UCF's once-potent 3-point attack has vanished. Can the Knights rediscover their touch for March Madness after a sudden shooting slump?
After ending the regular season as one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the Big 12, UCF has gone cold from deep. Over the Knights' past three games, they shot just (9/61) from deep, a tick under 15%.
However, UCF has shown the ability to knock down 3-pointers at a high clip, finishing third in the Big 12 with a 36.2% mark from deep.
Prior to the Knights' three-game skid, they had an impressive road trip. Following UCF's 82-71 home victory over Texas Christian University (TCU), the Knights took to the west coast, defeating Utah and then-ranked No. 19 Brigham Young University (BYU).
During this three-game win streak, the Knights shot 29-of-60 from 3-point range. Against BYU, UCF seemingly couldn't miss, knocking down a season-high 14 3-pointers on 24 attempts.
Going into March Madness, the Knights are banking on the law of averages, hopefully saving their 3-point makes for the Big Dance.
UCF secured an at-large bid following a first round victory over Cincinnati, where the Knights overcame their worst 3-point shooting performance of the season (3/24).
Prior to the game, UCF was listed as one of the last teams in while Cincinnati was one of the first four teams out. Thanks to the Knights' offensive struggles, it looked like the Bearcats were going to leapfrog UCF, overtaking head coach Johnny Dawkins' squad on the right side of the bubble.
Dawkins deserves a lot of the credit for pulling out the win, dialing up a 1-3-1 pressure in the final two minutes and igniting an 8-0 run to force overtime. In the extra period, sophomore center John Bol showed great poise and focus at the free-throw line, knocking down four consecutive attempts and answering the Bearcats blows.
However, the Knights' shooting struggles were too much to overcome No.1-seeded Arizona, who capitalized on UCF's 3-of-21 shooting from 3-point range.
Now, UCF awaits its official seeding and opponent for March Madness, which will be announced at 6:00 p.m. Sunday on CBS.
Most projections currently slot UCF as a 10-seed, with possible opponents being Clemson or Miami. Dropping to the 10-seed may actually be a blessing for UCF, as the 8/9 matchup is historically one of the most difficult games to win.
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