Dawkins prepares UCF to confront No. 1 Arizona's potent offense. Limiting possessions and defensive intensity are paramount to a historic upset victory.
Coach Johnny Dawkins spoke to the media Friday evening ahead of hosting No. 1 Arizona at the Addition Financial Arena on Saturday.
Dawkins addressed the Wildcats' (17-0, 4-0 Big 12) explosive high-scoring offense led by its freshman duo forward Koa Peat and guard Brayden Burries. They are first in the Big 12 in scoring, pouring in 91 points per contest.
Peat is averaging 15.3 points, while his classmate Burries is scoring 14.1 points.
"Well, they're very good," Dawkins said. "They play a high-possession game. They score over 90 points a game. So we have to make sure that we do our best to make them a half-court team. We have to get back and try to make them a half-court team because they're playing fast, and we want to play fast, but we want to play fast with our tempo, not with theirs. And I think you can't try to play someone else's game, so we have to get back and really defend in the half-court."
Arizona's fast-paced offense presents a tough challenge for UCF (14-2, 3-1 Big 12), which allows 75.4 points per game. The Knights' defensive discipline is key to pulling off its second upset of the season, the first coming against then-No. 17 Kansas.
Rebounding the ball and defending without fouling give Dawkins' squad the best opportunity to limit the total possessions the Wildcats have throughout the match.
Saturday's matchup isn't the first time UCF has hosted the No. 1 team in the country. Then-No. 1 Houston visited Orlando last season, and Dawkins said nothing has changed this time around; the team must play to their standards.
"Our guys seem to be in a good place," Dawkins said. "They're playing hard. They're playing for each other, and that's what we ask, and the rest of it takes care of itself. We have to be true to who we are as a team, and we know what our standards are. We need to play to those standards every night, and tomorrow will be no different. We need to play our style of basketball."
The Knights must execute at a high level to give themselves a shot at giving Arizona its first loss of the season. An upset of this magnitude could propel the program back into the AP Top 25, just like the victory over Kansas did.
Tip-off for Saturday's much-anticipated game starts at 4 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN.