AUBURN | Much like Auburn, UCF is returning a young team with a lot of new faces.
Unlike the Tigers, the Knights have yet to play a game after their opener against Oklahoma Saturday was cancelled due to COVID-19 issues within the Sooner program.
And that’s a big problem for seventh-year coach Bruce Pearl as Auburn prepares to face UCF Monday night.
“They haven't played yet, which means they've had all their effort and energy focused on us now,” Pearl said. “Then they've got two games where they will have an opportunity to see who we are and what we do. So we'll be really well scouted. And then in our third game, we're going to have to make all kinds of adjustments.
“On the other end, we don't know what they look like. We had no exhibition, no exhibition games on them, so we'll go into that game with blinders. That puts us, again, at a real disadvantage.”
UCF must replace five of its top seven scorers from last season’s team, which finished 16-14. The Knights did add two talented transfers in senior guard Darius Perry, who averaged 5.2 points and 2.5 assists at Louisville last season, and former 5-star forward C.J. Walker from Oregon. A Sanford, Fla., native, Walker averaged 4.0 points and 2.5 rebounds as a freshman for the Ducks.
Sophomore guard Darin Green Jr. returns after finishing second on the team averaging 10.1 points per game last season. He shot 42 percent from 3-point range.
The Knights also brought in three freshmen in a 2020 class ranked seventh in the AAC by Rivals.com.
Auburn opened the season in the Ft. Myers tip-off, beating St. Joe’s 96-91 in overtime Thursday and losing 90-67 to No. 1 Gonzaga Friday.
Tip-off at the Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, Fla., is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
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