Despite a recent skid, Knights earn a crucial tournament bye. Who will they face in their postseason opener?
Despite the Knights' (20-10, 9-9 Big 12) recent three-game skid, they were able to maintain the No. 8 seed in the Big 12 Tournament, securing a first-round bye.
UCF's season had an abnormal ending as the Knights won three straight, including two huge road victories over Utah then-ranked No. 19 Brigham Young University (BYU) before enduring a three-game losing streak, suffering two home defeats.
The Knights' standing within March Madness projections has become more uncertain as well, as UCF now sits as a tenth or eleventh seed, according to ESPN and CBS Sports respectively.
Falling out of the dreaded 8/9 game is not the worst scenario, but riding into postseason play on a three-game losing streak doesn't help. UCF will have until Wednesday to get back to winning form and play "UCF basketball," as Coach Dawkins has alluded to all season.
Before that, however, UCF awaits the winner of No. 9 seeded Cincinnati and No. 16 seeded Utah, two squads the Knights have familiarity with this season.
Cincinnati
Cincinnati and UCF have faced off twice this season, splitting the series 1-1. The first matchup went down to the wire, as fifth-year senior point guard Themus Fulks propelled the Knights to a 73-72 win with a mid-range jumper.
Former Knights big man Moustapha Thiam was a force in his return to Addition Financial Arena, tallying a game-high 24 points on 10-15 shooting from the field.
In early February, however, it was Bearcats forward Baba Miller who shined, leading Cincinnati to a commanding 92-72 victory over the Knights. Miller led his team in scoring (17), assists (5), rebounds (10) and free throws (6), leaving his fingerprints all over the win.
The Knights struggled offensively, shooting just 41% from the field and 26% from 3-point range. Fulks had his worst showing of the season, failing to score and playing just 19 minutes.
Utah
In the Knights' lone matchup with the Utes this season, Fulks was once again the late-game hero, converting two foul shots with three seconds to play and giving UCF a 73-71 win. Fulks was the game-high scorer, notching 24 points and four assists.
The Utes stormed back late in the game, riding the hot shooting of senior guard duo Terrence Brown and Don McHenry. The backcourt combined for 40 points, including three big-time free throws from McHenry to tie the game at 71.
Brown is one of the most consistent scorers in all of college basketball, averaging 19.8 points per game on a career-high 45.7% mark.
The Utes and Bearcats face off Tuesday at 3:00 p.m.