the Knights, and head on back to Tennessee, right? Wrong. Despite the Tigers having two starting guards with NBA Lottery buzz going around already, the Knights were able to play their game and hold on for Coach Nolan's first signature win at UCF. Memphis started of the game on an 11-2 run, but the Knights quickly rallied back and went into halftime with a 17 point lead, a lead they would never give up. The Knights followed their usual plan of attacking the basket with their big men, and Memphis just could not stop them. Only seven minutes into the game, Memphis had four of their starters on the bench with 2 fouls each, and the Knights capitalized. The Tigers are known more for their defense this year, but they can't stop the opposition while they are on the bench. By halftime, the Tigers racked up a ridiculous twenty team fouls, and added fifteen more in the second half, having two players foul out.

"I had to back up my Calipari call out from earlier this season," Nolan explained. "After our big game against Kennesaw State earlier this season I told you guys to tell Calipari to watch out, and I guess he wasn't listening. We were able to get to the line an unfathomable 49 times, and cashed in on 32 of those shots. Unfortunately, we turned the ball over a ton again today, but you have to credit the Tiger defense for those, their half court press in the second half had us baffled there for a while. Kody was on the bench for a while with foul trouble, but Pearson put up another great game and Armando Ross came off the bench with a great effort of his own. It was so great to be able to win a big game like this at home and really have the fans' and community's support. I know some people were doubting our talent, and I think this just goes to show you that we are for real."

If you look at the comparison of the teams' stats, you would think that Memphis surely won the game. After all, they took 26 more shots, made 5 more three-pointers, had 8 more steals, and had 10 less turnovers. A big part of the Knights' victory was that they shot 44% from the floor, and were able to keep the Memphis guards at bay, holding them to only 24% from 3 point land, and in foul trouble for most of the game. Pearson Shannon nearly had a double-double with 19 points and 9 rebounds, and Armando Ross filled in for the foul-troubled Kody Kleinzweig with 19 points of his own. After finishing last in the conference last year, many people are shocked by UCF's great start this year, especially this win, and are starting to really believe in Coach Nolan.

University of Memphis (11-4) at University of Central Florida (12-2)
January 11, 2014 1 2 F University of Memphis 31 43 74 University of Central Florida 48 35 83 Top Performers University of Memphis - Stats Steven Goodson - 18 Pts, 2 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 Stl Jason Wisniewski - 14 Pts, 2 Reb, 8 Ast, 10 Stl University of Central Florida - Stats Pearson Shannon - 21 Pts, 9 Reb, 2 Blk, 1 Stl Armando Ross - 19 Pts, 3 Reb, 1 Stl, 1 Blk	Team Stat Comparison UM UCF FG Made-Attempted 28-83 25-57 3P Made-Attempted 6-25 1-4 FT Made-Attempted 12-20 32-49 Rebounds 42 48 Assists 18 20 Steals 19 11 Blocks 3 7 Turnovers 13 23

[Deuce2223]

Re: UCF vs. Memphis

Congrats. Huge win for you now and for the future of the program.

[nolan887]

Re: UCF vs. Memphis

Congrats. Huge win for you now and for the future of the program.

Thanks, I have no idea how I did it to be honest. All of the sudden it was half time and I was up huge. I'm pretty sure I just dominated the first half because their starters were sitting with 2 fouls each, but sh*t happens. As long as I can finish strong this season, I think I'll make the tourney. Memphis was ranked 13 pre-season and has no ranking as of now so I feel like they may be having an off season which is a perfect time for me to sneak in and steal the C-USA tourney bid.

