Coach Dawkins and players Fulks and Burks reveal the defining moments that solidified the Knights' belief in their tournament potential.
The UCF Knights squad believed they were a tournament-worthy team throughout the season, but coach Johnny Dawkins, guard Themus Fulks and forward Jordan Burks came to their resolutions at different times.
Dawkins thought his squad possessed the makings very early in the year. UCF played two exhibition games — one against the No. 1 Duke Blue Devils and the Louisiana State Tigers — and played No. 16 Vanderbilt and Texas A&M in its first five games.
"I thought if we could just continue to play the way we were playing, the team had the makings of one that could play in the postseason," Dawkins said. "So, I thought early on, and I said that to our players, I thought they did a great job of how they handled the games early in the season, our exhibition games, even though we lost them. I thought it was great preparation."
Burks' realization came in the same time frame as his coach. Although the Knights lost to the Blue Devils, 96-71, the team's competitiveness against a talented opponent sparked his belief.
"I know we ain't come on top and win, but the Duke game like we were competing with them," Burks said. "So I was like, 'Shoot, we can if we can like be tied at halftime, and I know we can like we can beat anybody or be close to anybody.'"
The 6-foot-9 forward scored 21 points against Duke on Oct. 21, 2025. He shot 9-for-12 from the field and 3-for-5 from three. Burks ended the game as UCF's second-leading scorer behind guard Riley Kugel, who scored 22 points.
Fulks' certainty came at a much later time than his coach and teammate. He knew the Knights showed they were a tournament-worthy team when they kicked off Big 12 play with an upset over then-No. 17 Kansas.
"It showed like, 'If you beat Kansas, you can beat anybody in the nation, you know?' Fulks said. "And it was a really good game, and JB hit a really big shot, and it's just like if you just really look at the game, everybody stepped up, and it really just showed that we can be a really good basketball team."
UCF defeated the Jayhawks 81-75 to begin the new year, with Fulks finishing as the second-leading scorer. He struggled to shoot efficiently, scoring 16 points on 6-for-15 shooting.
The team's resilience and battle-tested roster punched its ticket to the East Region as a No. 10 seed. Dawkins, Burks and Fulks highlighted tough matchups that, despite the outcome, helped prepare the Knights to handle a "win or go home" environment like the NCAA Tournament.
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