Knights secure historic March Madness bid, fueled by Big 12 upsets. Now, they battle UCLA for a shot at deeper tournament glory.
The UCF Knights (21-11, 9-9 Big 12) players pulled out their phones for a historical moment, witnessing their name revealed as the No. 10 seed of the East Region in the NCAA Tournament.
Forwards Jamichael Stillwell and Jordan Burks, and guard Themus Fulks shared handshakes followed by dances. The Knights capped off a historical season with a bid to March Madness for the first time since 2019.
Many UCF fans expressed their excitement on social media following the reveal.
"What a moment this is for UCF," Christian Simmons wrote on X. "An underfunded roster, built from scratch, facing off against the toughest competition in the country, won 21 games and is now headed to the tournament. Who could've ever thought it would take MBB until just Year 3 of the Big 12 Era to get here."
The Knights' performance massively improved in the Big 12 this season, yielding a 9-9 record. Although a .500 record isn't comparable to the likes of the No. 2 Arizona Wildcats (32-2, 16-2 Big 12) or the No. 5 Houston Cougars (28-6, 14-4 Big 12), UCF displayed the ability to upset the top-ranked teams in the league.
Coach Johnny Dawkins added another three upsets to his resume: then-No. 17 Kansas, then-No 11 Texas Tech and then-19 Brigham Young. Dawkins and his squad go dancing after competing in what he believes is the best conference in college basketball.
"I haven't seen a conference that is better than this conference right here in college basketball," Dawkins said. "And I watch, as you can imagine, basketball every day, all day. That's what we do. And hats off to this commissioner, hats off to this league, assembling these coaches and the talent that they have on these teams."
A three-game losing streak to end the regular season jeopardized UCF's tournament hopes. Its victory over the No. 9 seed Cincinnati Bearcats in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament on Wednesday helped keep those dreams alive.
As the No. 10 seed, the Knights will travel to Philadelphia, Pa., and face off against the No. 7 seed UCLA Bruins (23-11, 13-7 Big Ten) next Friday.
A victory for UCF would set the team up to face the No. 2 Connecticut Huskies (29-5, 17-3 Big East) or the No. 15 seed Furman Paladins (22-12, 10-8 SoCon) next Sunday.
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