[nolan887]

UCF @ Tulsa

KNIGHTS COME OUT FLAT AFTER BIG WIN

UCF Knights 12-3 (2-1) at Tulsa Golden Hurricanes 7-4 (1-1)
Reynolds Center
Tulsa, OK
January 15, 2014

Tulsa, OK - After an impressive win over Memphis that made the UCF Knights look like one of the teams to beat in the Conference USA, the Knights came out flat against an average Tulsa team tonight. After a game of prestigious defense against the Tigers, UCF's defense looked horrendous allowing the Golden Hurricanes to shoot 58% from the floor. On the opposite end of the court the Knights offense was no help either, shooting 25-85 (29%) from the floor and 0-10 from beyond the arc. It seemed that everything UCF did right against Memphis last game they did wrong this game against Tulsa.

"We played like garbage," a disappointed Nolan commented after the game. "Pearson and Kody put up solid numbers, but most of those buckets game against the end of Tulsa's bench. We were able to keep down on the turnovers, but it didn't matter because when we did have the ball we ended up missing shots and letting the Hurricanes snatch up all the rebounds. Our lack of outside shooting is also becoming a big problem, we hope to work on that with some of our players and maybe try to recruit some three point specialists for next year's team as well. For now we will have to work on changing our weaknesses to strengths and focus on ECU."

Tulsa came up with 13 more rebounds than UCF and had 10 more assists. The height match-ups down low are clearly shown in the rebounding and blocks categories in the box score. Tulsa's big men were effectively able to shut down Shannon and Kleinzweig for almost the whole game. As Coach Nolan stated, most of their points came against the 10-11-12 players from Tulsa's bench. Next up for the Knights are the East Carolina University Pirates who hope to be the first team to knock off the Knights in Orlando.

Central Florida (12-3) at Tulsa (7-4)
January 15, 2014 1 2 F Central Florida 39 33 72 Tulsa 56 49 105 Top Performers Central Florida - Stats Pearson Shannon - 21 Pts, 8 Reb, 4 Stl, 2 Blk Kody Kleinzweig - 17 pts, 7 Reb, 3 Blk Tulsa - Stats Trevor Calvert - 24 Pts, 2 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl Sammy Thues - 17 Pts, 4 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 Stl	Team Stat Comparison UCF UT FG Made-Attempted 25-85 39-67 3P Made-Attempted 0-10 6-10 FT Made-Attempted 22-33 21-26 Rebounds 34 47 Assists 13 23 Steals 13 8 Blocks 6 10 Turnovers 8 17

[nolan887]

UCF vs ECU

KNIGHTS BOUNCE BACK, PUNISH THE PIRATES

UCF Knights 13-3 (3-1) vs ECU Pirates 11-7 (1-2)
UCF Arena
Orlando, FL
January 18, 2014

Orlando, FL - As they have done after each loss this season, the UCF Knights learned from their mistakes and won big. The ECU Pirates stood no chance against Nolan's squad who were fired up from their loss against Tulsa earlier this week. Kody Kleinzweig was in a little bit of foul trouble in the first half, but by the time the second half started the Knights had already put the game out of reach. Pearson Shannon had another solid game and Dominik Hill found his stroke, shooting 2-5 from deep and scoring a game high 14 points. The Knights played great defense and were able to hold ECU to just 19-70 from the floor, a lowly 27%. The Knights were also able to cash in 21 of 28 times from the charity stripe while the Pirates only had one trip to the line the entire game.

"We talked a lot about defense since our last game," Coach Nolan explained after the game. "After we let Tulsa shoot 60% last week, we knew we really had to step it up on the defensive side of the ball, and we ended up holding this Pirates team to less than half of that. It was nice to see Dom step his game up with Kody on the bench. Heck, it was nice to see everybody step their game up. Nobody on our squad left this game without scoring one basket, that is great team basketball right there."

The UCF Knights lead almost all categories including field goal percentage, three-point percentage, free throw makes and attempts, rebounds, assists, blocks, and turnovers. The Knights dominated the boards all night, out rebounding the Pirates 52-27. Pearson Shannon recorded 10 of those rebounds himself on his way to yet another double-double effort this season. With the departure of Kody Kleinzweig after this season, we can only hope that Shannon can step it up and become an even bigger terror in the paint for the Knights next season. Next up on UCF's slate is their heated Big East rival, the USF Bulls. The game will be played in the USF Sun Dome in Tampa, just a short two hour bus ride across the state.

