UH cruises past Central Florida in AAC tournament

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ORLANDO, Fla. – The University of Houston survived one curse Friday night.

The Cougars became the first No. 3 seed to win a game in the 5-year history of the American Athletic Conference tournament, rolling to a 84-56 win over sixth-seeded Central Florida in a quarterfinal game at Amway Center.

Houston (25-6) faces 11th-ranked and No. 2 seed Wichita State in Saturday's semifinal.

The 25 wins are the most for the Cougars since the 1991-92 season.

"We had our senior game Sunday against Connecticut and took Monday off and kind of flushed the regular season down the toilet," UH coach Kelvin Sampson said. "We said, 'Hey, 24-6 is nice, but if you come up here and lose your first game nobody is going to remember some of that stuff."

With a bid to the NCAA Tournament a lock, the Cougars entered the AAC tournament with a chance to improve their seeding in the 68-team field. ESPN and CBS Sports have the Cougars as a No. 6 seed.

"I think Houston is really dangerous," ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi said. "I'm not talking from a bracket perspective, I'm talking from a basketball perspective."

Houston guard Corey Davis Jr. (5), front, celebrates after hitting a 3-pointer in front of Central Florida guard Ceasar DeJesus (4) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball quarterfinal game at the American Athletic Conference tournament Friday, March 9, 2018, in Orlando, Fla. Houston won 84-56. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack) less Houston guard Corey Davis Jr. (5), front, celebrates after hitting a 3-pointer in front of Central Florida guard Ceasar DeJesus (4) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball quarterfinal game at the ... more Photo: Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press Photo: Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press Image 1 of / 24 Caption Close UH cruises past Central Florida in AAC tournament 1 / 24 Back to Gallery

To win the AAC's automatic bid, the 21st-ranked Cougars will likely have to beat No. 11 Wichita State and No. 10 Cincinnati on consecutive days. Do that, Lunardi said, and they could be in position for possibly as high as a No. 4 seed.

"It wouldn't surprise me if (Houston) won the AAC tournament, and then we'll talk a real jump-up," Lunardi said.

For starters, the Cougars managed to avoid a tournament-opening loss that has plagued them the past two seasons. Additionally, the Cougars snapped a streak of four straight upset losses by the No. 3 seed in the AAC tournament, including UH's loss to Connecticut last season.

After UCF hit three 3s in the opening minutes, UH took control behind the hot-shooting of Devin Davis. The 6-7 senior forward accounted for 10 of the Cougars' first 13 points. At one point late in the first half, Davis had nearly as many points (14) as the entire UCF roster (18).

"We specifically went to him early," Sampson said. "He has a sweet spot on that baseline. We tried to get him as many of those shots as we could early just to get him some confidence going."

The Cougars went on a 24-7 run midway through the first half, which included a 3-pointer by Corey Davis Jr. as he extended his streak to 27 consecutive games, the third-longest streak in school history.

Armoni Brooks, the league's Sixth Man of the Year, came off the bench to hit a pair of 3s from the corner to give the Cougars a 40-27 lead just before halftime.

UH shot 59 percent (16-of-27) in the first half.

UCF pulled within 52-43 on a dunk by Chad Brown with 10:56 remaining. The Knights followed by missing the next eight shot attempts and going nearly seven minutes without a field goal.

By then, the Cougars' lead had inflated to 19 points, 70-52, behind a soul-crushing four-minute stretch. Rob Gray and Galen Robinson Jr. accounted for 11 points during a decisive 14-2 run.

UCF entered the game third nationally in scoring defense (61.3 points) and had held 13 opponents below 60 points. The 84 points were the most allowed by UCF this season.

Robinson finished with 18 points, Gray added 17 and Devin Davis had 16 points for the Cougars. The trio combined to shoot 20-of-32.

Taylor led the Knights with 20 points.