The Men’s Hoops rollercoaster continues

In what has become an unfortunate theme of late, the UCF Men’s Basketball team battled a conference opponent all the way until the end of the game, only to come up on the wrong side of the result, this time an 81-75 loss to BYU. With the Knights barely clinging to an at-large NCAA Tournament bid according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi coming into the game, the loss will surely plant them on the outside looking in.

The details of the BYU loss are probably pretty consistent with other tough losses suffered by the Knights (see: Houston, the Kansas rematch, and even Arizona): when a big play needs to be made, it is usually made by the other team. The most frustrating part is that UCF has been in all of these games, but isn’t able to answer the bell at the right time.

So, how did we get here? And maybe more importantly, where do we go from here? Let’s start with the latter question first: the Knights still have a puncher’s chance to prove they are an NCAA tournament team. While it is not a guarantee, if UCF can win 10 conference games, you’d feel decent about their chances. Currently sitting at four wins in conference, can the Knights find six more victories? Let’s take a look:

Starting with the game on February 5th against Cincinnati, the Knights remaining opponents’ combined records in Big 12 play is 37-66. They face two teams they have already beaten in Colorado and TCU, while also playing a 3-7 Oklahoma State twice down the stretch. Of the remaining 10 games, only Iowa State and Baylor have winning records in the Big 12, while West Virginia is sitting at .500. All of this is to say, you can see a path (albeit not an easy one) where the Knights can add some wins to their resume. Paramount on this path, the Knights are going to have to find a way to beat Iowa State (currently ranked 3rd) at home, or Baylor or West Virginia (currently ranked 23rd) on the road. If that doesn’t seem daunting enough, it is also going to be critical for UCF to not drop a game against an “easier” opponent.

Now, back to the how part of the equation. There are a few things that have stood out to me over the past few weeks. First, we’ve spoken about the Knights defensively for some time, but one of the most glaring issues is their rotations, particularly on the weak side of the floor. Think about it, how often are you seeing a UCF defender flying out at a shooter, only to have that player pass the ball to a shooter who is even more open? If you watched the BYU game, you saw it a lot!

Next, while Darius Johnson and Keyshawn Hall certainly make the team go, I think guard Jordan Ivy-Curry is a true X-Factor for this team. When he can be engaged offensively and is knocking down shots from the perimeter, the Knights offense has a different flow and feel. To put a stat to this point, in non-conference play Ivy-Curry had six games where he shot at least .500 from the field (all wins), while he has had only two such performances in conference play, the win against Colorado and the blowout loss to Iowa State. Plus, you can tell that Ivy-Curry is a player who feeds off the energy, which can transition to the defensive end of the court, where UCF needs all the help they can get.

Lastly, in my humble opinion, the officiating in the Big 12 has been wildly inconsistent. I’ve seen calls interpreted differently for both teams in the same game, and calls that you would expect home teams to get, haven’t been happening. And if you think this is a biased UCF only opinion, I submit to you this call from the Texas Tech-Houston game:

The bottom line is that UCF can’t allow games to get into a position where officiating incompetence costs them a win, and at this point, they should be expecting the officials to muck the game up. Easier said than done, but it’s an obstacle that the Knights will have to find a way to overcome as the schedule moves forward.

If you missed any of our basketball coverage from the past week, now is a great time to get caught up:

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When are the games?

It has been quiet on the football front, but it looks like we will see some news coming very soon.

Anyway, this past week UCF received a commitment from a 2025 recruit, Camp Lott. Previously committed to the Air Force, Lott will join the 2025 class as an offensive lineman:

Social media also broke some additional news this week with former UCF player and coach Travis Fisher mentioned in a post regarding recruiting. Fisher was previously on staff under Scott Frost at both UCF and Nebraska, and played for the Knights from 1999 to 2001.

Social media content would also make it appear as though former UCF OL Jordan Johnson will have a yet to be announced role on staff. I’m told that we will see at least one more former Knight in a staff role when the full list is revealed.

Speaking of revealed, it appears that the 2025 Big 12 Conference football schedule will be released on Tuesday, February 4th. In the lead up to this announcement, I have seen an unconfirmed copy of the schedule, but since I cannot guarantee authenticity, I’m not going to share anything specific. I will say that there are a few things to potentially watch out for: first is an early bye week, and the other is a possible road game with weather impact in late November. Either way, stay tuned to the Sons of UCF for more coverage and analysis of the schedule release.

