ORLANDO – The Knights check in at fifth overall in the annual American Athletic Conference men's basketball preseason poll and senior Brandon Mahan was selected preseason second-team all-conference as announced by the conference on Wednesday.
Voted on by the league's coaches, UCF was predicted to finish fifth of 11 teams in the conference for the upcoming 2021-22 season.
The Knights finished last season 11-12 overall and 8-10 in league play. UCF went on a run late in the season, picking up wins in five of its last six games, including a 72-62 win over ECU to open the conference tournament, but the Knights' season came to a close in the quarterfinals with a 70-62 loss to Memphis. UCF is among the leaders in the country with 97 percent of its points scored and 96 percent of its minutes played from the 2020-21 season returning for the upcoming season.
The Knights totaled 66 points in the poll, placing them just ahead of Cincinnati in sixth (52) and just behind Wichita State in fourth (76).
Defending league champion and NCAA Tournament Final Four team from a year ago Houston was picked to win the conference again in 2021-22. The Cougars had eight of 11 first-place votes.
Memphis received the other three first-place nods, finishing second in the poll. SMU and Wichita State were predicted to finish third and fourth, respectively, with UCF rounding out the top five.
Picking up his first career AAC preseason nod, Mahan broke out in his second year with the Knights in 2020-21. The six-foot-five guard totaled 12.3 points per game and was tied for the UCF high with 5.0 rebounds per contest. Mahan owns an .840 free throw percentage over his career with the Knights, currently the highest mark in program history.
Mahan ranked sixth in the nation with his 90.6 percent mark from the free throw line and was third in the American Athletic Conference with a 43.8 percent clip from 3-point range in 2020-21. He was also Top 15 in The American in threes made per game, field goal percentage, and minutes played per game, helping him to earn third-team all-conference honors following the end of the season.
Mahan's best outing from last season was his 32-point effort in UCF's win at 15th-ranked Florida State on Dec. 19. He went 10-of-13 from the field and 10-of-10 from the line to top the Seminoles.
The Knights kick off the 2021-22 season with a Nov. 10 home contest against Robert Morris. To view the full season schedule, and to purchase tickets for the upcoming season, click here.
The complete AAC preseason poll and awards can be found below.
Preseason Coaches' Poll
| 1 | Houston (8) | 98 |
| 2 | Memphis (3) | 92 |
| 3 | SMU | 77 |
| 4 | Wichita State | 76 |
| 5 | UCF | 66 |
| 6 | Cincinnati | 52 |
| 7 | Tulsa | 43 |
| 8 | Temple | 37 |
| T9 | South Florida | 25 |
| T9 | Tulane | 25 |
| 11 | East Carolina | 14 |
First-place votes in parenthesis.
Preseason Player of the Year
Tyson Etienne, Wichita State
Preseason Rookie of the Year
Jalen Duren, Memphis
Preseason All-Conference First Team
Marcus Sasser, Jr., G, Houston
Jalen Duren, Fr., C, Memphis
Landers Nolley II, R-Jr., G, Memphis
Kendric Davis, Sr., G, SMU*
Tyson Etienne, Jr., G, Wichita State*
Preseason All-Conference Second Team
Brandon Mahan, Gr., G, UCF
Emoni Bates, Fr., F, Memphis
Deandre Williams, Sr., F, Memphis
Jeremiah Davenport, Jr., G, Cincinnati
Jaylen Forbes, So., G, Tulane
* denotes unanimous selection
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