Joshua Jefferson, No. 9 Iowa State crush shorthanded UCF basketball

Dropping seven spots in this week's USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll after back-to-back road losses, Iowa State took its frustration out on shorthanded UCF on Tuesday, Jan. 20.

Joshua Jefferson had his second triple-double of the season with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists, and Milan Momcilovic led all scorers with 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting as the No. 9 Cyclones throttled UCF 87-57 at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa.

Iowa State (17-2, 4-2) dominated in just about every phase — shooting 50.8% from the field, winning the battle on the boards 38-32, assisting on 22 of 33 field goals and generating 13 steals. UCF (14-4, 3-3) led for a grand total of 64 seconds, thanks to an early Riley Kugel 3-pointer.

Kugel and Jordan Burks shared the team lead for the Knights with 15 points apiece. Themus Fulks was limited to eight points and five assists while committing six of the team's 19 turnovers.

"They're big, they have really good size. They're really skilled. They connect really well. They pass each other the ball," UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said in his postgame press conference. "Turnover ratio, they had 22 assists and five turnovers. They shared well and they have good players."

Suffering back-to-back defeats for the first time this season, UCF has just one road win in program history against a top-10 opponent. The Knights ended then-No. 8 Houston's 33-game home winning streak with a 69-64 upset on March 2, 2019.

Here are three takeaways from UCF's most lopsided loss of the 2025-26 campaign.

Jamichael Stillwell misses 2nd game due to injury

Senior forward Jamichael Stillwell, who started 16 of UCF's prior 17 games, missed out due to injury. Listed as a game-time decision on the Big 12's final availability report, Stillwell had a boot on his left leg, CBS Sports play-by-play announcer Andrew Catalon said during Tuesday's broadcast.

The 6-foot-8 Atlanta native averages 12.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game with five double-doubles on the year. He ranks 29th nationally in offensive boards per game (3.4).

"He is still day-to-day. I'm not sure what his status will be as we go through the week, but he was missed because of the size and physicality of this type of game," Dawkins said.

Devan Cambridge made just his second start for the Knights, his first since Nov. 8. The seventh-year wing had eight points, three rebounds and three blocks in 27 minutes.

Making matters worse down low for the Knights, John Bol found himself in foul trouble all night and Jeremy Foumena took a gnarly second-half spill, his left knee bending awkwardly as his right foot slipped over a loose ball below the rim.

"I don't know exactly what happened with Jeremy," Dawkins said. "I'm not quite sure what the injury is, waiting for the trainer to kind of get feedback."

Iowa State capitalized with 42 points in the paint and 19 off second chances.

Iowa State punishes UCF for 13 first-half turnovers

Iowa State hounded UCF's guards, providing as much on-ball pressure as the Knights have faced all year. The Cyclones forced 13 first-half turnovers, more than UCF averaged on a per-game basis (11.6) entering the night.

And the hosts punished UCF for their repeated giveaways.

In the first seven minutes alone, Iowa State turned six turnovers into 12 points. The Cyclones closed the half on a 13-0 run, holding UCF scoreless over the final 5:45 while inducing another five turnovers.

Tamin Lipsey connected on a 3-pointer with nine seconds left after Fulks failed to corral a rebound along the baseline, sending the Knights into the half in an insurmountable 18-point hole.

"They were very active," Dawkins said. "They made a lot of plays and we haven't been a high turnover team, so this was a little bit uncharacteristic, but I give them credit after they defended very well. They were really active. They had active hands. They made a lot of plays."

UCF's next 2 games have huge NCAA Tournament implications

Losing to top-10 teams will not necessarily harm UCF's hopes of an at-large NCAA Tournament bid. Three of its four defeats have come against the nation's elite — Vanderbilt, Arizona and Iowa State.

However, the Knights must avoid a slide with two-thirds of the conference schedule ahead. Its next two games, for instance, could have greater implications.

UCF travels to Colorado at 3 p.m. Jan. 24, an opponent sitting just outside the Quad 1 road-game range (top-75) ahead of its late Tuesday tipoff with Kansas. The Buffaloes dropped their previous three games but are 9-2 at home this season, nearly staging a 24-point rally Jan. 10 against Texas Tech.

The Knights will then return to Orlando for a two-game homestand, beginning with Arizona State. The Sun Devils are 1-4 in the Big 12 thus far, but showed potential during non-conference with neutral-site wins over Texas and Oklahoma.

Staying near or above .500 in league play is an absolute must for the Knights, in addition to possibly staging another signature win or two. Matchups with Texas Tech, Houston and BYU are further down the road, so those opportunities will present themselves for the remaining six weeks of the regular season.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: UCF Knights basketball: 3 takeaways in 30-point loss to Iowa State