FORT WORTH, Texas – After mounting a 76-70 comeback win over SMU on Thursday, the seventh-seeded UCF men's basketball team is set to face second-seeded Memphis in the American Athletic Conference Championship quarterfinals. The Knights and Tigers will tipoff Friday at 7 p.m. on ESPNU from Dickies Arena.
The two previous meetings between the two squads this season were thrillers, coming down to the wire in each scenario. The first meeting saw UCF erase a 14-point deficit and complete the comeback in double overtime, winning 107-104 in Orlando. The return game in Memphis saw the tables turned as UCF was leading late in the game, but a turnover by the Knights with under 10 seconds to go saw the Tigers take the 64-63.
This is the fourth consecutive tournament which the Knights have faced Memphis in the quarterfinals. The Black and Gold were slated to face South Florida in the conference tournament in 2020, but the tournament was canceled due to COVID-19. Friday's contest will be the first time the Knights have ever faced a two seed in The American.
UCF advanced to this season's quarterfinals by erasing a 13-point first-half deficit to SMU. C.J. Kelly and Ithiel Horton scored 29 of UCF's final 35 points, lifting the Knights to their seventh American quarterfinals appearance in their 10 years in the league. Kelly totaled 21 points on the evening while Horton and Taylor Hendricks contributed 15 points.
Memphis enters the contest with a record of 23-8 on the year, having won six of their last eight games with the only losses coming to No. 1 Houston. The Tigers nearly finished the season with the upset over Houston but ultimately fell on a buzzer-beater.
American First-Team All-Conference honorees Kendric Davis and DeAndre Williams lead the charge for Memphis. Davis averages 21.5 points per contest while Williams tallies an average of 17. Davis has tallied an impressive 168 assists on the campaign.
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