Knights secure elite wins, proving their March Madness mettle. Dominating performances fuel their path to tournament contention.
With just four games remaining in the regular season, the Knights (19-7, 8-6 Big 12) are poised to return to March Madness for the first time since 2019.
UCF is currently the No. 46 team in the country, according to the NCAA NET Rankings. These same rankings are used on Selection Sunday to determine seeding and ultimately, who makes the cut.
The NCAA divides the quality of wins into four different quadrants(quads), according to location (home/neutral/away) and NET ranking.
The following describes how the quadrants are made up:
- Quadrant 1: Home 1-30, Neutral 1-50, Away 1-75
- Quadrant 2: Home 31-75, Neutral 51-100, Away 76-135
- Quadrant 3: Home 76-160, Neutral 101-200, Away 135-240
- Quadrant 4: Home 161-353, Neutral 201-353, Away 241-353
UCF is one of just 25 teams nationally with four or more quad-1 wins, knocking off Texas A&M, Kansas, Texas Tech and Colorado.
The Knights' first quad-1 win came in their first road test of the season, knocking off the Aggies (19-8, 9-5 SEC) for the second-straight season.
Junior forward Jordan Burks was lights out, making 7-of-11 shot attempts and pouring in a game-high 21 points. Junior guard Carmelo Pacheco was huge off the bench, making five 3-pointers en route to a 86-74 victory.
UCF's second quad-1 win came in the Knights' Big 12 opener, hosting the then-ranked No. 17 Kansas Jayhawks. The Knights fended off a 23-point first half from potential No. 1 overall draft pick Darryn Peterson, downing the Jayhawks 81-75.
Senior guard Riley Kugel, the Knights leading scorer, answered Peterson's flurry with 19, sealing the game with an emphatic and-one finish.
The Knights traveled to Boulder, CO, to take on the Buffaloes three weeks later, entering the game as 3.5 point underdogs. But, UCF seemingly couldn't miss, shooting a scorching 63% (15-24) from beyond the arc.
Once again, Kugel shined, scoring 22 points while cashing in on six 3-pointers. The Knights also got great bench-scoring, doubling the Buffaloes' reserves 30-15.
UCF's most recent quad-1 victory came on Jan. 31, as the Knights upset Texas Tech for the second-consecutive season. Fifth-year senior point guard Themus Fulks displayed his whole bag, scoring a team-high 21 points and adding seven assists.
Both victories over Kansas and Texas Tech resulted in court stormings, with the latter resulting in the infamous "double-storm" and $25,000 fine.
The Knights will have one more opportunity to pick up a quad-1 victory this Tuesday against No. 23 Brigham Young University (BYU). BYU is coming off of an impressive victory over No. 6 Iowa State where freshman phenom AJ Dybantsa filled up the stat sheet with 29 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists without being taken out of the game.
UCF will look to capitalize on possible fatigue this Tuesday at 11:00 p.m. against the Cougars.
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