East Carolina (11-7) at Central Florida (13-3)
January 18, 2014 1 2 F East Carolina 26 16 42 Central Florida 42 32 74 Top Performers East Carolina - Stats Craig Bishop - 8 Pts, 5 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Blk Brennan Didlake - 8 Pts, 4 Reb, 4 Stl, 1 Blk Central Florida - Stats Pearson Shannon - 14 Pts, 10 Reb, 1 Stl, 3 Blk Dominik Hill - 14 Pts (2-5 3pt), 3 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Stl	Team Stat Comparison ECU UCF FG Made-Attempted 19-70 25-63 3P Made-Attempted 2-21 3-7 FT Made-Attempted 2-2 21-28 Rebounds 27 52 Assists 9 18 Steals 6 5 Blocks 4 5 Turnovers 8 7

[Deuce2223]

Re: UCF vs ECU

Wow nice job on stepping up the D. You go from giving up 100+ to holding ECU to just 42. What kind of insperational words did Coach Nolan have for the troops to get that kind of turn around??

[nolan887]

Re: UCF vs ECU

Wow nice job on stepping up the D. You go from giving up 100+ to holding ECU to just 42. What kind of insperational words did Coach Nolan have for the troops to get that kind of turn around??

many, many four letter words.

[nolan887]

Re: The Legacy of Coach Nolan (ch2k8)

KNIGHTS OUTLAST BIG EAST RIVAL BULLS

UCF Knights 14-3 (3-1 C-USA) at USF Bulls 8-10 (1-5 Big East)
USF Sun Dome
Tampa, FL
January 22, 2014

Tampa, FL - The USF Bulls may not be in the UCF Knights' conference, but that doesn't take anything away from their fierce rivalry. While USF plays in the Big East and is almost always a better team than UCF, this year did not play out that way. The Knights were at the Bulls' throats from the get go and had the pedal to the medal all game. A ten point halftime lead turned into a fifteen point win for the Knights at USF Sun Dome in Tampa. The Knights were welcomed into Tampa by thousands of Bulls fans who wanted nothing more than to send the Knights on their way with their heads in their hands. With an amazing performance by Kody Kleinzweig and J.J. Bone's first big game of the season, the Knights were easily able to dispatch the hapless Bulls. USF, who is having a big of a down year starting their Big East play at 1-5, had solid performances from Rodrigo Evanstar and Brady Santiago, but not much help from any of their other players.

"Evenstar was one of our top recruits last year at USC Upstate, so it was nice to be able to beat him this year and show him why he should have played for me," said Coach Nolan after the big win. "But seriously, he is a great player, and his performance in their loss today just shows you that I did have a good reason for recruiting him. He had 20 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks, WOW... who wouldn't want him? We really had no answer for him today, but fortunately for us he was one of the only Bulls players to show up to play today. I guess USF has just gotten so used to us being an easy win that they overlooked us for their next Big East game. However it panned out in their heads, we left with a big road win, and we are looking forward to keep this momentum up to close out the rest of our conference play this season."

Kody Kleinzweig had a game high 27 points and a game high 11 rebounds, recording yet another double-double for his senior season. J.J. Bone also had a huge contribution for the Knights putting up 15 points, 11 assists, and 3 rebounds in his own double-double effort. As Coach Nolan commented, Evenstar had a team-high 20 points, and a team-high 7 rebounds for the USF Bulls. Brady Santiago was the only other player in double digits for the Bulls scoring 17 points in their losing effort. This was the UCF Knights' last non-conference game on the season until a possible post-season appearance. The Knights' next opponent are the UAB Blazers, in Birmingham. The Knights hope to keep up their momentum and stay atop the C-USA. They are currently tied for first place with Memphis and Rice, all with a conference record of 3-1.

