Knights open Big 12 play
Basketball team will enter new conference like football did, against Kansas State
UCF coach Johnny Dawkins knows the challenges his basketball team will face as it embarks on its first season in the Big 12.
But Dawkins believes the Knights are up to the task of playing in one of the toughest leagues in the country.
“The message for us is really simple: We belong,” said Dawkins. “There’s a reason why we’re there and it’s because we belong.”
UCF (9-3) opens conference play against Kansas State (10-3) today just as the football team did Sept. 23 in Manhattan. The Wildcats had a strong season last year, making it to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament.
The Big 12 is the strongest conference in Division I basketball, boasting six teams in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll and nine teams in the top 50 of the NCAA’s NET rankings. Additionally, the league has seen two of the past three national champions, with Kansas winning in 2022 and Baylor claiming the title in 2021.
“The guys realize we’re going into a new conference that’s the No. 1 conference in college basketball,” Dawkins said. “We’ve had a solid preseason, and going forward we can continue to be able to continue to get better and we’ll be competitive in the Big 12 as well.”
Said fifth-year guard Shemarri Allen: “Every team from 1 to 14 is great to battle against.”
Not everyone shares the same optimism about UCF’s potential in the Big 12, as the Knights were picked to finish last in the preseason media poll in November.
“We’re not worried about where somebody ranks us in the preseason; those are just rankings,” said Dawkins, who points
out that Kansas State was picked to finish last in 2022-23 but ended up advancing to an NCAA regional final.
Added Allen: “A lot of people have counted us out, but we’ll soon prove them wrong. We have a chip on our shoulder.”
The slight only fuels the fire for Jaylin Sellers, who leads the Big 12 in scoring with 18.6 points per game.
“Nothing is ever given, so it doesn’t bother me,” he said. “The only thing it will do is make that chip on my shoulder deeper. I feel like it’s going to motivate us.”
UCF has had a week off since wrapping up its nonconference schedule Dec. 29. For the most part, the Knights were able to build off those 12 games as they worked to build chemistry with 10 new players.
The past two months also have helped UCF discover itself.
“Our identity is on the defensive end of the floor,” said Dawkins. “We’ve been successful with that and will continue to build off of that. It doesn’t matter what conference or opponent. Our style of play will be the same.”
The Knights are ranked in the top 40 in scoring defense (64.2 ppg.), field-goal percentage defense (38.6), steals (9.8) and blocks (5.6).
“We’re a blue-collar program that gets it done on both ends of the floor,” said Allen.
And what can Big 12 teams expect from UCF?
“We’re going to come out every night and play hard,” said Sellers. “We’re going to leave it all up and down. We’re never going back down, so just know that.”