The UCF Knights opened their inaugural Big 12 season on the road against the Kansas State Wildcats at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kansas last night. Both teams entered the contest with similar records, UCF at 9-3 record and host Kansas State at 10-3.

From the opening tip, it was all Kansas State. The Wildcats opened the first 3:28 minutes with a 12 point unanswered run which was assisted by 3 UCF turnovers resulting in 7 of the 12 points. Darius Johnson stopped the opening drought with a 3 pointer to give the Knights their first Big 12 Conference points.

Points on the scoreboard for UCF remained scarce throughout the first half. Whether due to nerves, bad luck, bad shooting, a stifling Kansas State defense, or all of the above, the Knights shot just over 21% from the field,18% from the arc, and 50% from the free throw line resulting in just 19 first half points.

On the other side of the ball, Kansas State outpaced the Knights in the first half with 43% shooting from the field, 23% from the arc, and 80% form the free-throw line which resulted in a 35-19 halftime lead.

UCF’s second half performance was better shooting 50% from the field, 30% from the arc, and 66% from the charity stripe. Unfortunately for the Knights, so did Kansas State improving overall production to 43% from the field, 54% from the arc, and 77% from the free throw line. Overall, the Wildcats executed their game plan and made shots to secure the 77-52 win.

Up next, the UCF Knights will host the #2 ranked Kansas Jayhawks for their first home Big 12 Conference contest on Wednesday, January 10 at 7 p.m. inside of Addition Financial Arena. The Kansas State Wildcats will travel to Morgantown, WV to face the West Virginia Mountaineers on Tuesday, January 9 at 7 p.m.

STATS

ATTENDANCE: 9,698

UCF:  52 pts, 22-65 2-PT, 5-21 3-PT, 3-5 FT, 36 rebs(16 off, 20 def), 12 assists, 13 TO, 7 steals, 4 pts fast break, 16 pts off TO, 24 pts in paint

K State: 77 pts, 25-58 2-PT, 9-24 3-PT, 18-23 FT, 40 rebs(13 off, 27 def), 18 assists, 12 TO, 9 steals, 8 pts fast break, 17 pts off TO, 32 pts in paint

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

UCF: D. Johnson 10 pts

K State: T. Perry 25 pts, A. Kaluma 14pts, C. Carter 12pts 6 assist, W. McNair Jr 11 pts, D. N’Guessan 14 rebs

Photo credit: Carter Lange