For the second consecutive season, Kansas begins its Big 12 Conference road schedule with a tough test in the Sunshine State as the No. 7 Jayhawks square off against the surging UCF Knights on Sunday at Orlando, Fla.
The first-ever meeting between the programs happened last January in Orlando and did not go as planned for the Jayhawks in a 65-60 loss when they were ranked No. 3.
Whether Kansas (9-3, 0-1 Big 12) exacts payback against UCF (10-2, 1-0) will likely depend on what type of energy and enthusiasm the Jayhawks bring to the game.
Kansas finds itself in rebound mode after dropping its Big 12 home opener to unranked and undermanned West Virginia on New Year’s Eve. Coach Bill Self pointed to the interest level — or lack thereof — as a key contributor to a 62-61 loss, when the Jayhawks trailed by as many as 18 in the second half.
Cold shooting — aside from the free-throw line where Kansas made a season-high 19 of their 21 attempts — didn’t help either. The Jayhawks missed 12 of 16 3-pointers and shot 38.8 percent overall from the floor.
The loss brought an end to Kansas’ 33-game winning streak in conference openers, dating back to the 1991-92 season.
“We won 33 in a row to start the league, so half of those were on the road,” Self said. “We put ourselves in a situation where there’s obviously less margin for error if the goal is to win the league. And it always is.”
Against West Virginia, South Dakota State transfer Zeke Mayo made 13 free throws without a miss for Kansas and scored a season-high 27 points for his third straight game with at least 25.
Center Hunter Dickinson, who experienced a loss at UCF in 2021 while at Michigan, totaled 10 points and 12 rebounds for his 55th career double-double. Dickinson tops the Jayhawks with 15.1 points per game (15.1), 10.4 rebounds and total blocks (17).
Kansas, which has not won this season when scoring fewer than 70 points, remains the highest-ranked opponent UCF has ever defeated. Meanwhile, the Knights started their second year in the Big 12 with an 87-83 triumph at Texas Tech on Tuesday.
Darius Johnson’s 24 points helped lead the way against the Red Raiders. Keyshawn Hall (9-of-13 shooting, 4 of 4 from 3-point range) added 22 points and eight rebounds as UCF won its sixth straight following a triple-overtime loss to LSU.
“I was just trying to stay confident in my jump shot,” Hall said. “Through the whole year, like the coaches and everybody have been giving me confidence in practice telling me to shoot the ball, so I’ve just been getting in (the gym) extra every day and just shooting it. So, when guys back up, I just want to let it rip and then not think too much about it.”
Like Dickinson, Hall leads UCF in both points per game (15.8) and rebounds (6.6). The Knights shot 51.8 percent as a team at Texas Tech after shooting 58.7 percent in their nonconference finale versus Jacksonville.
The Knights are 8-0 at home.
–Field Level Media
