Men’s Hoops Heads to #8 Houston For Midweek Matchup

GAME INFORMATION
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 4
Time: 7 p.m. ET
TV: FS1
TV Talent: Tim Brando (PxP), Laphonso Ellis (Analyst)
Radio: FM 96.9/AM 740 The Game
Radio Talent: Marc Daniels (PxP)
Live Stats: click here

History With Houston

• UCF has lost the previous 10 matchups against the Cougars, last winning at Houston Mar. 9, 2019.
• Since the last time UCF won at Houston, the Cougars are 106-6 at home. Three of those six losses were during a conference game.
• Since joining the Big 12, Houston has only lost one home game and currently holds a 16 game home winning streak.
• When the Knights last beat the Cougars, the Black and Gold snapped a 33-game home win streak held by Houston.

Knights Eclipse Red Raiders, 88-80

• UCF led for 36 minutes and six seconds, knocking off 11th ranked Texas Tech for a second ranked win this season.
• The Black and Gold asserted dominance on the glass with a 35-23 rebound advantage, matching that presence with tight ball security, forcing 13 turnovers while surrendering only six.
• John Bol’s out of this world performance for a second career double-double with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 6-8 shooting, rallied Space U to victory.
  1 The Red Raiders made a final push late to pull within two with 1:55 remaining, but the Knights kicked into full throttle, as a Chris Johnson fastbreak dunk in the final moments put UCF in the front seat of victory, 88-80.
• The victory lifts the Knights to 17-4 overall, the most wins through the month of January in program history, and 6-3 in Big 12 play. UCF asserted itself on the glass with a double-digit rebounding advantage (35-23) and matched that presence with tight ball security, forcing 13 turnovers while surrendering only six, an effort that underscored their control throughout.

The Knights’ Checkmate

•  The Knights’ blueprint for success has gone far beyond shooting percentages, driven by their ability to control the game. 
• The Black and Gold have been unbeatable during games where they lead at half (12-0), and when they lead with 10 minutes remaining (13-0). 
•  Defense has been a defining strength for UCF, while holding its opponents under 80 points, with an 11-0 record in those matches.
• The Knights also remain undefeated (16-0) when controlling the glass and out rebounding their opponents.

UCF Rallies From 12-Point Deficit, 79-76, over Arizona State

• In the last six minutes of regulation, the Knights, down 12, came back in miraculous fashion to advance to 16-4, their best mark since the 2018-19 season, and their best Big 12 Conference start.
• After trailing 12 with 6:09 left, the Knights fired up a 21-6 run until the clock hit zero, punctuated by a Jordan Burks three from the left wing to give the Black and Gold a 78-76 lead with 34 seconds remaining. Burks followed just moments later, stealing the ball with 11 seconds remaining to seal the victory.
• After shooting 1-10 from downtown in the first half, UCF found their shooter’s touch, going 6-12 from behind the arc in the second half.

Knights Edge Colorado 95-86

• UCF put on a shooting masterclass in Boulder, shooting 61.1% from the field and 62.5% downtown, a program best during Big 12 conference play.
• Five players scored in double figures, led by Riley Kugel’s 22 points and a career-high six three-pointers made. Themus Fulks scored 19 points of his own, dishing out eight assists.
• The Knights were 10-13 from long range in the opening period, the second time UCF has made 10 threes in a half this season, and the third time in program history the Knights earned this mark.
• The Buffalos trimmed the Knights lead down to six with under three minutes remaining in the second period, but a miraculous bank shot three by Kugel with 0.6 left on the shot clock swung momentum UCF’s way, with the team making its next nine field goal attempts to seal the 95-86 victory.

