ORLANDO (UCFKnights.com) – Four games in four days. It will take winning all four this weekend for the UCF men's basketball team to capture its first ever American Athletic Conference Championship, starting Thursday at 9 p.m. against ECU.
The Knights (18-12, 9-9) are the sixth seed in the 2018 Aaron's American Athletic Conference Championship, after finishing 9-9 during league play, and will play in the nightcap of Thursday's First Round against the 11th seeded Pirates (10-19, 4-14).
A win over ECU would advance UCF to the quarterfinals and a rematch with third seeded Houston Friday night at 9 p.m. Back on Feb. 3, the Cougars defeated the Knights 69-65 at CFE Arena behind 20 points from First Team All-Conference guard Rob Gray.
The first two rounds of the tournament will air on the ESPN family of networks with UCF's contests set for ESPNU. Saturday's semifinal and Sunday's championship game are both slated for 3:30 p.m. tips on CBS.
UCF goes into the four-day tournament having won its final game of the regular season, a 60-51 home victory over Tulane. The Knights snapped a three-game skid with the win, as B.J. Taylor scored 19 points and grabbed six rebounds.
Taylor leads the Knights with 15.5, having played in just 13 games since returning from an injured foot. The junior point guard has scored 20 or more points six times and would rank fifth in the league in scoring if he qualified.
Having played in all but one game during the regular season, A.J. Davis aims to make a mark in the final conference tournament of his career. The senior has been on fire down the stretch, averaging 18.9 points per game, while shooting 57.7 percent from the field and 58.1 percent from beyond the arc over the last seven contests.
Davis, an All-Conference Honorable Mention selection, is averaging career highs of 12.4 points and 8.0 rebounds per game on the year. The latter ranks second in The American.
GAME INFO
Date: Thursday, Mar. 8
Time: 9 p.m. ET
TV: ESPNU
Radio: 96.9 FM/740 AM The Game
SiriusXM: Sirius 138, XM 202
Live Stats: http://ucfknights.co/aacmbbstats030818
NOTES TO KNOW
- UCF leads ECU 19-9 in the all-time series.
- The Knights won the only meeting between the two teams this season, coming away with the 59-39 victory in Greenville on Dec. 31.
- ECU defeated UCF 81-80 in overtime in the First Round of The American Championship back in 2015.
- The Knights are 2-4 all-time at The American Championship.
- The last time UCF won a conference title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament was 2005.
- Last year, the Knights defeated Memphis 84-54 in the Quarterfinals to advance to their first ever AAC Semifinals.
- Sixth is the second highest seed UCF has ever had in The American Championship. Last season's fourth seed was the highest.
- UCF is third in the nation, holding opponents to 61.3 points per game.
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE GAME NOTES – ECU
PURCHASE TICKETS
Tickets for Thursday night's First Round game of The American Championship are on sale now. Thursday's general admission tickets are good for UCF's 9 p.m. game against ECU and the 7 p.m. game between Temple and Tulane. Tickets are $30. To purchase, call (407) 823-1000 or CLICK HERE. All tickets purchase through UCF must be picked up at the UCF will call inside the main lobby of Amway Center starting at 6 p.m. Thursday.
STUDENT TICKETS
UCF students can get tickets to Thursday's game for just $10. Students must purchase tickets at the Amway Center Box Office and must have their student ID.
RENEW FOR 2018-19
Before the end of the 2017-18 season, renew your tickets for 2018-19 today! This year's deadline for renewal is April 16. Fans are encouraged to renew their UCF Basketball tickets today by calling (407) 823-1000 (Option 2) or visiting UCFKnights.com.