Busting Brackets
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UCF Basketball: Could the Knights be the AAC favorite in 2018-19?

By Lukas Harkins

HARTFORD, CT - MARCH 11: A.J. Davis #3 of the UCF Knights, B.J. Taylor #1 and Tanksley Efianayi #0 react after losing 70-59 during the semifinal round of the AAC Basketball Tournament against the Southern Methodist Mustangs at the XL Center on March 11, 2017 in Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
HARTFORD, CT - MARCH 11: A.J. Davis #3 of the UCF Knights, B.J. Taylor #1 and Tanksley Efianayi #0 react after losing 70-59 during the semifinal round of the AAC Basketball Tournament against the Southern Methodist Mustangs at the XL Center on March 11, 2017 in Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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HARTFORD, CT – MARCH 11: Fall #24 of the UCF Knights looks. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
HARTFORD, CT – MARCH 11: Fall #24 of the UCF Knights looks. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

Defense, defense, defense

Defense matters in basketball. Even though fast-paced and high-scoring games might bring in the TV ratings, solid defensive play wins basketball games. In regards to UCF, their defense has been one of the best in the nation over the past two seasons. For reference of this, the team has ranked in the top-20 nationwide in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency rating in each of the past two seasons. While this may seem insignificant, the only other programs to do this in both of the last two years were Virginia, Alabama, Villanova, Cincinnati, and Gonzaga. Every one of these teams reached the NCAA Tournament (except UCF) in at least one of the past two years and four of the five received top-2 seeds in the NCAA Tournament in one of those years.

At the forefront of this elite UCF defensive is 7-foot-6 big man Tacko Fall. Now entering his senior season with the program, Fall is a dynamic interior defender who does a great job at both blocking and altering shots. This past season, Fall averaged 1.9 blocks and showed a 9.6% block rate in 21.9 minutes per game. These are not tremendous numbers for his size but it is important to take into account the fact that he only played 16 total games due to injury. For true reference of how Fall plays when healthy, we need to go back another year to 2016-17. He started all 36 games for the Knights during that campaign. In the 2016-17 season, Fall averaged 2.6 blocks in 26.7 minutes per game while exhibiting a block rate that ranked 13th in the entire country (11.0%).

On the wings, both Chad Brown and Chance McSpadden are also above-average defenders who help force opponents into tough deep shots or, in the case of Brown, swat shots into the stands with authority. With A.J. Davis gone, somebody will need to step up on the wing and one of these players will do the trick considering their defensive play. UCF on the whole plays tremendous team defense and always has a safety blanket roaming the paint in Fall. Every single game against the Knights is an absolute grind considering their slow pace of play and ability to lock down on defense.