Dawkins crafted a demanding schedule, facing top talent like Duke and navigating the Big 12, all to forge a March Madness-ready Knights squad.
On Sunday, the Knights officially received an at-large bid to March Madness, ending a six-year drought.
UCF is slotted in as a 10-seed, matching up with the 7-seeded UCLA Bruins. The Bruins, who started the year ranked within the top-15 of the AP Poll, bounced back late in the season after a tough start, winning six of their last eight games heading into the tournament.
However, playing tough competition, especially outside of the Big 12, was something that head coach Johnny Dawkins and his staff focused on to prepare his team for this moment.
Following the Knights' Selection Sunday watch party, Dawkins told media that they built their schedule, even preseason, with this moment in mind.
"Well, I thought our staff did an amazing job. I've said that on numerous occasions. Our staff — they were incredible. We tried to build out our schedule. We talked about what would be the right fit for this group because every team is different. We felt that as challenging as possible early on would be beneficial for us. And so, obviously, you play Duke right away and set a tone based on what we wanted to see our young people do," Dawkins said. "And then, of course, the Big 12 schedule is phenomenal in itself. Texas A&M on the road is an incredible game, too. So, I thought our guys really had a taste of what it's going to be like throughout the season for us. And so, they had to come prepared every night. And I thought they did. I thought they came almost every night with a certain level of competitiveness, a certain level of hunger in our games. And that's what you have to have to be consistent and to win and to be an NCAA tournament team."
Outside of the grueling competition within the Big 12, which produced eight tournament teams, the Knights faced off with Duke, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt and LSU, preparing themselves with impressive out-of-conference opponents.
Despite Duke and LSU being preseason opponents, the team was able to gain valuable insight on what they needed to improve on, jumping out to an 11-1 start in non-conference play.
Now, the Knights will take on their first Big Ten representative of the season, looking to win their second March Madness game in program history.
UCF tips off in the Round of 64 Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET on TBS.
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