UCF Knights Basketball: A Season of Upsets and Tournament Aspirations

The UCF Knights men's basketball team has been making waves, exceeding expectations and positioning themselves as a strong contender for the NCAA Tournament. From key victories against ranked opponents to individual player achievements, the Knights have captured attention.

Statement Victory Over BYU

The UCF Knights entered Tuesday night's game against No. 19 BYU as double-digit point underdogs. However, it was the visiting team from Orlando that exited the Marriott Center with a convincing 97-84 win, adding another statement victory to their NCAA Tournament resume. The Knights even got out as far as 36 points ahead of the Cougars, just two points off their largest lead of the season from the Florida A&M game on Nov. 11.

Three-Point Barrage

By the time both teams entered their locker rooms for the halftime break, over half of the Knights' successful field goals came from beyond the arc. BYU coach Kevin Young said there was no perimeter defense from the Cougars as forward Jordan Burks and three other UCF players sank multiple three-pointers in the first 20 minutes, propelling them to their highest-scoring first half of the season.

"Whether we didn't respect their shooters, or what, I don't know," Young said.

It did not help the Cougars, who were down their leading three-point shooter, Richie Saunders, who were not able to answer UCF's deluge of three-pointers with some of their own. While the Knights sank 68.8 percent of their first-half three-pointers, BYU converted on just 27.3 percent. UCF shot 14 of 24 from 3-point range to run away from No. 19 BYU for a 97-84 upset.

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Dominance in the Paint

The Knights were not just winning the battle at the perimeter, but also down low, getting a 10-point advantage in the paint, 44-34. It's UCF's largest positive differential in the scoring category since its win against Texas Tech on Jan. 31.

This is where forward Jamichael Stillwell and center John Bol shone. The former earned his seventh double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 rebounds, while the latter, despite only being in the game for 19 minutes, pulled down six rebounds and went 4-5 from the floor. Three of Bol's four successful field goals came consecutively to open the second half and helped get the Knights out to a 30-point lead for the first time.

"I thought they did a really good job of, you know, protecting the basket," UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said after the game. "I thought they did a good job of rebounding the basketball, and I thought John's start to the second half was really big. I thought Themus [Fulks] did a great job of finding him and giving him some good opportunities where, you know, where he can be really effective."

Bol's effectiveness can also be seen through a team-leading plus-minus of 27, meaning the Knights outscored the Cougars by 27 points when Bol was on the floor. BYU forward AJ Dybantsa even mentioned Bol by name, saying he made it "a little harder to finish at the rim."

"I was really happy for John," Dawkins said. "You know, sometimes, you know, the way we play and the way we move to basketball, he may not touch it as much, but when he does touch it, he's effective, you know, finishing off plays as well."

Withstanding the Rally

Despite the Knights getting out to one of their biggest leads to the season, BYU was still the team that came back from over 20 points down to beat Clemson and had the nation's leading scorer on its side.

In the game's final 10 minutes, the Cougars went from being down by over 30 to losing by 13. This was helped by the Knights missing seven consecutive field goals from between 7:57 and 4:49 left in the game.

While some of UCF's offense went cold, it was able to keep the rally from building any more momentum late in the game thanks to some layups, free throws and dunks from Burks, Fulks and guard George Beale Jr. Fulks' late contributions in particular helped extinguish the Cougars' hopes for a historic comeback with six points in the game's final two-and-a-half minutes. This ended up making all the difference, turning what could have been a close two-shot win into a comfortable double-digit one for the Knights.

Key Players and Performances

Themus Fulks

Themus Fulks had 24 points and 11 assists in the victory against BYU. Fulks added 11 of the Knights’ 25 assists, breaking the season's single-season record set by Sinua Phillips in 1991-92. Fulks scored 24 points and made his only two foul shots of the night with three seconds left to help UCF beat Utah 73-71.

Jordan Burks

Jordan Burks also scored 24 points against BYU, a career-high. Burks drained three corner 3s over four possessions to cap an 18-4 run that put UCF ahead 23-8. The 6-foot-9 junior knocked down 3s on three consecutive trips down the floor, including a pair from the left corner in transition to extend the Knights' lead to 15 just over 5½ minutes into the game.

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"Teammates were just finding the open guys, me included," Burks said. "We just played UCF basketball, sharing the ball and making the right plays."

