A big reason why the UCF Knights is ranked in the Top 25 is because of big man Devan Cambridge
The UCF Knights are off to one of the best starts in school history.
A big reason is because the play of big man Devan Cambridge. He has played a huge role in the Knights' 12-1 record thus far. They are coming off an upset of the Kansas Jayhawks.
After that victory, coach Johnny Dawkins singled out the play of Cambridge.
"Well, Devan is our glue guy," Dawkins said. "We love him. He's one of our captains. He's one of our leaders and he just does whatever you ask him to do out there on the floor. Whether it's as a starter, whether it's coming off the bench, he's the same, no matter what."
Cambridge, who is a senior, is averaging six points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists this season. UCF is his fourth stop after playing at Auburn, Texas Tech and Arizona State. He sat out most of last season, but seems to have found a home with the Knights.
"He just provides great energy and he just really does fit well with whatever group we have on the floor and he makes plays and I was really happy for him," Dawkins said. "After sitting out last year, he missed some of these opportunities. And so I just know how tough that can be as you're starting to get your sea legs back under you as you're starting to get your timing and things back right. And so he's been going through that in the preseason. So, I'm glad to see him emerge."
UCF NOW RANKED
After the victory against Kansas, the Knights have cracked into the AP top 25 debuting at No. 25. This is just the second time UCF has been ranked during head coach Johnny Dawkins' tenure and is the first since 2019.
The Knights join No. 1 Arizona, No. 3 Iowa St., No. 7 Houston, No. 9 BYU, No. 14 Texas Tech, and No. 22 Kansas as the nation-leading seven teams ranked in the Big 12. The next closest conference is the Big Ten who currently claims six ranked squads.
As of Jan. 5, UCF ranks No. 32 in the NCAA NET rankings and has climbed to No. 43 on KenPom. According to Joe Lunardi's Bracketology (last updated Dec. 30th), the Knights are currently firmly in the mix for the program's first March Madness bid in over six years.
As of now, UCF sits as a nine seed and would take on an eight-seeded Georgia. However, in Lunardi's next update, I expect UCF to rise even higher thanks to their statement win this past Saturday.
Some outlets have already elevated UCF much higher in their rankings. CBS, for example, ranked UCF No. 19, giving credit to senior guard Riley Kugel for his nineteen-point performance. For context, the Knights (previously unranked) jumped blue bloods like North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and the recently defeated Kansas Jayhawks.
Shandel Richardson is the publisher of UCFRoundtable. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com