Fulks Tabbed to Big 12 Starting Five 

• Themus Fulks was named to the Big 12 starting five in weeks 11 and 13
• The fifth-year guard earned the first honor after helping UCF secure its first Big 12 road win of the season and scoring a career-best 30 points against No. 1 Arizona.
• Fulks totaled 13 points and 12 assists in an 82-73 win at Kansas State, becoming the first Knight with five double-digit assist games in a season.
• He is the first UCF player this century with three point-assist double-doubles in a season and the first in program history with back-to-back games of 10+ assists.
• Against Arizona, he tallied 30 points, eight assists and five rebounds to become the fourth DI player in the last 30 years to have at least 30 points, five rebounds and five assists against a No. 1 opponent, joining Boston College’s Ky Bowman, Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield and Clemson’s Greg Buckner.
• The second honor came as Fulks led the Knights to their second ranked victory of the year against #11 Texas Tech.
• He poured in a team-high 21 points and dished out seven assists against Texas Tech and earlier in the week contributed six assists ans 12 points in the Knights comeback win against Arizona State. 

Rising Through the Ranks             

• UCF men’s basketball debuted at No. 25 in the Week 9 Associated Press Top 25, marking its first appearance in the poll since 2019.
• The ranking comes during the best start of head coach Johnny Dawkins’ tenure, as the Knights entered Week 9 with a 12-1 record.
• UCF earned the ranking after a statement 81–75 win over then-No. 17 Kansas this past weekend.
• This marks just the sixth week UCF has appeared in the AP Top 25 since the program began in 1969, and the second time under Dawkins.
• As of Feb. 2, UCF ranks 37th in the NCAA NET, climbing as high as 30th, its best NET ranking since joining the Big 12.They have shown far more movement than in their first two seasons, when they sat 80th at this point in 2024 and 70th in 2023.
• The Knights are also 45th in KenPom, nearing the program’s all-time best of No. 34, last reached in 2019.
• UCF’s remaining schedule includes four quad 1 games and six quad 2 games. The Knights are 4-4 in quad 1, having swept Texas A&M in a home-and-home series, beating No. 17 Kansas at home, winning at Colorado in a shootout, and defeating #11 Texas Tech in the Space Game.
• Dawkins’ 2018-19 team finished nonconference play ranked 46th in the NCAA NET Rankings, though they climbed as high as 26 before ending their season in the tournament’s second round.

Kugel Named Big 12 Starting Five - Week Nine            

• Riley Kugel was named to the Big 12 starting five, released on Jan. 5.
• The senior paced the Knights in a statement 81-75 victory over then-No. 17 Kansas on Jan. 3, scoring 19 points on 8-of-17 shooting. His performance was highlighted by a game-sealing and-one in the closing moments
• Kugel has reached double figures in nine games this year, with his standout outing coming against Vanderbilt. In that contest, he poured in a career-high 25 points on 4-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc, while adding four assists and five rebounds.

 

 

Knights Topple No. 17 Kansas in Big 12 Opener            

• With the game tied at 72 and under a minute remaining, Jordan Burks delivered when it mattered most. UCF and Kansas had battled every second, each team vying to start the Big 12 season 1-0. But Kansas’ hopes were dashed as Burks pulled up from the long range in the final moments, sinking a clutch three-pointer to lift the Knights to an 81-75 upset at Addition Financial Arena.
• This is the second consecutive season the Knights have won their conference opener, and the first time they’ve beaten a ranked opponent since last year’s season home opener against then No. 13/15 Texas A&M. Dawkins, as a player and coach, is now a combined 7-3 in meetings against either Kansas or Bill Self, or a combination of both.
• The Knights committed just six turnovers all evening while forcing 12 from the Jayhawks, who normally average 10.8 turnovers per game and force 9.46 themselves.
• A trio of Knights scored in double digits as Riley Kugel led the way with 19 points followed by Themus Fulks with 16 and Burks added in 14. 

Now you’re Dawkin; Knights Start 12-1            

• Since head coach Johnny Dawkins took the helm in 2016, the Knights have never opened a season quite like this, as their electrifying 12-1 start stands as the best of his tenure. Their win over No. 17 Kansas on Jan. 3 also pushed their streak to 11 straight victories, the longest ever by a Dawkins-led team and the longest since the 2010-11 season when the squad opened the season on a 14-0 tear.
• UCF was one of three teams in the Big 12 with just one loss as they entered conference play, joined by Oklahoma State, No. 8 Houston and No. 19 BYU, while No. 1 Arizona and No. 3 Iowa State stepped into Big 12 play undefeated.
• Beyond Dawkins’ own record-breaking start, his group has already left its mark in the program record book, as the Knights set a new single-game record with 19 made three-pointers in their Dec. 20 win over FGCU, surpassing the previous mark of 17 set against Tulsa on Feb. 11, 2023.
• Dawkins has his core group locked down early, as the Knights have yet to lose with Riley Kugel, Themus Fulks, Jamichael Stillwell, Jordan Burks, and John Bol in the starting lineup.

