As the month of February comes to a close, nobody may be more excited to get to March than UCF’s basketball team. For the first time in almost a decade, the Knights find themselves on the cusp of a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
UCF (20-7, 9-6 Big 12) returns home after a successful two-game road swing in Utah, during which the team defeated Utah (73-71) and No. 19 BYU (97-84). It was the first time the program had back-to-back road wins since the 2018-19 season.
“Any time you can have some success, that helps guys with their overall confidence,” coach Johnny Dawkins said Friday. “They’ve been spirited all season long and are working on getting better. They know it’s a process.”
The victory over the Cougars on Tuesday night was significant in several ways.
It was the ninth Big 12 win of the season: the most since UCF joined the conference in 2023. It also guaranteed that the Knights would finish at least .500 in conference play for the first time since the 2022-23 season.
The win all but guaranteed UCF a spot in the NCAA Tournament. No Big 12 team has finished .500 or better and not qualified for the 68-team field since 2014.
The last time the Knights qualified for the NCAA Tournament was the 2018-19 season.
With just three games left in the regular season, including an important clash with Baylor on Saturday (8 p.m., FS1), UCF has a chance to bolster its chances for postseason play before heading into the Big 12 Tournament on March 10 in Kansas City.
“We’ve talked about it’s time to sprint,” Dawkins said of the final stretch. “We need to be sprinting toward the end of the season and our guys have taken that to heart.”
“We’re just trying to stay hungry and not getting complacent while focusing on the next game,” added guard Chris Johnson.
Even more remarkable is that UCF achieved its wins over Utah and BYU without guard Riley Kugel. The senior, who has been the team’s leading scorer, has missed the past two games after suffering a lower leg injury late in the Knights’ 82-71 win over TCU on Feb. 17.
Johnson has stepped up in Kugel’s absence, averaging 8.5 points, 2 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 24 minutes of action.
Also concerning is the status of starting forward Jamichael Stillwell, who appeared to roll his foot late in Tuesday’s game. He was helped off the court and into the locker room, then returned while wearing a medical boot on his right foot.
Stillwell had 12 points and 12 rebounds before leaving the game at the 4:49 mark, his seventh double-double of the season and the 23rd of his career.
The senior’s importance to the Knights can’t be understated.
During the past two games, UCF is plus-23 in point differential when he is on the court and minus-8 when he is on the bench.
Dawkins wouldn’t give a status update on Kugel or Stillwell, only saying both players are “day-to-day.”
“They’re still recovering,” he said. “I don’t think very many players on rosters, unless you’re not playing a lot, are at 100%, so guys are battling different things on all the rosters, I’m sure.”
Baylor (14-14, 4-11 Big 12), meanwhile, is mired in its worst season in more than two decades.
The Bears, who have lost five of their past six games, are at risk of missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2017-18 season, when the team finished 19-15 overall and 8-10 in conference play
Most of Baylor’s struggles center on the team’s high turnover rate (11.7) and defensive lapses.
The Bears have turned the ball over 328 times this season, the third-most in the Big 12, while only forcing 316 takeaways.
Still, Dawkins isn’t taking anything for granted this time of the year.
“They’re a really talented team with a terrific coach who has won a national championship, so we know they’re going to be well prepared as well,” Dawkins said. “We know we’re going to see a great Baylor team come out and give a great effort and we have to match that with a great effort ourselves.”
Please find me on X, Bluesky or Instagram @osmattmurschel. Email: mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com. Sign up for the Sentinel’s Knights Weekly newsletter for a roundup of all our UCF coverage.
