ORLANDO (UCFKnights.com) – After defeating 11th seeded ECU 66-52 in the First Round of the 2018 Aaron's American Athletic Conference Championship Thursday night, the UCF men's basketball team turns its attention to the third seeded Houston Cougars.
The Knights (19-12) and the no. 21 ranked Cougars (24-6) are scheduled to tip-off at 9 p.m. Friday night on ESPNU. The winner of Friday's quarterfinal at the Amway Center will take on either second seeded Wichita State or seventh seeded Temple Saturday afternoon.
UCF and Houston met just one time during the regular season. 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.
Gray and the Cougars watched the Knights take out ECU Thursday, as B.J. Taylor scored 17 points and dished out four assists in the victory. Senior A.J. Davis added 14 points, while Chad Brown chipped in with eight points a game high 10 rebounds.
A win on Friday would mark the first time the Knights have won two straight games in The American Tournament and it would be UCF's second straight trip to the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Championship.
GAME INFO
Date: Friday, Mar. 9
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/2p2OM06
NOTES TO KNOW
- Houston leads UCF 13-10 in the all-time series.
- The Cougars won the only meeting of the season, 69-65, in Orlando.
- Houston has also won the only neutral site meeting between the two teams, a 2006 Conference USA Tournament game.
- The Knights are now 3-4 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 61.0 points per game.
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE GAME NOTES – HOUSTON
PURCHASE TICKETS
Tickets for Friday night's First Round game of The American Championship are on sale now. Friday's tickets are good for UCF's 9 p.m. game against Houston and the 7 p.m. game between Temple and Wichita State. 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. Friday.
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.