Fulks Controls The Flow            

• Milwaukee transfer Themus Fulks has quickly established himself as UCF’s floor general, ranking second in the Big 12 and fourth nationally with 7.2 assists per game (151 assists) across 21 games. He delivered his most impressive performance in the Knights’ win over Quinnipiac on Nov. 25, dishing out 13 assists, the most by a UCF player in more than a decade. That effort left him just one shy of the program’s single-game record of 14, held by Kingsley Edwards and Cory Perry.
• Should Fulks maintain a seven-assist per game average across the regular season, he’d shatter the previous program single-season assist record of 183 set in the 1991-92 season by Sinua Phillips.
• Fulks is one of only two players in the Big 12 with at least five games with 10 or more assists, Texas Tech's Christian Anderson has reached the feat six times this season. 
• Fulks has directly contributed 298 points himself and another 362 through his assists, giving him responsibility for 660 of UCF’s 1,768 total points. That means he has accounted for an impressive 37.3 percent of the Knights’ total scoring production this season.
• Fulks has recorded three point-assist double-doubles this season: 11 points and 10 assists against Oakland, an impressive 24 points and 12 assists in the win over FAU, and a stellar in a road conference win against Kansas State. Fulks is the first Knight to ever have three point-assist double-doubles in a single season.

The 4 Factor            

• Number four, Jamichael Stillwell, who transferred from Milwaukee alongside Fulks, has become a dominant two-way presence for the Knights, already recording six double-doubles across 21 games. Unsurprising for the senior who averaged 13 points and 10.7 rebounds last season. He ranks third in the Big 12 and 22nd nationally with 3.45 offensive rebounds per game, highlighted by a career-best 10 in the win over VMI, which ties him for second all-time in program history for offensive boards in a single game.
• Stillwell is on pace to surpass UCF’s single-season double-double record of 12, set by Tacko Fall during the 2016-17 season. Notably, Stillwell recorded 16 double-doubles last season at Milwaukee.
• Fall also set UCF’s single-season offensive rebounding record in 2016-17 with 129, another benchmark Stillwell could challenge if he maintains his production on the offensive glass throughout the season.
• It is worth noting that Fall was a true center, but no forward has surpassed 100 offensive rebounds in a single season, a benchmark that Stillwell is already almost halfway towards.
• Stillwell’s five double-doubles in non-conference play tied him for fifth-most in the Big 12 at the conclusion of non-conference play, ranking him third in program history for double-doubles during non-conference competition, trailing only 2012-13 Keith Clanton (7) and 2016-17 Tacko Fall (8).

Bench Brigade            

• Depth has been a defining trait for the 2025-26 roster, with six different players leading the team in scoring through 21 games. A balance that has translated to one of the Big 12’s most productive benches, as the Black and Gold are averaging 24.8 points per game from their reserves, fifth-best in the conference, highlighted by a 51-point bench performance in the win over Florida A&M on Nov. 11.
• The Knights’ bench reached a program high in 2010-11, scoring 828 points at an average of 25.5 per game. So far, the 2025-26 reserves have amassed 521 points, hinting that this year’s bench could emerge as one of the most efficient in recent history.
• Among the UCF’s bench contributors are key sharpshooters like Carmelo Pacheco, who has scored 96 of his 108 points this season from beyond the arc. Pacheco ranked fourth in NCAA Division I in three-point field goal percentage last season at 46.4 percent and is looking to match that again, currently maintaining a strong 40 percent.

SINGLE GAME AND SEASON TICKETS ON SALE NOW
UCF men's basketball single-match and season tickets are on sale now. Be sure to catch all the action at Addition Financial Arena. Tickets can be purchased online at ucfknights.com/tickets or by calling the ticket office at (407) 823-1000.

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.