Knights stormed back with an 8-0 run to force overtime, clinching a March Madness berth with a thrilling 66-65 victory.
Wednesday's first-round matchup against Cincinnati carried a bit more weight than your typical Big 12 Tournament game, as both the Knights and Bearcats were on the bubble for a March Madness Bid.
Prior to the game, UCF was listed as one of the last teams in while Cincinnati was one of the first four teams out. With the Knights' 66-65 victory, they essentially sured up their return to the Big Dance for the first time in six seasons.
@cbkalert on Instagram has done a "tournament lock" series, adding teams to the field of 68 as they build their postseason resumé.
The Knights secured their status as a "lock" following the win over Cincinnati, joining Iowa as the two teams to join the list on Wednesday. Nebraska and Arizona, the two teams who remained undefeated the longest (outside of Miami (OH)) were the first two teams to be categorized as locks, securing berths on Jan. 18.
UCF joins Arizona, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Texas Tech, Brigham Young University (BYU) and Texas Christian University (TCU) as the eight Big 12 teams projected to be firmly in the field.
Monday afternoon, the Orlando Sentinel's Matt Murschel dropped big news via X about what UCF needed to do to secure an at-large bid.
"Just got off a conference call with ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi, who said #UCF should be safe for an NCAA tourney bid with a win in the Big 12 tourney and 2 wins would help them avoid Dayton and the First Four," Murschel wrote.
He added that Lunardi had pointed out that a loss to Cincinnati would've grouped UCF with Southern Methodist University (SMU) as the two power four schools at risk to miss out on an at-large bid.
UCF shot just 34% from the field, while making only 3-24 (13%) 3-point attempts, a season low. But, the Knights dialed up a 1-3-1 pressure in the final two minutes, igniting an 8-0 run to force overtime.
Sophomore center John Bol showed great poise and focus at the free-throw line in the extra period, knocking down four consecutive attempts and answering the Bearcats blows.
Senior Cincinnati guard Day Day Thomas was the one delivering those punches, scoring all seven of the Bearcats' points in overtime. Thomas, who shot just 1-11 before overtime, made three consecutive buckets, including his only make from deep.
UCF moves onto the second round of the tournament for the second-consecutive season, setting up for a rematch with No.1-seeded Arizona. In a close 84-77 loss to Arizona earlier in the season, All-Big 12 Third Team selection Themus Fulks scored a season-high 30 points.
Following the Knights' win, Fulks penned a simple message via X, writing "let’s dance."
The Knights tipoff at 3:00 p.m.