UCF MBB Will Play in 2026 ESPN Events Invitational

The UCF Knights are set to play in the 2026 ESPN Events Invitational in a showcase format rather than a tournament format, reported Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports on Thursday evening.

UCF is one of four programs invited alongside conference rival Cincinnati Bearcats, Boston College Eagles and Georgia Bulldogs. It seems the invitational will involve four teams rather than the 16 it had last season.

Last year's invitational was played in a tournament format across three different brackets: Magic, Imagination and Adventure. Teams like BYU, Miami, Towson and Furman were a part of the 16-team tournament.

BYU won the Magic Bracket over Miami, Illinois State won the Imagination Bracket and UC San Diego won the Adventure Bracket. With the 2026 invitational having four teams as of this publication, looking back at the 2024 ESPN Event Invitational could add context despite a different format.

The four teams during that year were Florida, Minnesota, Wichita State and Wake Forest. Florida won the invitational, sweeping its two matchups against Wake Forest and Wichita State.

The Knights are familiar with the Bearcats, having played three games against them last season. UCF emerged victorious in the season series 2-1, with the last victory coming in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament.

They defeated Cincinnati in a thrilling first matchup, thanks to a game-winning floater by Themus Fulks. Cincinnati evened the series at Fifth Third Arena with a dominant performance, blowing UCF out by 20 points.

Their third matchup in the Big 12 Tournament determined who would punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament. It was a hard-fought matchup between both programs, and Jamichael Stillwell powered the Knights to another one-point victory over the Bearcats in overtime.

Both programs will look very different come the 2026 ESPN Events Invitational. UCF became active in the transfer portal, reshaping its team after several key players left or lost eligibility. Cincinnati lost Moustapha Thiam to Michigan and fired coach Wes Miller.

As for Boston College and Georgia, who are in different conferences, the Knights have played each team once. Their most recent matchup against Georgia was in 2024, a preseason exhibition game, and the Bulldogs came out on top, 114-76.

The last time UCF played Boston College was in 2020. It was another preseason exhibition matchup, and the Eagles emerged victorious in a 20-point blowout, 90-70.

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