FORT MYERS, Fla. – Florida Gulf Coast men's basketball sets its sights on a matchup with UCF for the first time in 23 years at 5 p.m. in Orlando on Saturday.

The only time FGCU and UCF have met was in FGCU's inaugural season of the sport, on Dec. 21, 2002. The Knights took a 68-63 home win. 22 years and 364 days later, the two squads meet again. FGCU is now in Division I and the Atlantic Sun – the conference UCF called home in 2002 – while the Knights are now in the Big 12.

The Eagles are looking to stop a four-game skid and earn their first power conference win on the road on Saturday. FGCU hasn't won since a 78-63 overtime win over Rice on Nov. 25 during Coconut Hoops. JR Konieczny, Jordan Ellerbee and Rahmir Barno, who combine for 44.9 points per game, will try to get the Eagles back in the win column on Saturday night.

The Eagles struggled offensively for the first time all season in the road loss to New Mexico. FGCU averaged 85.8 points per game (58th nationally) and hadn't scored less than 70 entering the game, but only scored 59 in Albuquerque. 

FGCU attempted a season-low 21 shots from inside the arc (previous low was 34) and scored a season-low 14 points in the paint (previous low was 24, averaged 37.8 paint points/game prior to the game). The Lobos' length kept FGCU away from the rim and held them off the offensive glass (FGCU entered No. 10 nationally in offensive rebounds per game) but only managed nine on Sunday, two of which came on the same possession.

Freshman Gabe Tanner was a bright spot for FGCU despite the result. He tallied a career best 24 minutes while handling backup point guard duties for the first time. He went 3-for-7 from the field, including an emphatic putback slam for his first college dunk. Tanner only had one assist, but didn't turn the ball over against the Lobos.

UCF leads the all-time series 1-0. The lone meeting was in FGCU's inaugural season of basketball (Dec. 2002). FGCU is 5-53 all-time against power conference (SEC, Big 10, Big 12, ACC, Big East) opponents and is 0-8 against current Big 12 teams. The most recent FGCU-B12 game was a 62-99 loss at Cincinnati on Dec. 3, 2023; it stands as the second-worst loss by point differential both of the Chambers era and the last decade.

UCF is led by Riley Kugel, who averages 14.6 points per game. Jamichael Stillwell notches 8.7 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game; Themus Fulks totals 6.9 assists per game. Devan Cambridge and Jordan Burks each average 0.7 blocks per game.

The Knights enter off a Wednesday win over Mercer; their only loss this season is to now-No. 13 Vanderbilt. UCF boasts wins over Texas A&M in College Station and Pitt, among others.

Tickets are on sale now for the Dec. 28 game against Fort Lauderdale and ASUN action at https://fgcuathletics.evenue.net/list/FGCU. 

For more information on FGCU men's basketball, follow @FGCU_MBB on Instagram, X (Twitter) and Facebook, and visit fgcuathletics.com.