Texas A&M Aggies vs. Central Florida Knights Pick & Prediction NOVEMBER 4th 2024

Preview and Prediction

Following a successful appearance in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year, the 13th ranked Texas A&M team will make their way to Orlando to face off against UCF in the season opener for both squads.

After making it to the semifinals of the SEC tournament, the Aggies ultimately fell to No. 1 seed Houston in the Big Dance with a final score of 100-95 in overtime. They finished the season with a record of 21-15, going 9-9 in regular-season SEC play.

Texas A&M ended their season on a strong note, winning six of their last eight games after a five-game losing streak.

"One thing we need to work on is avoiding mini-slumps that can cause problems," said Aggies coach Buzz Williams. "We've had some of those in the past few years. Can we have a consistent upward trajectory without any major setbacks? That's something we haven't been able to do yet, but hopefully this year we can continue to improve without any major dips in performance."

Senior guard Wade Taylor IV is a standout player for the Aggies, holding 13 season school records and averaging 19.1 points, 4.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game. He was also named to the All-SEC first team for the second time.

The Aggies' frontcourt will be anchored by 6-foot-7 forward Andersson Garcia, who led the SEC in rebounds last season with an average of 9.1 per game. Solomon Washington and Henry Coleman III will also play important roles in the team's success. With their size and experience, the Aggies will be a tough matchup for any opponent.

UCF finished last season with a record of 17-16, including a 7-11 record in their first year in the Big 12 conference. They tied for 11th out of 14 teams, but managed to pull off an upset win against then-No. 3 ranked Kansas at home.

"We competed at a high level every game last season," said Knights coach Johnny Dawkins, who is entering his ninth year at the helm. "I was proud of our team's effort and we want to build on that moving forward."

The Knights have not made it to the NCAA Tournament since the 2018-19 season, but with a roster overhaul that includes 11 new players and nine transfers, they hope to exceed expectations. Despite having the third best defense in the Big 12 last season, the Knights struggled offensively, ranking near the bottom in scoring with an average of 71.7 points per game.

Senior guards Darius Johnson and Jaylin Sellers will be the key players on offense for UCF. Johnson averaged 15.2 points per game last season, while Sellers led the team with an average of 15.9 points per game. However, Sellers is currently sidelined indefinitely due to an undisclosed injury sustained in a preseason game against Florida Gulf Coast on October 20th.

The Knights also have some new additions to their roster, including highly ranked recruit Moustapha Thiam, a 7-foot-2 center from Senegal, and guard Jordan Ivy-Curry, who averaged 17.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game at UTSA last season. They also have Mikey Williams, a highly touted recruit from the 2023 class, who transferred from Memphis after redshirting.

PREDICTION

Texas A&M Aggies

Central Florida Knights

Texas A&M Aggies vs. Central Florida Knights Recap NOV 4TH 2024

Benny Williams scored his only points on a go-ahead dunk with 45 seconds left and UCF erased a nine-point deficit in the final five minutes to upset No. 13 Texas A&M 64-61 Monday night in Orlando in the season opener for both teams.

UCF fans stormed the court after A&M missed three attempts at a tying 3-pointer on the game's final possession after Jordan Ivy-Curry split a pair of free throws with 15 seconds left.

The Knights (1-0) closed with a 14-2 run to stun the Aggies (0-1), who led most of the game and pushed their lead to 59-50 on Wade Taylor IV's 3-pointer from the UCF logo with 4:52 left.

UCF senior guard Darius Johnson scored a game-high 24 points and dished five assists, including to Williams for the winning points. Ivy-Curry, a transfer from UTSA, added 16 points and J.J. Taylor, whose putback dunk with 1:31 left cut A&M's lead to 61-60, contributed 10.

Pharrel Payne led the Aggies with 15 points. He also grabbed six rebounds before fouling out with 3:11 left. Taylor IV tallied 13 points and seven assists.

After Johnson sank a tie-breaking 3-pointer 17 seconds into the second half, Taylor made back-to-back 3-pointers to trigger a 20-7 run.

UCF scored only seven points during a span of nearly 10 minutes, but the Knights rallied to pull off the upset.

The teams entered the break tied at 29 after UCF took its first lead with 3:19 left on Ivy Curry's 3-pointer.

The Knights started slow. They didn't score their first points of the season until more than four minutes had elapsed and missed 11 of their first 13 shots, including 0-for-7 from 3-point range. They made six of their next nine from behind the arc, though, and eventually erased a 10-point deficit.

Texas A&M mustered only four points the final seven minutes of the half.