Lastly, the 2025 Senior Bowl event featured several Knights, including RJ Harvey, Mac McWilliams, Brandon Adams, and late addition Kobe Hudson. Bailey Adams from the Pegasus Podcast was on site in Mobile, AL, and sent over some exclusive interviews:

If you are looking for some quality UCF merchandise, you need to check out Alumni Hall UCF. You can visit their store at 4100 N Alafaya Trail, or shop online. This week they have some new polo shirts and canvas artwork in stock:

The Best of the Rest

If you missed anything from the Sons of UCF this week, we’ve got you covered:

Bailey Adams and Christian Simmons discussed the Senior Bowl and UCF Basketball on the latest episode of The Pegasus Podcast:

On a new Around The Kingdom, Eric Lopez and Trace Trylko looked at the current football roster and discussed what reasonable expectations are for 2025

On Sons LIVE, Trace Trylko and I spoke with UCF analyst Ben Hazel about the current state of the UCF Basketball team. Check it out here.

Don’t forget, all of the Sons content is also available in audio form on your favorite podcast player, including the exclusive audio only Around The Kingdom - Overtime. Find your favorite podcast player and enjoy:

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Today I Learned

Current men’s basketball freshman big man Moustapha Thiam has started to live up to the hype associated with a player who was the highest rated recruit in the history of the program. His ascension got me thinking about another highly publicized Knights recruit: Isaiah Adams. After doing some research, I learned that Adams is still playing college basketball, and has carved out a decent career since he left UCF. In case you forgot, let’s refresh:

Adams came to UCF in the 2020 recruiting class having been honored as Florida Mr. Basketball after his senior season at Paxon High School in Jacksonville, FL. He was the first ever Florida Mr. Basketball to play at UCF, and the 6’6” forward figured to be a big part of the Knights future.

Adams freshman season showed flashes of promise as he started 12 games and averaged 9.9 points per game for a Knights team that finished 11-12 in the COVID shortened season. With almost the exact same roster returning for the 2021-22 season, including Adams, there was reason for optimism for the Knights. However, the now sophomore Adams struggled, shooting only 39% from the floor and dropping his scoring average to 4.4 points per game. Shortly after the season ended, Adams entered the transfer portal.

Adams signed with the Buffalo Bulls in the MAC conference, and in the 2022-23 season, he was second on the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 11 points and 5 rebounds per contest. Adams returned to Buffalo for the 2023-24 season, and while his scoring increased to 12.8 points per game, the Bulls won only four games on the year.

After the season Adams entered the transfer portal again and signed on to play the 2024-25 season with the Toledo Rockets, also in the MAC. Through 21 games Adams is averaging 10 points a game for a Rockets team that is currently positioned third in the MAC standings.

Once a Knight, always a Knight, Isaiah!

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Cow of the Week

For those who are not aware, my NFL allegiances reside with the Dallas Cowboys (if you are wondering how that happened, you can check this out). Yes, the same Cowboys who are quickly trying to grab the mantle as the most inept franchise in the NFL. Yes, the same Cowboys who jettisoned an uninspiring Mike McCarthy only to somehow replace him with somebody even more uninspiring, current offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer.

What makes this even more unbelievable is that the Cowboys rushed to make this move, as if another NFL team was going to swoop in and steal Schottenheimer from under their nose. It would seem as though Jerry Jones and his band of dysfunctional lieutenants didn’t bother to try to talk to somebody with a different voice or perspective, but instead chose to take the cheap and easy route yet again. Jerry’s need to have all Cowboys fans and employees genuflect in his presence is getting exhausting, and frankly, everybody involved is going to get what they deserve - most importantly, their loyal fans.

Bye for now

Thanks for reading the Sons of UCF newsletter. If you have not subscribed, please consider doing so! If you have subscribed, find at least one Knight fan and share this with them.

In the week ahead, the Sons will bring you interviews from UCF Softball coach Cindy Ball-Malone and players as the season is scheduled to get underway. We’ll also react to the football schedule, and any other football news that might trickle out.

Until next time, take care of yourself and each other.

Charge On!