The UCF Knights are starting to look like a team nobody wants to face in March.
Tuesday night’s 79-76 comeback win over Arizona State wasn’t just another tally in the win column - it was a statement. Down 11 with under six minutes to play, UCF didn’t flinch.
Instead, they dug in, locked down defensively, and found a way to claw back in front of a raucous home crowd at Addition Financial Arena. And when the final buzzer sounded, forward Jamichael Stillwell was high-fiving fans, soaking in the kind of win that doesn’t just boost a record - it builds belief.
With that gritty performance, the Knights improved to 16-4 overall and 5-3 in Big 12 play. It’s their second straight win after a tough stretch that included back-to-back losses to top-ranked Arizona and No.
9 Iowa State. But if that rough patch rattled them, you wouldn’t know it.
This group is showing the kind of resilience and identity that travels - and wins - in March.
And make no mistake, the NCAA Tournament is very much in play.
UCF fans have already started mapping out the road to the Big Dance. One popular social media post broke down the Knights’ remaining schedule into four categories: “free win,” “should win,” “can win,” and “upset.”
So far, UCF has checked every box on that list - including snagging a few upsets. But what’s powering this run isn’t just favorable matchups or hot shooting.
It’s something deeper.
It’s identity.
“We’ve got a gutsy group,” head coach Johnny Dawkins said after the win. “They just keep competing.
Until the last second ticks off, they’re going to keep fighting. And in this league, you have to.
The Big 12 is no joke - if you don’t bring it every night, you get knocked back.”
That edge has been on display all season. Wins over then-No.
17 Kansas, Cincinnati, and now Arizona State, plus a hard-fought battle against Arizona, have all followed the same script: UCF refuses to go away. They lean into their defense, ratchet up the intensity, and make every possession matter.
Dawkins doesn’t think the Knights change their style in crunch time - they just turn up the heat.
“Our intensity just goes up,” he said. “They realize the clock is ticking, and when we’re not in the position we want to be, that desire kicks in.
That will to win - you can’t coach that. Either guys have it, or they don’t.
And these guys have it.”
That competitive fire has become UCF’s calling card. They’re not the flashiest team in the Big 12, but they might be one of the toughest.
Every possession is a battle. Every game, a grind.
And as the season wears on, that kind of DNA becomes invaluable.
Now, the road gets steeper again. The Knights are staring down another brutal stretch, with matchups against No.
11 Texas Tech and No. 10 Houston looming.
But if we’ve learned anything about this group, it’s that they don’t back down from a challenge - they embrace it.
UCF will host Texas Tech this Saturday at noon on ESPN2, and the Addition Financial Arena is sure to be rocking. The Knights are playing meaningful basketball in late January, and with every comeback win, they’re getting closer to dancing in March.
This team has heart. It has grit. And most importantly, it has a shot.