UCF basketball is off to one of its best starts in program history, but the competition level is about to ramp up as the team kicks off Big 12 play on Saturday.
The Knights (11-1, 0-0 Big 12) are set to host No. 17 Kansas (9-3, 0-0 Big 12) at Addition Financial Arena (2 p.m., Peacock).
UCF celebrated its first Big 12 home victory against the Jayhawks, clinching a 65-60 win on January 10, 2024. However, since then, the Knights have lost three consecutive games to Kansas.
Still, with 13 newcomers on the roster, this team is totally different from past teams.
“It’s important for us to understand that we have some experience,” said UCF coach Johnny Dawkins. “We have some guys who have been in big moments before on different teams. That experience, combined with what they’ve accomplished at their previous stops, will help them as we move into the Big 12. Obviously, this is the toughest league in college basketball.”
UCF began the week ranked No. 36 in the latest NCAA NET rankings, rolling through its non-conference schedule with quality wins over Pittsburgh and Texas A&M, with the only loss coming against No. 11 Vanderbilt.
The Knights are ranked 10th among Big 12 teams in the latest ESPN Power Index, with the seventh-most demanding remaining schedule in the conference. The Jayhawks are ranked 4th overall and feature the second-most difficult remaining schedule.
Kansas, meanwhile, has a No. 16 NET ranking despite three losses to ranked opponents: No. 25 North Carolina (87-74), No. 5 Duke (78-66) and No. 5 UConn (61-56).
“You want to play those types of teams,” said UCF forward Jamichael Stillwell. “It’s a big opportunity, another opportunity to get better. I feel like it’s another chance to prove myself on the bigger stage.”
UCF kicks off conference play as one of the top three-point shooting teams in the league, hitting 41% of its shots from beyond the arc. In contrast, Kansas boasts the league’s toughest three-point defense, limiting opponents to just 25% accuracy from long range.
Riley Kugel (22-55), Carmelo Pacheco (22-55) and Jordan Burks (21-53) are among the top 3-point shooters for the Knights at about 40%.
Kansas is led by forward Flory Bidunga, who is averaging 14.7 points and 9.2 rebounds per game, and guard Tre White, who is averaging 14.5 points and 7 rebounds per game. True freshman guard Darryn Peterson is averaging 19.3 points in just four games.
A win over the Jayhawks would extend UCF’s winning streak to 11 games, the longest since the 2011-12 season. It would also improve the program’s overall record against ranked foes to 4-16 since joining the Big 12 in 2023. Yet, Dawkins doesn’t want to put too much onus on a win over Kansas.
“They are going to count the same for us,” he said. “We did the same thing through preseason. We didn’t put too much on one game or another. We approached every game the same way, and our guys did a really good job of staying focused. We have to do the same thing through conference play.”
“We’re just trying to go 1-0 every game we play,” added Burks. “We don’t really look at what’s on the front or the back of the jersey. Our biggest competition is ourselves. So we just got to dive in and play UCF basketball.”
Please find me on X, Bluesky or Instagram @osmattmurschel. Email: mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com. Sign up for the Sentinel’s Knights Weekly newsletter for a roundup of all our UCF coverage.
