No. 8 Houston overwhelms UCF basketball with defense, physicality

Houston snapped UCF's three-game winning streak Wednesday, Feb. 4, and extended its own run to 11 consecutive head-to-head victories in the rivalry.

Freshmen Kingston Flemings and Chris Cenac Jr. combined for 32 points, and the Cougars' suffocating defense held the Knights (17-5, 6-4 Big 12) to 30.8% shooting in a dominant 79-55 win at the Fertitta Center.

"Houston played terrific," UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said in the postgame press conference. "I thought they defended at a very high level. You have to be able to match their intensity, you have to be able to match their physicality. And we weren't able to match it in this game."

Houston (20-2, 8-1) eclipsed the 20-win mark for the 11th straight campaign. According to the Houston Chronicle's Joseph Duarte, only four Division I programs — Kansas, Gonzaga, Belmont and Oregon — have longer active streaks.

None of UCF's starters finished in double figures as Riley Kugel led the team with nine points despite a 1-for-10 effort from the floor. Themus Fulks, Jamichael Stillwell, Jordan Burks and John Bol had eight points apiece.

It's the second time in three weeks where UCF has been outclassed on the road by a top-10 opponent. Iowa State crushed the Knights 87-57 on Jan. 20.

Here are three takeaways from another dismal Knights visit to the Space City.

UCF scores season-low 19 points in 1st half

Seven turnovers, a handful of rushed shots near the rim and a 1-for-6 shooting effort beyond the 3-point line factored into UCF's worst offensive half of the season.

The Knights entered the break with just 19 points on the board, missing eight of their last 10 shots and connecting on 28% of their field goals overall. Only once before had UCF failed to crack 30 in a half, its aforementioned loss to Iowa State.

UCF hung in for the first 12 minutes, pulling within 15-13 following a Bol dunk. But the Cougars strung together the game's next 12 points with high-percentage looks and smothering the Knights for a scoreless 4:03 stretch.

Houston built a double-digit lead at the half despite misfiring on all 10 of its 3-point attempts. The Cougars then knocked down eight of their first nine shots of the second half, extending the lead to 20.

"When they get on those runs, and this place is electric as it was tonight, they feed on that and they start making plays," Dawkins said.

Houston hands UCF rare, decisive loss on boards

UCF bullied Texas Tech on the glass in its signature win on Jan. 31, but found itself well on the wrong side of the rebound margin against the Cougars.

Houston outrebounded the Knights 40-29, and Joseph Tugler grabbed five of the hosts' 12 offensive boards. The Cougars controlled the paint as well with a 42-14 scoring advantage in tight, hitting 12 layups and four dunks — with Flemings penetrating off the dribble and creating easy weakside lobs for Cenac and Kalifa Sakho.

On paper, this looked like one statistical category in which the Knights presented a potential mismatch.

Houston ranked 13th in the Big 12 and 129th in the country in rebounding margin (+3.9) through Feb. 1. UCF sat third in the conference and 28th throughout D-I (+8.6).

"I thought our guys battled, but I give (Houston) credit. They did a really good job on the boards, made a lot of extra effort, extra plays. And that's what you have to do," Dawkins said. "We've done that as well for a large part throughout this year. Tonight, they did it better than we did."

Rebounding has often proven critical in the outcome for the Knights. They are unbeaten in 16 games in which they have won the battle on the boards.

UCF's rivalry week continues with rematch against Cincinnati

The Knights will head home to regroup before returning to the road this weekend for a Sunday matinee at Cincinnati.

UCF survived 73-72 at the buzzer against the Bearcats on Jan. 11 as Jalen Celestine's potential game-winning three drew iron. Moustapha Thiam set a career high with 24 points against his former team, persevering through a barrage of boos from the Addition Financial Arena crowd.

Fulks provided the heroics, sinking a go-ahead floater with 11.5 seconds left in regulation.

Cincinnati (11-11, 3-6) will have one fewer day to prepare, hosting West Virginia on Thursday. All 11 of the Bearcats' wins this season have come at home.

Cincinnati is 18-7 all-time against UCF, but the Knights have won the last two meetings, including a quarterfinal matchup at the inaugural College Basketball Crown in Las Vegas last April. UCF last defeated the Bearcats in their own building back in 2020, an 89-87 double-overtime thriller.

According to KenPom's metrics, Cincinnati ranks 11th in the nation in defensive efficiency, allowing 94.1 points per 100 possessions.

"I hate to get beat like this, but I think there are lessons we have to learn about just how physical this league is," Dawkins said. "Don't get me wrong; we've faced some teams that have been physical as well already. But they are seeing that consistently, night in and night out, there's going to be no reprieve from that. … You have to expect it, and you have to bring it."

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: UCF Knights basketball: 3 takeaways in loss to Houston Cougars