The RoundHouse | 1/25/2018 5:00:00 PM

By Paul Suellentrop
 
Central Florida at No. 17 Wichita State
 
When: 8 p.m. Thursday
Records: UCF 13-6, 4-3 American; Wichita State 15-4, 5-2
Listen: KEYN 103.7 FM/goshockers.com
Watch: ESPN2
 
Former Georgetown coach John Thompson III is working his third Wichita State game for ESPN and is scheduled for four more, he said. His thoughts on the American Athletic Conference and the Shockers:
 
Q: What is your impression of the American Athletic Conference this season?
 
Thompson: I think it is an improved conference. It is quickly working its way toward one of the elite basketball conferences. You have to include the American and the Big East in those discussions. If you look at this conference, the quality of the coaching is outstanding. Four Final Four coaches.
 
Q: What are your impressions of Wichita State?
 
Thompson: I think they're one of the elite teams in the country. Gregg (Marshall) has done an outstanding job building one of the elite programs in the country. Every year, you can look at the good teams and some of the people on that list are just good teams. This is a great program.
 
They're balanced. They can hurt you on the inside. They can hurt you on the outside. Their staple is toughness. There's a strong belief in what they're doing and how they're going to do it.
 
I've been fortunate to witness several practices. You can see the habits that are built every day in practice. Intense, especially this week, very intense. What you see in practice carries over and you see it in a game. There's a strong accountability with each other. It's fun.
 
Q: What adjustments can Wichita State make after Saturday's loss at Houston?
 
Thompson: The first Houston game and the second game, not just the score,  . . . were complete opposite games. Houston was extremely aggressive at Houston. They did to Wichita State what Wichita State normally does to every other opponent. Their tenaciousness and toughness kind of took Wichita State out of what they want to do.
 
That being said, if you go back and look at the game, which I have, particularly the first 15 minutes – Wichita State got shots, they just didn't go in. If a couple of those go in, Houston's aggression subsides a little bit. Wichita's confidence increases a little bit. A lot of it early was that the ball didn't go in the basket. Then the snowball turned into an avalanche.
 
Everyone is interested to see how they bounce back. I'm fairly confident that they will bounce back.
 
Q: UCF is an excellent defensive team, but is without injured center Tacko Fall for the rest of the season. How do the Knights adjust?
 
Thompson: Losing Tacko alters everything – offensively and defensively. Defensively, you're forcing your man to Tacko. You can be a little more aggressive on the perimeter. You have Tacko behind you.
 
They've always played zone. We'll see what happens tonight.
 
Injuries defined UCF's season, even before Fall's shoulder injury. The Knights lost forward Aubrey Dawkins, son of coach Johnny Dawkins, to a shoulder injury before the season. Guard B.J. Taylor missed 16 games with a foot injury. He is back in the lineup. Forward A.J. Davis missed the previous game with an ankle injury and is expected to play on Thursday.
 
Fall, a 7-foot-6 junior, averaged 11.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks. He made 76.7 percent of his shots. The Knights rely on defense and are without one of the nation's best rim protectors. UCF also lost a valuable scorer and its offense was already iffy at times.
 
In American games, the Knights average 56.7 points (tied for last) and are shooting 40.7 percent from the field (ninth) and 58.7 from the line (12^th). According to kenpom.com, they rank No. 291 nationally in offensive efficiency at .97 points per possession (the NCAA Division I average is 1.04). They rank No. 5 defensively by holding opponents to .897 points per possession.
 
UCF averages 14.9 turnovers a game, while forcing 13.2. According to Pomeroy, 22.5 percent of its possessions end in turnovers, ranking No. 332 nationally.
 
Taylor's return will give UCF a boost on offense. In three games, he averages 14.3 points and is 5 of 10 from three-point range.
 
"The guy makes plays," Marshall said. "We're seeing more and more teams that have guys who can do that on a consistent basis at a very high level. He's one of those guys."
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.