Fall Leads UCF’s Rise

ORLANDO, Fla.– The University of Central Florida’s dramatic 53-49 victory over 15th-ranked Cincinnati here Sunday ended in wild celebration with undergraduates flooding the court at CFE Arena and guard Matt Williams body surfing through the crowd.

This is all relatively new for the Knights, who had not won a game over a ranked team since 2011 when they stunned eventual national champion UConn in the Battle for Atlantis in the Bahamas. This was UCF’s first win over the Bearcats after seven straight losses since the teams started playing home-and-home in The American, and it changed the dynamics of the conference race, giving SMU (25-4, 14-1) a one-game lead in the loss column over Cincinnati (25-4, 14-2).

Both SMU and Cincinnati appear to be locks for the NCAA tournament no matter what happens at the conference tournament next week in Hartford. Houston picked up its 20th win of the season Sunday against Memphis, while UCF stands one-win shy of 20. Memphis, with 18 wins, is in the postseason discussion as well.

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