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UCF Basketball Charges on to March Madness

Courtesy of UCF Athletics

Photo courtesy of UCF Athletics

The astonishing ascent of UCF Athletics reached another level on Sunday as the men’s basketball program received its first at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament in program history. They have earned their berth into the field as conference champions on four other occasions, last doing so in 2005.

The Knights will be the 9 seed, another program record, in the East region. They will face the 8-seeded VCU Rams in the first round on Friday night at approximately 9:40 p.m. on CBS. A win over VCU would be another first in program history. The Knights, who have never been seeded higher than #14, are 0-4 all-time in the tournament.

A win would also give the Knights the first legitimate opportunity to slip on Cinderella’s slipper, as the opponent in the second round would most likely be the tournament’s top overall seed, the Duke Blue Devils. With enough storylines for a feature film, the potential for that match-up on Sunday would earn the most attention the tournament will receive all weekend long.

Dawkins vs. Krzyzewski

UCF head coach, Johnny Dawkins, played for current Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s first Final Four team at Duke in 1986. Dawkins’ son, Aubrey, is currently a redshirt junior guard for the Knights.

Father vs. Son

Duke Athletic Director, Kevin White, is the father of current UCF Athletic Director, Danny White. Kevin’s other son, Mike, is the head coach of the 10 seed in the West Region, the Florida Gators.

Tacko vs. Zion

The tournament’s biggest player – UCF’s 7’6’’, Tacko Fall, would face the tournament’s biggest name – Duke freshman phenom, Zion Williamson.

The Central Florida area will be well represented throughout the tournament regardless of the outcome for UCF. The area has a long list of talented local products who will now take center stage for their respective college programs.

PlayerCollegeHigh SchoolFirst Round matchup
RJ Barrett#1 DukeMonte Verdevs. NC Central/North Dakota State – Fri. 7:10PM
BJ Taylor#9 UCFBoonevs. VCU – Fri. 9:40PM
Tacko Fall#9 UCFLiberty Christianvs. VCU – Fri. 9:40PM
Chad Brown#9 UCFDeltonavs. VCU – Fri. 9:40PM
Kerry Blackshear Jr.#4 Virginia TechEvansvs. Saint Louis – Fri. 9:57PM
Fletcher Magee#7 WoffordThe First Academyvs. Seton Hall – Thu. 9:40PM
Nassir Little#1 North CarolinaOrlando Christian Prepvs. Iona – Fri. 9:20PM
Emmitt Williams#3 LSUOak Ridgevs. Yale – Thu. 12:40PM
Ronaldo Segu#6 BuffaloOrlando Christian Prepvs. ASU/SJU – Fri. 4PM
Colin Castleton#2 MichiganFather Lopezvs. Montana – Thu. 9:20PM
David Efianayi#16 Gardner WebbOcoeevs. Virginia – Fri. 3:10PM
Brandon Miller#16 Gardner WebbOrlando Christian Prepvs. Virginia – Fri. 3:10PM

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Written by Nick Moore

Nick Moore is a sports contributor at Central Florida Lifestyle. He is an alumni of the University of Florida, where he graduated with honors from the School of Health and Human Performance - Sports Management.
Nick has been in the media industry for 13 years, serving a variety of roles in both the business and production aspects. His well-rounded work history is a testament to his belief that you can never learn too much, and the best learning comes through doing.

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