Central Florida (14-3) at South Florida (8-10)
January 22, 2014 1 2 F Central Florida 47 38 85 South Florida 37 33 70 Top Performers Central Florida - Stats Rodrigo Evanstar - 20 Pts, 7 Reb, 5 Ast, 3 Stl, 2 Blk Brady Santiago - 17 Pts, 2 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl South Florida - Stats Kody Kleinzweig - 27 Pts, 11 Reb, 3 Stl, 1 Blk J.J. Bone - 15 Pts, 3 Reb, 11 Ast	Team Stat Comparison UCF USF FG Made-Attempted 33-69 27-74 3P Made-Attempted 1-8 2-17 FT Made-Attempted 18-26 14-21 Rebounds 40 38 Assists 22 17 Steals 10 14 Blocks 7 7 Turnovers 16 14

[nolan887]

new half lengths

NOTE: I have been using rspencer's 20 minute sliders, but I am not happy with the amount of shots I have been taking and the overall scores of my games. For the rest of this season I will be using 16 minute half lengths.

[nolan887]

UCF @ UAB

HILL'S LATE GAME HEROICS HELPS UCF SLAY BLAZERS

UCF Knights 15-3 (4-1) at UAB Blazers 13-5 (2-2)
Bartow Arena
Birmingham, AL
January 25, 2014

Birmingham, AL - In a game that UCF had no business winning, UAB was looking to shut the door with 1:20 left on the clock. Instead, Dominik Hill brought the ball down the court and drained a three pointer with 54 seconds left. In an act only comparable to Reggie Miller, Hill stole the inbound pass, dropped back behind the arc, and drained a second 3 pointer in six seconds. With the six point swing, the Knights saw their first lead of the second half. Hill, a senior for the Knights who has been inconsistent to say the least this season, single-handedly won the game for UCF. Six thousand UAB fans were in shock watching their Blazers run down and miss a three pointer, leading to a foul and Pearson Shannon draining 1 of 2 free throws to close out the game.

"I may be dating myself here, but was that not Reggie Miller re-incarnate?" a shocked Coach Nolan asked after the game. "To be completely honest, I didn't even see it happen. Kody had just fouled out on one of, if not the dumbest play of his career and I was giving him an earful before I heard the whole stadium go quiet. I turned around and was able to see Dom steal the inbound and give us the lead with 30 seconds left on the clock. Luckily our one point lead held up as the Blazers held for the last shot and came up short before having to foul us with 3 seconds left. We've been preaching ball control and smart defense all season, neither of which we executed today, but we did come out with a win. Hopefully we can clean our play up and come out with another win against a great Tulane team next week."

Dominik Hill, the hero of the game, went 2-3 from deep and only had six points, the six that sealed the game for the Knights. Kody Kleinzweig who was in foul trouble all game long and fouled out with a minute and a half to go put up 16 points while grabbing four rebounds and J.J. Bone had another solid effort putting up 10 points, grabbing 5 rebounds, dishing out 7 assists, and 1 steal. The Knights turned the ball over 12 times against UAB's 18, but 12 turnovers is still more than Coach Nolan would like to see out of his squad. With Kleinzweig out most of the game, the Blazers were able to grab 11 more rebounds than the Knights. Although the Knights should have theoretically lost this game, a win is a win, and an even bigger win because it was on the road. Next up for the Knights are the Tulane Green Wave in Orlando where Coach Nolan hopes to keep his home undefeated streak intact.

