With only three conference matchups left and postseason buzz growing louder, take a look back at the Knights’ 20-win campaign — their second straight under Dawkins — and everything that’s powered this season’s surge, as the March to Madness begins.
Game 1 vs Hofstra
Final Score: 82-78
- With zero returning points from last season and a roster full of new faces, expectations were modest for opening night.
- The Knights quickly proved their potential, though, with four of five starters scoring in double figures, led by Orlando native Riley Kugel, with 19 points.
- The win marked the program’s third straight home-opener victory and the ninth under Coach Dawkins.
Game 3 vs Florida A&M
Final Score: 97-60
- The Knights’ bench exploded for 51 points, led by Carmelo Pacheco with 17 points, generated by a 5-of-6 from three-point range.
- Beyond scoring, the team dominated defensively, doubling the Rattlers’ rebound total (48-24) and holding them to just 20 points in the first half.
Game 4 at Texas A&M
Final Score: 86-74
- UCF faced its first major road test with a trip to College Station, taking on a Texas A&M team eager for payback after the Black and Gold stunned the then‑No. 13 Aggies in their home opener the season before.
- Despite not returning a single player from last year’s roster, the Knights delivered the same result, an 86-74 win to complete a home‑and‑home sweep of the Aggies.
- UCF’s resilience defined the night, as the Knights erased a 14‑point second‑half deficit to seize control and secure the road triumph.
Game 5 vs Oakland
Final Score: 87-83
- The Grizzlies pushed UCF to the wire under 42nd‑year head coach Greg Kampe, but the Knights held firm behind 18 points from Riley Kugel, who sealed the win at the free-throw line and reached 1,000 career points.
- Jamichael Stillwell powered the paint effort with his first double‑double of the season, finishing with 20 points and 14 rebounds. Themus Fulks added 11 points and 10 assists for a double‑double of his own, the first double-digit assisting outing for the emerging power guard.
Game 6 vs Pitt
Final Score: 77-67
- In their first neutral‑site outing of the season, the Knights traveled to Daytona Beach for the Legends Classic and quickly took control, leading for 32 minutes on the way to a 77-67 win.
- Stillwell delivered his second straight double‑double, finishing with 12 points and 11 rebounds to anchor the interior, while Kugel led the charge once again, posting 18 points, four rebounds, and four assists in a complete all‑around performance to be named the Legends Classic MVP.
Game 7 vs Quinnipiac
Final Score: 102-91
- A dominant second half that saw the Knights outscore the Bobcats 55-39 paved the way for the Knights' first 100-point performance of the season.
- A new contributor stepped up as Jeremy Foumena delivered a career‑high 18 points to fuel the win.
- Most impressively, Fulks finished finishing with 13 assists, the most by a UCF player in more than a decade and just one shy of the program’s single‑game record.
Game 8 vs VMI
Final Score: 82-57
- Dominance on the boards powered the Knights to their fourth home win of the season, highlighted by a new program record of 28 offensive rebounds, their highest mark in a game since the 1996-97 campaign.
- Stillwell became the engine of the rebounding efforts, matching his career high with 14 total boards and setting a new personal best with 10 on the offensive end. The Atlanta native also led the Knights with 21 points, locking in his third double‑double of the season.
Game 9 vs Towson
Final Score: 86-61
- The Knights never trailed a single second in their matchup with the Tigers, with the victory moving them to 8-1 on the season, officially securing the best start under head coach Johnny Dawkins since his arrival in 2016
- It also pushed their win streak to seven, their longest since the 2019 March Madness run, when they strung together the same seven‑game burst from Dec. 8 to Jan. 13.
Game 10 vs Mercer
Final Score: 81-63
- Despite a ten-day gap from their last game, the Knights wasted no time picking right back up, once again leading Mercer for the full 40 minutes.
- A season‑high 64.3% shooting clip in the second half kept the Knights firmly in control, closing the night by knocking down five straight field goals.
Game 11 vs FGCU
Final Score: 102-80
- Heading into halftime tied, the Knights stormed out of the locker room and took complete control in the second half, powering their way to their second 100‑point outing of the season.
- The win was fueled by a three‑point barrage, as the Knights drilled 19-of-35 from deep to set a new program record for threes in a single game, breaking the previous mark of 17 set against Tulsa in 2023.
- Stillwell finished the night with 14 points and 13 rebounds to earn a second straight double-double and fifth of the season.
Game 12 vs Florida Atlantic
Final Score: 85-80
- The Knights finished non-conference play with a bang, boosting their record to an electrifying 11-1 start, the best of Coach Dawkins’ tenure.
- Their victory over the Owls extended their winning streak to 10 consecutive games, the longest under Dawkins and the longest since the 2010-11 season, when the team opened with a 14-0 run.
- John Bol found his footing, logging his first career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Game 13 vs No. 17 Kansas
Final Score: 81-75
- Vying to show that their nonconference dominance could carry into the toughest conference in the nation, the Knights welcomed No. 17 Kansas to Orlando to open Big 12 play.
- Leading for 27 minutes, they proved it, as a game-winning three-pointer from Burks lifted the Knights to an 81-75 upset in their first conference contest of the season.
- Coach Dawkins, as both a player and coach, improved his combined record to 7-3 against Kansas, Bill Self, or a combination of the two.
