ORLANDO, Fla. – As UCF Knights head coach Johnny Dawkins attended to his media responsibilities, his players swarmed past him, making their collective presence known. A.J. Davis led the charge onto the court in CFE Arena, as a single-file line of excited yelling seemed to emanate energy.

This was Dawkins’ squad before a practice, not a game. In spite of all the adversity UCF has faced this season, the Knights are still having fun.

That primarily has to do with the fact that this injury-laden Knights squad has still managed to stay afloat amid injuries, most recently to its starting center, 7-foot-6 Tacko Fall.

Winning has been the key to happiness, and that’s what UCF has been doing.

Most recently, the Knights (15-9, 6-6 in American Athletic Conference) beat the Memphis Tigers 68-64 on Feb. 11 for their first-ever win in Memphis. That completed a regular-season sweep of the Tigers and tilted the all-time series ever so slightly closer to even; Memphis still holds a 19-5 advantage.

“Anything that involves winning, that’s what we love, you know?” Davis said before practice on Feb. 13. “When we lose, I think we gotta kinda regroup more. But coming off a win, I think you gotta keep that energy and keep that same positive vibe that got you that win.”

The Knights, now, look to channel that vibe toward their final regular-season “War on I-4” matchup with the USF Bulls Wednesday night. UCF won the first meeting this season 71-69 in Tampa on Jan. 20 as part of an ongoing, five-game winning streak over the Bulls.

USF (8-18, 1-12 in AAC), however, holds the all-time advantage by a significant margin, doubling the number of wins UCF has: 22-11.

Here’s what to expect when the Knights host the Bulls Wednesday at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPNews.

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Bulls Are 1 of the Worst Shooting Teams

Part of USF’s last-place woes, this season, has to do with the Bulls’ statistically bottom-dwelling shooting. The Bulls are ranked 325th out of 351 teams in field-goal percentage, shooting 41.1 percent from the field. USF also ranks 348th in points per game, averaging 62.4.

Of all the Bulls who have started at least double-digit games, only one player has a field-goal percentage higher than 40 percent: former Bull Tulio Da Silva, who left the program earlier this season.

That effort from the field has helped place the Bulls in last place in the AAC, and, if history has any say, their hole could become even deeper after Wednesday. With 26 games in hand, USF has won just twice on the road in 10 tries.

The defensive approach doesn’t change, though, for the stalwart Knights. Their defense has ranked among the best in the two seasons Dawkins has been at the helm.

This season, the Knights are fifth in opposing field-goal percentage (0.387) and are third in opposing points per game (61.4).

“Our defense is the same pretty much every time,” Knights point guard B.J. Taylor said before practice Feb. 13. “We lock in on their key players, and we lock in on playing our team defense more so than anything.

“We have principles in our defense of what we’re trying to force the other team to do and principles we stick to, so it’s not gonna change for this game.”

Stephen Jiggets, Payton Banks Lead USF Attack

Guard Stephen Jiggets and forward Payton Banks lead USF in scoring output, as they are the only two scorers who average double figures.

The 6-foot-1 Jiggets averages a team-high 12.4 points per game on 36.9 percent shooting. Jiggets also shoots 3s at a respectable rate, making 38.8 percent of his 4.7 attempts per game.

Banks trails Jiggets slightly, averaging 12.1 points per game. His field-goal percentage, however, is slightly better, as Banks is making 38.9 percent of his attempts. Banks is the Bulls primary 3-point shooter, as he averages a team-high 6.3 3-point attempts per game.

Both Jiggets and Banks are the only two players to average double-digit field-goal attempts. Jiggets averages 11.0 field-goal attempts per game, and Banks averages 10.2.

“Jiggets is an experienced guard, you know, a fifth-year player who’s really good. Can really shoot the ball from behind the arc,” Dawkins said before practice Feb. 13. “He does a good job of getting them into their offense.”

USF Has Had 2 Winning Streaks

The Bulls have enjoyed two winning streaks this season; their longest was three games.

Apart from those five games and three other standalone wins, USF has had an arduous season. The Bulls have endured three losing streaks, beginning with a four-game slide after starting the season 4-2.

USF recovered with its longest winning streak of the season, moving one game above .500 just before the start of AAC play. The Bulls entered conference play 7-6 but soon after suffered a seven-game drought, their longest of the season, so far.

An 80-75 win over the Tulane Green Wave prevented a season-long shutout without a conference win, but that was followed by USF’s second-longest, ongoing losing streak of five games.

“We have to understand and have a huge amount of respect for their team,” Dawkins said. “They’ve been in every ball game that they’ve played, and there’s a function of just learning to close games… They’re playing hard; they’re competing.

“We need to make sure that we prepare properly for ’em, meaning understanding what they do offensively that we have to try to take away and make sure we defend well and run our offense well.”

For more on the Knights, as they take on the Bulls, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.

To contact Victor, you can email him at vtan@newdayreview.com.