Central Florida (15-3) at Alabama Birmingham (13-5)
January 25, 2014 1 2 F Central Florida 29 40 69 Alabama Birmingham 32 35 67 Top Performers Central Florida - Stats Kody Kleinzweig - 16 Pts, 4 Reb, J.J. Bone - 10 Pts, 5 Reb, 7 Ast, 1 Stl Alabama Birmingham - Stats Rick Cannon - 16 Pts, 13 Reb, 2 Ast, 4 Stl Stefan McGuire - 14 Pts, 1 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Blk	Team Stat Comparison UCF UAB FG Made-Attempted 23-47 24-53 3P Made-Attempted 2-3 3-11 FT Made-Attempted 21-34 16-23 Rebounds 23 34 Assists 15 13 Steals 14 12 Blocks 3 2 Turnovers 12 18

[Deuce2223]

Re: The Legacy of Coach Nolan (ch2k8)

Congrats on the big instate win. Anytime UCF can beat USF,Miami FL, Florida or Florida State that has to be a big boost in the recruiting for the school and Coach Nolan.

[nolan887]

UCF vs. Tulane

KNIGHTS HANG ON TO WIN, REMAIN UNDEFEATED AT HOME

UCF Knights 16-3 (5-1) vs Tulane Green Wave 14-5 (3-3)
UCF Arena
Orlando, FL
January 29, 2014

Orlando, FL - Most of the Knights' games this season have been blowouts one way or the other, but not tonight. The Knights went into the halftime up just five points, and held on to match the Green Waves' point total in the second half. Kody Kleinzweig and Pearson Shannon put up their normal solid numbers, the latter recording yet another double-double. The Knights were able to handle their turnover issue a little better this game, only recording 8 turnovers against Tulane's 15. The UCF big men were great on offense and defense, but the defensive play from UCF's guards left something to be desired. Tulane's starting shooting guard Aron Nelke was too much for Dominik Hill or J.J. Bone to handle. While they struggled to defend him, Nelke was able to hit 3 of his 6 three-point shots, recording 19 points and 6 assists in the game.

Coach Nolan seemed to be indifferent after the win, lacking his usual enthusiasm after a win. "We wont, but it wasn't the greatest thing ever," he explained. "We shot nearly 52% on offense, which is great, but at the same time we laid an egg on defense and let Tulane shoot 49% at the other end of the floor. A win is a win, but I am not convinced we played up to our potential today. Pearson put up another double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, and it just seemed like he couldn't miss a shot today. We also had some solid guard play off the bench on offense, but defensively we really couldn't stop anybody. Luckily the second half was almost basket for basket every trip down the floor and we held on for the win. Hopefully we can step it up on the defensive end next game and really show the critics that we are a force to be reckoned with."

Among their defensive problems, the Knights failed to cash in from the charity stripe. Of their 36 shots from the line, they were only able to come through on 19, shooting an ugly 52% on what should be their easiest points. The Knights played a superior game and lead the stat sheet in almost every category: shooting percentage, rebounds, assists, and turnovers. The only category the Green Wave held the edge in was blocks, winning that battle 5-1, but most of their blocks came against ill advised drives from a 5'-9" J.J. Bone against Tulane's big men. Next up for UCF are the ECU Pirates, whom the Knights beat by 32 points earlier this season. ECU will likely be looking for vengeance on their home court to rectify their embarrassment.

With this most recent win and Memphis' loss to Rice, the UCF Knights are tied for first place with the Rice Owls. Both teams are standing with a conference record of 5-1 while the Tigers dropped to 4-2 in the conference.

Tulane (14-5) at Central Florida (16-3)
January 29, 2014 1 2 F Tulane 29 36 65 Central Florida 34 36 70 Top Performers Tulane - Stats Aron Nelke - 19 Pts (3-6 3pt), 1 Reb, 6 Ast, 1 Stl Keontra Perry - 11 Pts, 9 Reb, 1 Stl, 2 Blk Central Florida - Stats Kody Kleinzweig - 21 Pts, 3 Reb Pearson Shannon - 16 Pts, 11 Reb, 2 St	Team Stat Comparison TU UCF FG Made-Attempted 24-49 25-48 3P Made-Attempted 4-15 1-1 FT Made-Attempted 13-13 19-36 Rebounds 20 30 Assists 17 19 Steals 6 14 Blocks 5 1 Turnovers 15 8

