UCF men’s basketball has survived 18 grueling Big 12 games this season filled with plenty of heartbreak and moments of pure jubilation.
But when the Knights step on the court at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City for Tuesday’s first round of the Big 12 Tournament, they do so with a fresh slate.
“Everyone starts back at 0-0 now, so it’s a brand-new season,” said coach Johnny Dawkins.
UCF (16-14) has exceeded most expectations in its first season in the Big 12 after being picked to finish dead last in the conference in the preseason. Instead, the Knights went on to win seven conference games, including three against ranked opponents: No. 3 Kansas (65-60), No. 23 Oklahoma (74-63) and No. 23 Texas Tech (75-61).
“We had a big chip on our shoulder,” said fifth-year guard Shemarri Allen. “We proved a lot of people wrong, but it’s a new season and we’re going to continue to prove people wrong one game at a time.”
No. 12 UCF opens the Big 12 tourney against 13th-seeded Oklahoma State (12-19, 4-14 Big 12) on Tuesday (12:30 ET, ESPN+).
The Knights are coming off an impressive 79-77 win at TCU on Saturday, which snapped a two-game losing streak.
“It was important for us to gain momentum, especially on the road,” said Dawkins. “It does a lot for our guys’ confidence and sets us up well as we enter the tournament.”
Darius Johnson had a career-high 33 points in 36 minutes in the win over the Horned Frogs.
“This is a huge road win, especially considering our past and overall struggle,” said Johnson. The fact that we were able to pull out a massive win over a great team is big going into the tournament.”
“That was a tough team we played Saturday night, and coming out victorious gives us a lot of confidence, showing that we can compete with anybody in this conference,” added Allen.
The Knights were 3-7 away from Addition Financial Arena this season with wins at Texas (Jan. 17), Oklahoma State (Feb. 28) and TCU.
In the previous meeting against OSU, UCF used a second-half surge to push through for a 77-71 win in Stillwater. The Cowboys have lost five in a row and are underdogs against the Knights.
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“It’s important that we don’t get off to a slow start,” Dawkins said. “We don’t want to keep playing from behind. We got down by double-digits in the first half and don’t want to play out of that situation.”
If UCF plans to make a run to the Big 12 title game, the path will be challenging.
The Knights would have to play five games in five days. If they beat the Cowboys, next up would be No. 5 BYU (22-9, 10-8) on Wednesday at 12:30 ET.
A win over the Cougars would move UCF into the quarterfinals, where it will face No. 4 Texas Tech (22-9, 11-7) on Thursday (12:30 ET, ESPN/ESPN2) in another early showdown.
The winner moves to the semifinals and a date with the winner of No. 9 Oklahoma/No. 8 TCU and No. 1 Houston on Friday (7 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2).
That winner advances to the championship game on Saturday (6 p.m., ESPN).
A deep run would require plenty of roster depth, something Dawkins has relied on all season, going as deep as 9 or 10 players in a game.
“We’ve always said our strength is in our numbers,” said Dawkins. “If we can play well the right way, it becomes a big asset because we’ve got the depth — where many teams may not go as deep.”
The last double-digit seed to make it to the title game was No. 10 Missouri, which lost to No. 1 Kansas in 1997. West Virginia was the last double-digit seed (10) to make it to the semifinals before losing to No. 3 Kansas in 2019.
This is the first year the Big 12 tournament field has expanded to 14 teams.
UCF, however, isn’t looking past the Cowboys.
“That’s the only thing we’re concerned about,” Dawkins said. “We’re not even worried about who’s in our bracket or who’s next. We’re just concerned about Oklahoma State.”
Email Matt Murschel at [email protected] or follow him on X at @osmattmurschel.
