hhcmatt Posted Sunday at 05:00 AM Report Posted Sunday at 05:00 AM Nebraska Cornhuskers (20-14) vs Central Florida Knights (20-16) Date: Sunday Apr. 6th, 2025 Time: 4:30 pm CST Arena: T-Mobile Arena Broadcast: (Gus Johnson, Jim Jackson and Kristina Pink) Central Florida Info Head Coach: Johnny Dawkins (9th year) Location: Orlando, Florida Conference: Big 12 Nickname: Knights Mascot: Knightro Line: Nebraska by 3.5 Typical Rotation Depth: 8 KenPom rank: 47 Nota bene: This is our 2nd ever meeting with UCF. The first was a loss a 2017 Holiday tournament featuring the great Tacko Fall Starting F Keyshawn Hall isn't playing as he has entered the transfer portal and signed with Auburn Some people know UCF as the former and current employer of Scott Frost Player to watch: Darius Johnson The senior PG currently leads the Knights points, assists, and steals. The three level scorer is shooting over 40% from 3 and just dropped 42 points on Villanova. Player to watch: Moustapha Thiam The big freshman center has been a starter from day 1. Leading the team in rebounds and blocks. Remarkably the Knights have had a relative off-year in defense and teams have been able to score at a high percentage inside Central Florida roster Player # Class Pos Height Weight Summary Keyshawn Hall 4 JR G 6-7 250 18.8 Pts 7.1 Reb 2.4 Ast Darius Johnson 3 SR G 6-1 190 17.1 Pts 3.4 Reb 4.3 Ast Jordan Ivy-Curry 0 SR G 6-2 170 12.4 Pts 3.2 Reb 2.3 Ast Moustapha Thiam 52 FR C 7-2 235 10.6 Pts 6.3 Reb 0.7 Ast Dallan Coleman 6 SR G 6-6 215 5.1 Pts 4.3 Reb 1.0 Ast Benny Williams 5 SR F 6-8 215 3.8 Pts 2.1 Reb 0.8 Ast JJ Taylor 2 SO F 6-8 180 4.4 Pts 2.2 Reb 0.8 Ast Nils Machowski 22 SO G 6-3 180 3.5 Pts 2.0 Reb 0.8 Ast Mikey Williams 1 FR G 6-3 193 5.1 Pts 1.9 Reb 0.7 Ast Dior Johnson 7 SO G 6-3 180 2.7 Pts 0.9 Reb 0.9 Ast Tyler Hendricks 15 SO G 6-5 175 2.7 Pts 2.1 Reb 0.4 Ast Rokas Jocius 35 JR C 6-10 260 2.0 Pts 1.6 Reb 0.3 Ast Other players Ivy-Curry is the other Knight averaging over 10 ppg though it's volume scoring. Tyler Hendricks is logging the most minutes at the 4 though he's a glue-guy type. Benny Williams gets spot minutes at the 4 and while he's more of a scoring threat, he's not nearly as well rounded of a player. One time Husker recruit Dior Johnson logs minutes at the 1 and 2. Senior F Dallan Coleman is also more of a glue guy but plays major minutes at the 3. UNL Game Notes Roster/infirmary report 24 Guard Rollie Worster 6-5 210 lbs Senior - Out Foot Possible starters for Nebraska 3 Guard Brice Williams 6-7 214 lbs Senior 4 Forward Juwan Gary 6-6 226 lbs Senior 31 Guard Cale Jacobsen 6-4 195 lbs Sophomore 1 Guard Sam Hoiberg 6-0 185 lbs Junior 9 Forward Berke Büyüktuncel 6-10 244 lbs Bench 2 Guard Ahron Ulis 6-3 190 lbs Senior 0 Guard Connor Essegian 6-4 190 lbs Junior 34 Center Braxton Meah 7-1 264 lbs Senior 23 Forward Andrew Morgan 6-10 242 lbs Senior 12 Guard Gavin Griffiths 6-7 193 lbs Sophomore 5 Forward Braden Frager 6-7 220 lbs Freshman 8 Guard Jeffrey Grace III 6-3 200 lbs Junior 20 Forward Justin Bolis 6-8 225 lbs Sophomore 25 Guard Nick Janowski 6-4 208 lbs Freshman 35 Forward Henry Burt 6-7 222 lbs Sophomore Out for year 51 Forward Rienk Mast 6-10 260 lbs Senior The Skinny: Single elimination NCAA tournaments often boil down to injury or matchup. It wasn't particularly fair in 1986 when Nebraska played their first even NCAA tournament game with all-time leading scorer Dave Hoppen unable to play. Some of their other tournament games have come down to bad matchups or simply underperforming. I say all this because Nebraska for the most part has enjoyed matchups that benefit their style and for the most part their roster is intact. However, the reason they're playing in the championship is execution. The Huskers are connected on the defensive end and are making baskets on the other end. It's been a fun watch. Today Nebraska gets an opponent that lines up pretty well. The Knights are committed to running in transition to the point they're one of the worst offensive rebounding teams in the country. Expect Nebraska to sell out after a shot goes up in an attempt to make the Knights run as much half-court offense as possible. Otherwise, this team is going to rely on the 3 against Nebraska's defense with under 24 hours to prep. Everyone on the team can pop a 3 but PG Darius Johnson has the only % that jumps out at you. On offense, expect the Huskers to work into the lane as much as possible, especially when Thiam takes a seat. Prediction: Nebraska 80 - UCF 74 View full article Quote
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