Knights fall to bottom of conference

The UCF Knights are in a tailspin after wowing the nation with a winning streak that put them in the Top 25 polls for the first time.

In the depths of conference play, the Knights, who started the season with 14 straight wins, haven’t won a game since Jan. 5.

“Our guys have to find a way to overcome adversity, and we haven’t,” Head Coach Donnie Jones said.

During their 180-degree shift from their season-opening dominance, the Knights have lost 4 out of 5 Conference USA contests, including two recent back-to-back losses at home.

The odd turn of events as the Knights entered conference play has led to one of the strangest records in NCAA mens basketball. In the 12-team Conference USA, the Knights have the third best overall record at 14-4, and are tied for the worst conference record, at 1-4.

All the more painful for the Knights was their most recent loss, which came at home in front of the third largest crowd in UCF history, against the Rice, which has by far the worst overall record in the conference at 9-10.

The Knights fell 57-50 in a botched comeback attempt against the Owls on Jan. 22. The Knights had been down by as much as 12 points before rallying back to within one with less than 30 seconds on the clock.

The Knights have seen their shooting collapse in the last four games. After averaging more than 50 points during their wild season-opening winning streak, the Knights have shot less than 40 percent in their losses.

Against Rice, they shot only 30.4 percent. The team’s leading scorer, Marcus Jordan, didn’t hit a single shot outside the foul line. There he excelled where many Knights had failed, hitting 10 free throws to help bolster his team’s eventually failed effort.

The Knights hit the road for a Wednesday night showdown against Memphis, which is tied for first in conference play at 4-1. That game, after press time, was televised on CBS College.