UCF Has Disasterpiece of a Game Against No. 9 Iowa State

This past Saturday, the UCF Knights put up a valiant effort in their 84-77 loss to the No. 1-ranked Arizona Wildcats.

Tuesday was another top 10 clash, but this time on the road against the No. 9 Iowa State Cyclones. Having back-to-back games against a top-10 opponent isn’t easy whatsoever. In the words of Iowa’s own Slipknot, UCF’s game against ISU in Ames would be a “disasterpiece.”

The Cyclones defeated the Knights 87-57 at Hilton Coliseum. With the loss, the Knights fell to 14-4 overall and 3-3 in Big 12 play. UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins simply put it: “We fell short.”

Sloppy play leads to Cyclone dominance

UCF took an early lead when Riley Kugel made the opening 3-pointer of the game, then Iowa State got the lead and never gave it up. At one point in the first half, UCF trailed by 13 points but was able to cut the deficit to 5. However, Iowa State finished the first half on a 13-0 run to lead by 18 points at halftime.

Domination then followed in the second half. Overall, Iowa State forced 19 UCF turnovers and held them to under 37 percent field goal shooting. Iowa State scored 31 points off of UCF’s turnovers and dominated the paint by scoring 42 points in the paint. Dawkins pointed out that Iowa State’s big men were a big credit to the points in the paint and called the turnovers “uncharacteristic.”

Five different Cyclones had double-digits in points. Joshua Johnson finished the game with a triple-double, recording 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists.

Injuries hit the Knights

JaMichael Stillwell has been solid all season for UCF, but he sat on the bench with a boot on his left foot after being named a “game-time decision” before the game. After the game, Dawkins confirmed that Stillwell remains day-to-day and that he was deeply missed against Iowa State.

During the game, Jeremy Foumena suffered an injury after going after a loose ball in the second half. Foumena didn’t play the remainder of the game when he suffered the injury. Dawkins provided no update on Foumena.

Not much to be positive about at all

In a 30-point blowout loss, there isn’t much positivity. However, Kugel and Jordan Burks led UCF in scoring with 15 points each. Kugel and Burks also had three 3-pointers each to lead UCF. Kugel and Burks were the only two Knights to have 10 points. Burks also led UCF with 7 rebounds.

Next opponent

UCF will remain on the road for its next game when they take on the Colorado Buffalos at CU Events Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET. UCF split its season series against Colorado last season, with the home team winning each game. So far, Colorado is 12-6 overall and 3-3 in the Big 12 on the season. Colorado has lost its last three games.