With the sting of a last-second loss against Baylor on Saturday night still fresh on its collective minds, UCF basketball must quickly turn the corner and prepare to host Oklahoma State in the final home game of the regular season for the Knights.
The Bears sealed the win after a foul was called in the final seconds, sending guard Obi Agbim to the free-throw line, where he sank the first of three attempts for an 87-86 win.
The stunning ending dampened what had been a tremendous comeback as the Knights fought back from a 15-point deficit in the first half to tie the game with 25 seconds left.
“We have to be ready to move on to the next play,” UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said after the loss.
The loss snapped a three-game winning streak by UCF (20-8, 9-7 Big 12), which still remains in the hunt for an elusive berth in the NCAA Tournament. The Knights haven’t qualified for the 68-team tournament field since the 2018-19 season.
“What we have to do is get our guys together, start watching tape and study the lessons we need to learn: the good and bad, and then we need to move forward with an understanding that the next game is the most important game that you have, the game that behind you is gone and the next game is the most important,” Dawkins said.
UCF gets another chance to pad its tournament resume when the Knights host the Cowboys on Tuesday night at Addition Financial Arena (7 p.m., ESPN+). It’s the final home game of the regular-season and Senior Night for more than a handful of players.
The typical Senior Night has changed over the years, particularly with the introduction of the transfer portal, name, image, and likeness money and revenue sharing. Players don’t stick around for multiple seasons as much, with more players taking a one-season-and-done approach.
Thirteen of the Knights’ 15 players weren’t on the roster last season.
“These guys have been in a lot of different places, so I believe our student body will be great and appreciative of our players for what they’re doing this season,” Dawkins said. “I believe our community will come out and rally around them as well and try to give our players a great send-off.
“Our players just need to come out and play their hearts out like they’ve done most of this year.”
Senior Night aside, Tuesday’s game is crucial for UCF’s postseason hopes.
The Knights dropped from 43rd to 46th in the latest NCAA NET rankings following their loss to Baylor, but are still among more than two dozen teams with five or more Quad 1 wins.
Historically, no Big 12 team has missed the 68-team tournament field after finishing above .500 in conference play since 2009.
“I don’t really think about the tournament or resumes or that kind of stuff,” Dawkins said. “I look at the one game in front of me, who we’re playing and how we want to win. That’s the only way I approach it.”
Following their game against Oklahoma State, the Knights travel to West Virginia to wrap up the regular season against the Mountaineers on Friday night (8 p.m., CBS Sports Network).
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The Big 12 Tournament tips off on March 10 at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.
Oklahoma State (17-12, 5-11 Big 12), meanwhile, is coming off a 91-68 loss at Cincinnati on Saturday. It was the sixth loss in the last seven games for the Cowboys, who are in their second season under coach Steve Lutz.
This is the second meeting between the two schools this season, with OSU winning the first game, 87-76 at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater on Jan. 6. UCF shot just 38% from the floor in the game, as Cowboys center Parsa Fallah had a game-high 24 points.
Fallah, who was averaging 14.7 points and 6 rebounds a game this season, suffered a season-ending ACL injury during Oklahoma State’s 91-84 overtime win over West Virginia on Feb. 24.
UCF enters its home finale banged up.
The Knights saw the return of guard Riley Kugel, who missed the two-game road trip to Utah, but was back against Baylor. Kugel scored a career-high 26 points in the loss to the Bears.
Forward Jamichael Stillwell was back after missing part of the second half of the team’s 97-84 win at No. 19 BYU after rolling his foot. The senior had 11 points and 4 rebounds in more than 25 minutes on Saturday.
However, center Jeremy Foumena left the last game with what appeared to be an ankle injury. He didn’t return and Dawkins had no update on his status following the game.
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.