[nolan887]

UCF @ ECU

PIRATES FALL AGAIN, KNIGHTS CLAIM FIRST PLACE

UCF Knights 17-3 (6-1) at ECU Pirates 12-9 (2-4)
Williams Arena
Greenville, NC
February 1, 2014

Greenville, NC - It was just two weeks ago when the UCF Knights dismantled the ECU Pirates in Orlando. Being embarrassed by 32 points should have been enough motivation for the Pirates to come out and play a great game against the Knights at home, but the Pirates seemingly learned nothing from their previous loss. For the second time this season, Central Florida was able to quickly dispatch of East Carolina. Leading the way for the Knights' offense were Kody Kleinzweig and Pearson Shannon, both recording double-doubles. The Knights played shut-down defense and were able to hold the Pirates to only 28% shooting from the floor and only 14% from 3-point range. To even better their chances of winning, UCF had a season low 3 turnovers in this game while taking the ball away from the Pirates 10 times. Only one ECU player scored in the double digits, and he only did so by draining some free throws very late in the game. UCF was also able to bounce back from their terrible charity stripe performance last game (52%) and cash in 21 of 27 times from the line this game (78%).

"This is how we want to play every game," Nolan proclaimed after the game. "Granted we want to shoot better from the floor, 32% is quite low for us this season, but we did everything else exactly as planned. We only had 3 turnovers and we played great defense, two things we have stressed the most in practices this year. It is great to see the kids respond to their coaching and not just go out running and gunning with no regard to their teammates. Kody and Pearson both putting up double-double efforts certainly didn't work against us either. ECU is a tough team, but it looks like we simply out-match them in size, skill, and effort this year."

Kleinzweig had 16 points and 12 rebounds with 2 blocks and Shannon recorded 10 points, 10 rebounds, 1 block, and 4 steals. Dominik Hill also recorded 10 points in this game, shooting 1-3 from downtown and grabbing 3 boards and 1 assist. It is interesting to note that Shannon, a Forward, is second on the team in the steals category. It isn't very often that you see a power forward with such quick hands and ball hawking skills while scoring double digits and grabbing ten plus rebounds a game. The Knights feel good about this win, but they have to wonder if it would have gone differently had they been playing a better team. It doesn't look like 32% from the floor is going to be enough for UCF to win most games, but then again the usually don't shoot 32%. The Houston Cougars are the next match-up for the Knights. The game will be played in Houston. The Knights have only lost three games this season, but one must note that all three have been on the road.

In other Conference USA news this week, the Rice Owls lost their second conference game. With this loss and the UCF Knights' win at ECU, the Knights now are the sole owners of first place in the conference. Tied for second place are the Rice Owls and the Memphis Tigers. UCF beat the tigers earlier this season, and is scheduled to play Rice in a few weeks. If the Knights can keep it up, it looks like they have a shot to win the conference in Nolan's first year coaching which would be amazing as UCF finished dead last in C-USA last year before firing their head coach.

Central Florida (17-3) at East Carolina (12-9)
February 1, 2014 1 2 F Central Florida 35 27 62 East Carolina 25 17 42 Top Performers Central Florida - Stats Kody Kleinzweig - 16 Pts, 12 Reb, 2 Blk Pearson Shannon - 10 Pts, 10 Reb, 1 Blk, 4 Stl East Carolina - Stats Gilson Noel - 10 Pts, 3 Reb Dominik Kapono - 8 Pts, 4 Reb, 7 Ast	Team Stat Comparison UCF ECU FG Made-Attempted 20-58 16-56 3P Made-Attempted 1-8 3-21 FT Made-Attempted 21-27 7-11 Rebounds 42 30 Assists 14 13 Steals 6 3 Blocks 7 5 Turnovers 3 10