ORLANDO (UCFKnights.com) –The UCF men’s basketball team has won three in a row, including Saturday’s 69-64 victory over then No. 6/8 Houston. On Monday, the Knights cracked the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time since 2011.
UCF (22-6, 12-4) is ranked 25th in the poll, the program’s first appearance since Jan. 10, 2011 and just the fifth time the team has ever been ranked. All four of the other rankings were during the 2010-11 campaign.
The Knights are also back to receiving votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll, as one of the first teams outside of the Top 25.
UCF has won six of its last seven games and has two more regular season outings to go, hosting No. 19/20 Cincinnati on Thursday and traveling to Temple on Saturday.
Thursday’s 7 p.m. matchup with the Bearcats marks the first-ever ranked match-up at CFE Arena. The game between UCF and Cincinnati will air on ESPN2 and FM 96.9 The Game.
The Knights also made a big jump in Andy Katz’s Power 36 Rankings at NCAA.com, climbing to 21st overall.
The computer systems are also favoring the Knights late in the 2018-19 season. UCF is rated 29th in most recent NCAA NET Rankings, but are up to 24th in the KPI. The Knights are 34th in the BPI, 36th in KenPom Rankings and 32nd in Sagarin.
UCF has one final home game this season. Fans can purchase for Thursday’s game against Cincinnati by calling (407) 823-1000 or online at: https://ucfknights.co/selloutCFE19
UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins and sophomore Collin Smith will be on UCF Knight Talk Monday night at Burger U to talk about the recent victory over Houston and preview Thursday’s big game.