Jamichael Stillwell

Jamichael Stillwell recorded his seventh double-double of the year, scoring 12 points with 12 rebounds and adding six assists against BYU. Stillwell missed the loss to WVU on Feb. 14, but he returned against TCU and started against Utah.

John Bol

John Bol's effectiveness can also be seen through a team-leading plus-minus of 27 against BYU, meaning the Knights outscored the Cougars by 27 points when Bol was on the floor. Three of Bol's four successful field goals came consecutively to open the second half and helped get the Knights out to a 30-point lead for the first time.

Riley Kugel

Riley Kugel missed the game against BYU due to an undisclosed reason. Kugel has been a regular starter for the Knights, averaging a career-best 14.0 points per game.

Carmelo Pacheco

Carmelo Pacheco recorded six points (2-2 FG, 2-2 3Pt) across 12 minutes off the bench in the win against Utah.

Coaching and Team Dynamics

UCF coach Johnny Dawkins entered his 10th season on the job in Orlando with a warming seat. Now, he’s on the short-list of coaches to be considered for a National Coach of the Year award. Dawkins had somewhere around 3.5 million (near the bottom of Power 5), a completely revamped roster and nearly everyone thought he would be fired after this season.

"I thought we got off to a terrific start. The guys were really dialed in," UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said. "I'm just proud of the effort they gave for the full 40 minutes. This is a very, very difficult place to play in, to win in, and I thought our guys held their composure and played really well throughout most of the game."

The Knights, picked to finish 14th among the conference’s 16 teams in the preseason poll, notched their fifth Quad 1 win of the year. They have four road victories within the league, one fewer than their previous two seasons combined.

"We knew they weren't going anywhere," Dawkins said. "Too good of a program. Kevin (Young)'s too good of a coach. We knew they were going to be there, so we had to make sure we matched that to start the second half."

Injury Concerns

Jamichael Stillwell needed to be helped off the court with a lower right leg injury late in the game against BYU. Stillwell needed to be helped off, unable to put any weight on his right leg after writhing on the court with 4:49 left in regulation. The 6-foot-8 senior forward darted to deflect the ball back out to Carmelo Pacheco after a blocked 3-pointer and had his foot stepped on by Aleksej Kostić.

Two assistant coaches helped Stillwell down the tunnel toward the visitors' locker room. He returned several minutes later wearing a boot around his right foot.

"I need to wait and talk to the trainer to see where he is and the severity of it," Dawkins said. "Right now, I'm sure he probably will be day-to-day depending on how his ankle's feeling, and we'll move on from there."

NCAA Tournament Prospects

The Knights have all-but-locked up their NCAA at-large bid after traveling on the road to No. 19 BYU earlier this week and thrashing AJ Dybantsa and the Cougars, 97-84. It was UCF’s fifth Quad 1 win, and 10th victory this season in the top two quadrants.

Perhaps it’s a tad premature, with three regular-season games and an entire Big 12 men’s basketball tournament still ahead, but UCF might well have punched its ticket to the Big Dance with a late-night blowout of No. 23 BYU.

This is likely the last you’ll see of UCF in this column this season. They’re a near-lock to head to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2018-19.

Upcoming Games and Schedule

The Knights, who have now followed up a three-game losing streak with a three-game winning streak, return to Addition Financial Arena.

UCF closes with games at home against Baylor and Oklahoma State, and a road tilt against West Virginia. UCF should win at least a couple of those contests.

UCF gets their next two at home against opponents in the bottom five of the league standings, Baylor and Oklahoma State. Underestimation is ill-advised; Baylor has two potential NBA draft picks in Cameron Carr and Tounde Yessoufou, and Oklahoma State handed the Knights an 11-point defeat in Stillwater on Jan. 6.

Still, those two teams have a combined record of 9-21 in Big 12 play - and a 3-12 mark on the road.

UCF closes with a return trip to West Virginia, against whom it surrendered a 14-point lead on Valentine's Day for a 74-67 defeat. The Mountaineers have lost three in a row since then, failing to crack 60 points against both Utah and TCU.

Entering Tuesday, West Virginia sat No. 63 in the NCAA's NET rankings, meaning the Knights could get credit for yet another Quad 1 win if they prevail in Morgantown.

"Every one of these games counts the same," Dawkins said.

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