UCF braces for Utah's scorers or Cincinnati's surging offense. Victories mean a clash with top-seeded Arizona.
The UCF Knights (20-10, 9-9 Big 12) earned a first-round bye in the Big 12 Tournament and have two outcomes to prepare for: facing the No. 16 Utah Utes (10-21, 2-16 Big 12) or the No. 9 Cincinnati Bearcats (17-14, 9-9 Big 12) on Wednesday.
UCF would meet the Utes for the second time or the Bearcats for the third time this season. The Knights won the sole meeting against Utah as part of their two-game road trip, and it was a nail-biter.
Guard Themus Fulks sank a pair of free throws to cement a narrow victory for his team, 73-71. The Utes' back court of Terrence Brown and Don McHenry gave their team a firm chance of winning the game.
"We know he's a terrific player, excellent three-point shooter and a really good free-throw shooter," coach Johnny Dawkins said about McHenry when he tied the game for Utah. "So he made all three of them, and so we anticipated that being the case."
Brown and McHenry are two of the best scorers in the Big 12, both placing within the top 10. Brown averages 19.8 points (4th in the conference) and McHenry averages 17.3 (10th in the conference).
The series ended in a tie with the Bearcats taking the first meeting in a thrilling 73-72 victory. Cincinnati responded in the second game by dominating the Knights with scorching hot shooting at Fifth Third Arena.
All five starters — guards Jizzle James, Day Day Thomas and Jalen Celestine, forward Baba Miller and center Moustapha Thiam — scored double digits in their 20-point win.
Cincinnati won three straight games after that, including an upset over the No. 8 Kansas Jayhawks.
"They have a very good basketball team," Dawkins said. "You know, this league is so tough. It's challenging, as we all know. When you're in this gauntlet, man, anything can happen from game to game."
The Bearcats and Utes face off against each other on Tuesday at 3 p.m in the T-Mobile Center for the first round of the Big 12 Tournament. UCF will play the victor of that matchup on Wednesday at 3 p.m. on ESPNU.
If the Knights win in the second round, they will head to the third round to face the No. 1 seed Arizona Wildcats on Thursday at 2 p.m. on ESPN.
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