ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The most successful UCF men's basketball season in over a decade continues Wednesday night when the Knights host Illinois in the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament with a trip to Madison Square Garden on the line.
The Knights (23-11) and the Fighting Illini (20-14) will tip-off at 7 p.m. with coverage on ESPN2 and FM 96.9 The Game. The winner will advance to the semifinals of the NIT against the winner of tonight's contest between TCU and Richmond.
A limited number of tickets for Wednesday night's battle are still available and start at just $12. Fans can call (407) 823-1000 or CLICK HERE to purchase.
The semifinal and championship games are held at New York City's Madison Square Garden. The semifinals are scheduled for March 28 with the finals taking place two days later on March 30.
UCF reached the quarterfinals by defeating Colorado 79-74 at home in the first round and taking down top seeded Illinois State 63-62 in Normal, Ill., last night in second round action. Illinois, meanwhile, picked up a pair of home victories over Valparaiso (82-57) and Boise State (71-56) to advance in the postseason tournament.
The Fighting Illini, as a two seed, are seeded higher than the fourth seeded Knights, but are unable to host the quarterfinals due to a conflict at their home arena. Illinois holds a 14-5 home record and is just 3-6 in true road games this season with wins at Northwestern, Iowa and Nebraska.
UCF, on the other hand, has been stellar at CFE Arena in 2016-17. The Knights hold a home record of 14-3 and have won four out of their last five games in front of the UCF faithful. That includes a 53-49 victory over then No. 15 Cincinnati on Senior Day.
The Knights earned their 23rd win of the season by winning at Illinois State Monday in Normal, Ill. UCF came back from an 18-point deficit to snap the Redbirds 22-game home winning streak and knock the last number one seed out of the NIT.
Sophomore B.J. Taylor led the way again, scoring 17 of his 22 game high points in the second half. The point guard went 11-for-11 from the free throw line, hitting a pair from the stripe with 1.3 seconds left to lift the Knights over the Redbirds.
With 23 wins on the season, this year's squad now has the most wins by a UCF team in over a decade and the third most ever in the program's Division I era. UCF won 25 games in the Atlantic Sun Championship 2003-04 season and 24 games in the 2004-05 championship campaign.
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