Georgetown transfer Jordan Burks ignites UCF's offense, dropping career highs and dominating tough opponents. His clutch performances fuel March Madness hopes.
Junior Georgetwon transfer Jordan Burks is one of three Knights averaging 13 or more points, proving to be a reliable scorer from all three levels.
This past Tuesday, Burks exploded for a career-high 23 points, knocking down five 3-pointers and bringing in a team-high seven rebounds. Head coach Johnny Dawkins applauded Burks for his career night following the game.
"Well, I was just happy for Jordan. You know, Jordan has practiced well, and it's good to see you know in players' practice, like to see him go out and have success to kind of validate the work that you're putting in," Dawkins said. "And so he works very hard and it's good to see him get rewarded out there by the type of play he had because I think he did a great job. Of course, he made shots, and he's a good shooter, but I like the fact that he was active on the boards. He had seven rebounds. He really helped us there against a very physical front line. So, yeah, I was really proud of his effort and the way he played tonight."
This performance came at a crucial time in UCF's season where another loss could have plummeted Dawkins' squad firmly into the March Madness bubble. But, Burks has a knack for showing up in big games, as he has shined against nearly all of the Knights' toughest opponents.
Burks has scored 14 or more points this season on 13 occasions, doing so against Kansas, Texas A&M, Arizona, Iowa State and Texas Tech - all of which are capable of deep March Madness runs.
In UCF's fourth game of the season, Burks set the tone with 21 points on the road to lead the Knights to a big win over Texas A&M. The 6-foot-9 sharpshooter caught fire in the second half against the Aggies, scoring 16 points in a period where the Knights totaled 56 points - their most in a half this season.
With just one more ranked opponent on UCF's schedule, Burks will need to play with the same level of intensity and consistency despite a slight drop in competition.
However, with UCF currently projected as a nine or ten seed in the Big Dance, a revenge game may be in order for Burks, as some projections have the Knights drawing Villanova in the opening round.
The Knights defeated Villanova last season in the College Basketball Crown thanks to a 42-point performance from UCF legend Darius Johnson.