Slotted 14th out of 16 Big 12 schools in preseason polling, UCF already has one win under its belt and will look for another against Vanderbilt on Saturday in Orlando, Fla.
With 11 transfers and a pair of true freshmen, UCF hopes to build chemistry in its nonconference schedule before Big 12 play begins in January.
Getting that first win — 82-78 over Hofstra on Monday — was not easy due to the Knights’ struggles to close out the game.
However, coach Johnny Dawkins said that victory will be something his new group can lean on.
“This is a game they’re going to remember all season. Whenever you’re in a game like this, you grow,” Dawkins said. “But this is where you start to learn. When you’re in one, two-possession games down the stretch, what are you doing with those possessions? We’ll learn, OK, this is why you shouldn’t do that.”
Orlando native Riley Kugel, who played against Vanderbilt when he was at SEC schools Mississippi State and Florida, totaled 19 points (5 of 9 from long range), four rebounds and three assists in his UCF debut.
Vanderbilt also won its opener by trouncing crosstown Nashville school Lipscomb 105-61 on Monday.
The key for the Commodores was on the offensive end, where they nailed 17 of 31 (54.8%) of their 3-pointers and were 38 of 68 overall (55.9%).
Their defense forced 18 turnovers, and they held a 33-4 advantage in points off those miscues.
“A lot of times, when you’re a coach, you want hope for the season,” said second-year coach Mark Byington. “You want to have excited optimism for the season. … And we’ll get better and better … (and) we’ll see how good we get by the time we get to March.”
Tyler Nickel (20 points) and Tyler Tanner (18) paced five Commodores in double digits.
“Really proud of how unselfish we played,” Byington said. “Did a good job of finding the right guy, the right shots and making the right plays for their teammates. And we showed our depth.”
Forward Mason Nicholson remains injured and missed the win over Lipscomb. Byington said the 6-foot-9, 307-pound Nicholson may be another week from returning and adding more size to the lineup.
