March 20, 2009
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (UCFAthletics.com) - On the heels of a remarkable turnaround and a run to the Conference USA tournament title, UCF appears in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in its history and first time since 1999 on Saturday afternoon. UCF, the 14th seed in the Oklahoma City Regional, takes on third-seeded North Carolina at 12:06 p.m. at McKenzie Arena.
The game will be aired live in its entirety in the Central Florida area on ESPN2. Dave O'Brien will serve as the play-by-play announcer while Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman will handle the color analyst duties.
UCF fans will also have the opportunity to listen to a radio broadcast of the game on the official flagship station of UCF Athletics, 740 AM WYGM the Game. Knights' fans not in the Central Florida area can also listen to the broadcast live via the internet by clicking on the following link:Live Broadcast.
UCF (17-16) enters the tournament riding a season-best six-game winning streak after claiming the Conference USA tournament title with four wins in four days from March 5-8. The Knights have not lost since Feb. 21 at Tulane, and at 17-16 overall sit above .500 for the first time this season. UCF has won 15 of its last 20 games overall.
The Tar Heels enter the tournament with an overall record of 27-6 after defeating South Dakota 75-69 on Sunday in a non-conference game. UNC fell to Maryland on March 8 in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament.
The winner of the UCF-UNC contest will advance to Monday's round of 32 to face the winner of sixth-seeded Purdue and 11th-seeded Charlotte. Purdue and Charlotte will meet Saturday afternoon in Chatanooga following the UCF-UNC game.
It will be just the second meeting all-time between the Tar Heels and the Knights, with UNC winning the first 99-51 on Nov. 28, 1987 in Orlando.
KNIGHTS NOTES ? UCF IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT TOURNEY: UCF is 0-2 all-time in NCAA Tournament play. The Knights will be making their first appearance since 1999 and third in the program's history. In both previous appearances, UCF was seeded 16th and played against a top-seeded Louisiana Tech squad. In 1996, the Knights fell 98-41 to a Lady Techsters team that reached the Elite Eight. In 1999, the Lady Techsters opened with a 90-48 win over UCF and advanced to the Final Four.
? UCF VERSUS THE ACC: The Knights are 7-31 all-time against teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference. In the program's history, UCF has played six of the 12 current ACC teams. The Knights will look to end a 23-game losing streak, dating back to the Knights' 98-90 victory over Florida State on Jan. 18, 1986. UCF is 0-3 against the ACC this season, having already played Miami, Wake Forest and Florida State.
? THE ROAD TO THE SWEET 16: Against the teams in Chattanooga, UCF is currently 2-3. The Knights are 0-1 against UNC, 0-2 against Purdue and 2-1 against Charlotte.
? UCF AGAINST THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA: The Knights are 25-27 in the program's history against teams from the state of North Carolina.
? IN THE VOLUNTEER STATE: UCF has won four of its last five contests in the state of Tennessee, including a 3-1 record against Memphis since joining Conference USA.
? NORTH OF .500: The team's six-game winning streak has them above .500 for the first time in 2008-09. At one point nine games below .500, UCF last had an even record when it defeated Florida A&M on Nov. 21 to move to 1-1. The team has now won 15 of its last 20 games.
? BACK IN THE BIG DANCE: UCF head coach Joi Williams will be coaching in the NCAA Tournament as a head coach for the first time, but Williams is no stranger to the event. Williams coached in the tournament while an assistant coach with Florida nine different times.
? TOURNEY TURNAROUND: The Knights had not won a C-USA Tournament game in three trips since joining the league in 2005-06. With four wins this year, UCF now stands at 4-3.
? IN THE BOOKS: Emma Cannon has already established herself as one of the top rebounders in school history. She shattered the previous school record for rebounds in a single-season with 379, and now with 640 rebounds in her young career, she is on pace to become just the second Knight to grab 1,000 rebounds and top Tamika Coley's all-time record of 1,211 boards.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.