Game 15 vs Cincinnati
Final Score: 73-72
- Playing their first home game as a ranked team since the 2018–19 season, after entering the week nine AP Poll at No. 25, the Knights extended their home winning streak to nine.
- The Black and Gold shot 57.7% from the field, their best mark against a Big 12 opponent since joining the conference ahead of the 2023–24 season.
- Despite neither team ever holding more than a seven-point lead, the Knights’ offense was steadied by Kugel, who logged 19 points, marking his 12th double-digit scoring outing of the season.
Game 16 at Kansas State
Final Score: 82-73
- The Knights snapped an eight-game road losing streak in Big 12 play with their victory over the Wildcats, improving to 3-1 in conference, the program’s best Big 12 start.
- The win was fueled by Fulks, who finished with 11 points and 12 assists, but his impact extended well beyond the stat line.
- Fulks made history for the program, becoming the first Knight ever with five double-digit assist games in a single season, the first in a Black and Gold uniform this century to post three point-assist double-doubles in a season, and the first in program history to record back-to-back games with at least 10 assists.
Game 19 at Colorado
Final Score: 95-86
- After back-to-back top-10 matchups, the Knights aimed to bounce back on the road at Colorado. And they did, quickly regaining their footing with five players scoring in double figures to secure the victory.
- Kugel led the way, hitting a career-best six three-pointers en route to 22 points.
Game 20 vs Arizona St.
Final Score: 79-76
- Despite trailing by 12 points in the last six-minute stretch of the game, the Knights proved resilient, coming back to top the Sun Devils 79-76.
- Once again, four Knights scored in double figures for an all-around team victory, led by Kugel, who contributed 17 points, nine rebounds, and five assists.
Game 21 vs No. 11 Texas Tech
Final Score: 88-80
- For 36 minutes and six seconds, the UCF Citronauts controlled the Saturday Space Game matchup over then-No. 11 Texas Tech, knocking off the Raiders in a decisive 88-80 victory.
- The ‘Nauts controlled every aspect of the game over their ranked opponents, holding a double-digit rebounding advantage (35-23) and complemented that with tight ball control, forcing 13 turnovers while committing only six.
- The win improved UCF to 17-4 overall, the most wins through January in program history.
Game 25 vs TCU
Final Score: 82-71
- Snapping a three-game losing streak at a pivotal moment with postseason play approaching, the Knights controlled their matchup with the Horned Frogs from tipoff to final whistle.
- UCF was powered by a strong outing from Jordan Burks, who tied his career high with 23 points; however, it also showed it still has depth to give, as George Beale Jr. added 11 points, shooting an impressive 3-for-4 from beyond the arc to record his first double-digit scoring performance of conference play.
Game 26 at Utah
Final Score: 73-71
- Despite the absence of leading scorer Kugel from the match-up, the Knights held strong, becoming the fastest UCF team to reach 19 victories since the 2019 tournament run.
- The win also boosted the Knights 8-6 in conference play, marking UCF’s most conference wins since joining the Big 12 ahead of the 2023-24 season.
Game 27 at No. 19 BYU
Final Score: 97-84
- In a game the No. 19 Cougars were favored to win by double digits, the Knights took a major step toward strengthening their NCAA Tournament résumé, earning a double-digit road victory.
- The win marked UCF’s third ranked victory of the season and the fifth ranked road win of the Dawkins era.
- The Knights exploded for 52 points in the opening half, their highest-scoring half of the season and just one point shy of the highest-scoring half in the Dawkins era, while holding the Cougs to just 28, forcing them to face their largest deficit of the season, at any point, in any game, going into halftime.
- The victory snapped BYU’s 16-game home winning streak against unranked opponents at the Marriott Center, including a 10-0 mark this season.
- UCF also became one of just three Big 12 teams to complete a Utah road sweep since BYU joined the conference, joining No. 5 Houston and No. 16 Texas Tech.
WHAT'S AHEAD
The squad has just two home games remaining this season, hosting Baylor on Saturday, Feb. 28, before facing Oklahoma State on Tuesday, March 3, in their final senior Space Game. They will then travel to West Virginia on Friday, March 6, for their regular-season conference finale.
Postseason play begins March 10 in Kansas City, Mo., at the Big 12 Tournament, with seeding and game times still to be announced. The Knights are currently projected safely into the NCAA Tournament field, as no Big 12 team with a winning record has missed the tournament since the 2006-07 season. It will be the Knights' first tournament berth since the 2018-19 season.
SINGLE GAME AND SEASON TICKETS ON SALE NOW
UCF basketball single-game and season tickets are on sale now. Be sure to catch all the action at Addition Financial Arena as Big 12 play heats up in Orlando. Tickets can be purchased by calling the ticket office at (407) 823-1000 or online here.
ABOUT UCF ATHLETICS
UCF is a proud member of the Big 12 Conference. Our mission is to positively transform the lives of our students academically, athletically, and personally through a nationally competitive intercollegiate athletics program that enhances the reputation and visibility of the University. We strive to be Florida's preeminent athletic program, representing UCF and our community with distinction on the national stage as "Orlando's Hometown Team". To learn more about UCF and Athletics, please visit our websites at www.ucf.edu and www.ucfknights.com.