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UCF and Tulsa will test their mettle against each other on Saturday afternoon in the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic in Sunrise, Fla.

The Knights will make their first appearance in the event since recording a two-point loss to Missouri in 2022, while Tulsa’s last trip to the Orange Bowl Classic was a loss to Florida State in 2012.

UCF (7-2) may have something to prove being away from Addition Financial Arena. The Knights are 7-0 at home, whereas a November trip to the Greenbrier Tip-Off in West Virginia produced an 86-70 loss to Wisconsin and a triple-overtime setback against LSU.

The Knights relied heavily on their defense in Sunday’s 66-51 win over Tarleton State.

After a sluggish start offensively, UCF found its rhythm during a 37-point second half. Jordan Ivy-Curry finished with a game-high 16 points and freshman center Moustapha Thiam collected 10 points, nine rebounds and six blocks.

UCF’s Big 12 opener draws closer (at Texas Tech, Dec. 31), but head coach Johnny Dawkins remains focused on daily improvement.

“I feel a sense of urgency to get better, not with regards to Big 12 play to be quite frank, but every game,” Dawkins said. “I don’t look too far in the future. Pretty much I’ve always been in the moment as a player and as a person, and so for me it’s about just getting better because it’s our standards.”

Tulsa (4-6) looks to stop a three-game slide following a 70-66 home loss to Southern University last Saturday.

Keaston Willis scored in double figures for the sixth time this season, netting a season-high 23 points off the bench. But Isaiah Barnes, one of three Golden Hurricane players to start all 10 games, was injured in the first half and played only eight minutes.

To complicate matters, head coach Eric Konkol’s team is 0-6 when trailing at halftime.

“We got to get some guys healthy that can be healthy for next Saturday (against UCF),” Konkol said. “We got a couple other guys dealing with some different things, but then (also) having some planning to figure out what’s the best way going forward for this group.”

–Field Level Media