GAME NOTES: Seeking to match the school's all-time single-season record for home wins, the Golden Knights of UCF take a shot at the mark tonight as they host the Houston Cougars in Conference USA action from UCF Arena in Orlando. The Golden Knights won their most recent outing at home with a 59-56 decision against Southern Miss a week ago, but more recently the team was out on the road versus Tulsa on Saturday and was turned away in a 66-64 overtime decision. The loss snapped a brief two-game win streak for UCF, which is now tied with the Cougars for second place in the league standings with a 9-5 record and have a stunning 13-1 mark in their own building to this point in the season. On Sunday, Houston was treated to a 77-64 setback at the hands of nationally- ranked Memphis, accounting for the team's second loss in the last three outings. The defeat also pushed the Cougars to a mere 4-8 on the road this season. With respect to the all-time series between these two schools on the hardwood, the Cougars hold a 3-1 advantage now that they have beaten UCF in three straight meetings.

Houston made 50 percent from the field in the second half of the game against the Tigers, but in the first 20 minutes the visitors sank only 10-of-30 from the floor, en route to the double-digit setback. Robert McKiver tried to hold the Cougars together as he shot 13-of-28 from the floor, including 5-of-16 beyond the arc, to finish with a game-high 32 points in the losing effort. McKiver was the only double-digit scorer on a team that failed to take full advantage of 13-of-24 shooting by Memphis at the free-throw line and instead opted to turn the ball over 16 times on the day. McKiver continues to let loose from beyond the arc this season, with his 300 attempts out on the perimeter more than all but one of his teammates (Oliver Lafayette, 14.7 ppg) have tried from the floor overall. McKiver (18.9 ppg) has knocked down 33.3 percent of those chances, but because he and the rest of the unit have no problem with firing off an incredible 31 shots from three-point range per game, they shouldn't find it odd that they are making just 39.3 percent of their field goal attempts altogether.

The Golden Knights got the game to overtime against Tulsa over the weekend, but then the visitors made just a single shot from the field in the bonus period, making it easier for the Golden Hurricane to pull off the win. Lavell Payne and Mike O'Donnell both dropped in 14 points, with the former added a team-high eight rebounds, but Payne also made just 5-of-17 shots from the field and was charged with six of the team's 14 turnovers, without issuing a single assist. Josh Peppers, another player who had issues from the field (2-of-9) came away with 12 points in the losing effort as well. Peppers, a 44.4 percent shooter from the field this season, tops the scoring list for the program with his 13.8 ppg, followed by Jermaine Taylor (13.1 ppg) who has come off the bench in each and every game to supply a much-needed spark for the offense. Over the course of 28 games, the Golden Knights have managed to post 73.4 ppg, all while limiting opponents to just 65.4 ppg this season.

Houston may have the advantage in the all-time series between these squads, but the fact that the Golden Knights have been so dominant at home this season has to account for something.