UCF Knights Battle for NCAA Tournament Spot

0:00On March 11th, the UCF Knights' men's basketball team finished their regular season at 20 wins and 10 losses overall, with a 9-9 mark-in. Big 12 conference play. They started strong, but hit a rough patch late, leaving them on the bubble for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. Early on, the Knights put together a 12-1 start, including an 11-game winning streak, the best undercoach Johnny Dawkins. They cracked the AP Top 25 at number 25 after knocking off number 17 Kansas to open conference action, and they took down. Other rank foes like number 19 BYU and number 11 Texas Tech. That late fade has fans and analysts worried, though. A string of tough losses, including a 30-point blowout to Iowa State, a 20-point defeat of Cincinnati, and a three-game skid to close things. Out with a key overtime, Quad 3 lost to Oklahoma State, tanked their resume. Projections dropped them from a potential number 7 seed to battling for an 11-seed spot.

1:01Now all eyes are on the Big 12 tournament, where UCF faces Cincinnati on March 11th. A win there could set up a rematch with Arizona, and a deep run might salvage their NCAA hopes or even snag an automatic bid with a title. Knights have one last shot to turn heads before Selection Sunday, so tune in to see if they can rally and punch their ticket to March Madness.