Top 10 Moments – The first two years under head coach Johnny Dawkins have included a number of great moments for UCF Men's Basketball. With a highly anticipated third season coming up in 2018-19, we're counting down the Top 10 Moments in the Johnny Dawkins era so far.
#4 – TAKING OUT TOP-SEEDED ILLINOIS STATE IN NIT
In 2016-17, the Illinois State men's basketball team went 17-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference, and fell to Wichita State in the league title game.
At 27-6, the Redbirds just missed out on an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament, and instead received a number one seed in the National Invitation Tournament.
After defeating UC Irvine in the first round of the NIT, 85-71, Illinois State welcomed fourth-seeded UCF to Normal, Ill., in front of a capacity crowd of 7,984 at Redbird Arena, where the home team had won its last 22 games.
The Knights trailed by as much as 18, when Illinois State took a 33-15 lead late in the first half, but that didn't stop UCF.
The Knights ended the first on an 8-3 run and fought their way back until they eventually tied the game at 58-58 with just 3:49 to play in the game.
BJ Taylor, who led UCF with a game high 22 points and five assists, nearly allowed Illinois State to grab hold of the game in the final moments. His personal foul put Mikyle McIntosh on the line with just four seconds left.
McIntosh hit both free throws to give the Redbirds a 62-61 advantage. Taylor knew it was on him.
Next, the point guard took the inbound pass from one end of the court to the other, drew contact against McIntosh and earned a trip to the line himself.
Now with just one second remaining on the clock, Taylor composed himself and connected on both to give the Knights a 63-62 victory and earn UCF a spot in the NIT Quarterfinals.
Top 10 Moments
10 - A.J. Davis' Shocker vs. Wichita
9 - Matt Williams' 11 Three-Pointers
8 – B.J. and A.J. Score 1,000 Points
7 – The Record Setting Shutdown of SMU
6 – Tacko Dominates in Back-to-Back Monster Games
5 – Winning Four Straight Games vs. Memphis
4 – Taylor Time at Illinois State
TICKETS FOR 2018-19
Fans excited for the upcoming 2018-19 UCF men's basketball season can purchase tickets today by calling (407) 823-1000 or online here: https://ucfknights.co/mbb1819tix.
