University of Central Florida
03/15/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 03/15/2026 18:38
UCF Men’s Basketball Bound for NCAA Tournament
Let the Madness begin.
The UCF men's basketball team is headed to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in seven years, earning an at-large bid to college basketball's premiere postseason tournament.
The Knights head to Philadelphia as the No. 10 seed and will play 7-seed UCLA on Friday, March 20, at 3:10 p.m. on truTV.
UCF is one of eight Big 12 teams featured in the 68-team tournament, matching a league record.
Graphics by UCF Athletics
UCF's Bracket Outlook
UCF was slotted into the East Region, which features Duke as the No. 1 seed. The Knights will play their first-round matchup in Philadelphia at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
UCF (21-11) meets UCLA (23-11) for the first time in school history on Friday, March 20. If the Knights advance, they will face the winner of No. 2-seed UConn and No. 15-seed Furman on Sunday, March 22.
The Final Four will be held April 4-6 in Indianapolis.
The Road to March Madness
With 13 newcomers and zero points returning from last year's squad, UCF was dismissed as a bottom-dweller in the Big 12 Conference preseason poll. But the Knights produced a resume worthy of selection with their second-straight 20-win season in arguably the toughest basketball conference in the nation.
UCF pulled out a gutsy road win at Texas A&M early in its non-conference schedule and went on to upset three ranked teams during conference play (No. 17 Kansas, No. 11 Texas Tech and No. 19 BYU), tying a school record for the most wins over Top 25 opponents in a season.
After edging Kansas in their Big 12 Conference opener, the Knights cracked into the Associated Press national poll for the first time since 2019 at No. 25.
UCF advanced to its first quarterfinals appearance in the Big 12 Conference Tournament after clinching a thrilling overtime win against Utah in the second round.
The men's basketball team celebrates its OT win over Utah in the Big 12 Conference second round. (Photo courtesy of UCF Athletics)UCF's NCAA Tournament History
UCF earned its sixth NCAA Tournament appearance since joining the Division I ranks in 1984-85. This year's selection marks second at-large berth in program history.
The Knights earned automatic qualifiers in 1994, 1996, 2004 and 2005 when the Black and Gold won the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament. UCF received its first at-large bid in 2019, following a successful season in the American Athletic Conference.
The last time UCF appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 2019, the Knights made history with their first win in the tournament in school history before meeting top-ranked Duke in what would become an instant classic.
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University of Central Florida published this content on March 15, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on March 16, 2026 at 00:38 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]