2017–18 UCF Knights men's basketball team

2017–18 UCF Knights men's basketball
ConferenceAmerican Athletic Conference
Record19–13 (9–9 AAC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaCFE Arena
Seasons
2017–18 American Athletic Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 6 Cincinnati 16 2   .889 31 5   .861
No. 21 Houston 14 4   .778 27 8   .771
No. 16 Wichita State 14 4   .778 25 8   .758
Tulsa 12 6   .667 19 12   .613
Memphis 10 8   .556 21 13   .618
UCF 9 9   .500 19 13   .594
Temple 8 10   .444 17 16   .515
UConn 7 11   .389 14 18   .438
SMU 6 12   .333 17 16   .515
Tulane 5 13   .278 14 17   .452
East Carolina 4 14   .222 10 20   .333
South Florida 3 15   .167 10 22   .313
2018 AAC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

The 2017–18 UCF Knights men's basketball team represented the University of Central Florida during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Knights are members of the American Athletic Conference. The Knights, in the program's 49th season of basketball, were led by second-year head coach Johnny Dawkins and played their home games at the CFE Arena on the university's main campus in Orlando, Florida.[1][2] They finished the season 19–13 overall and 9–9 in AAC play to finish in 6th place. In the AAC tournament, they defeated East Carolina in the first round before losing to Houston in the quarterfinals.

Previous season

The Knights finished the 2016–17 season 24–12, 11–7 in AAC play to finish in fourth place. They defeated Memphis in the quarterfinals of the AAC tournament before losing in the semifinals to SMU. They received an invitation to the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Colorado, Illinois State, and Illinois to advance to the semifinals at Madison Square Garden for the first time in school history. There they lost to the eventual NIT Champion, TCU.

Offseason

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Tank Efinanayi 0 G/F 6'6" 210 Senior Orlando, FL Graduated
Matt Williams 12 G 6'5" 215 RS Senior Orlando, FL Graduated
Nick Banyard 14 F 6'8" 230 RS Senior Flower Mound, TX Graduated

Incoming transfers

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous school
Collin Smith 15 C 6'10" 240 Sophomore Jacksonville, FL Transferred from George Washington. Under NCAA transfer rules, Smith will have to sit out from the 2017–18 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility.

2017 recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Myles Douglas
#64 PF
Aberdeen, MD Aberdeen High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jul 12, 2016 
Star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 75
Daniel Lewis
SG
Atlanta, GA Westlake High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) May 17, 2016 
Star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 12, 2017.

2018 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2018)
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Andreas Fuller Jr.
SG
Saint Petersburg, FL Saint Andrews School 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg)  
Star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 75
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Roster

2017–18 UCF Knights men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 1 B. J. Taylor 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Jr William R. Boone High School Orlando, Florida
G 2 Terrell Allen 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 183 lb (83 kg) RS So Drexel Upper Marlboro, Maryland
G/F 3 A. J. Davis 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Sr Tennessee Atlanta, Georgia
G 4 Ceasar DeJesus 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Fr Mt. Zion Prep Jersey City, New Jersey
F 5 Myles Douglas 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Aberdeen High School Edgewood, Maryland
G 10 Dayon Griffin 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 208 lb (94 kg) RS Jr Louisiana Tech St. Petersburg, Florida
F 11 Rokas Ulvydas 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) RS So Texas Tech Kaunas, Lithuania
G 13 Daniel Lewis 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Westlake High School Atlanta, Georgia
G/F 15 Aubrey Dawkins Current redshirt 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Michigan Palo Alto, California
G 20 Brock Stephenson (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Dade Christian School Miami, Florida
F 21 Chad Brown 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Jr Deltona High School Deltona, Florida
G 22 Chance McSpadden 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 184 lb (83 kg) RS So Winter Haven High School Winter Haven, Florida
C 24 Tacko Fall 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m) 295 lb (134 kg) Jr Liberty Christian Prep Dakar, Senegal
G 25 Tate Morse (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Sr Orangewood Christian Orlando, Florida
G/F 30 Anthony Catotti (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Seminole High School Oviedo, Florida
G 33 Djordjije Mumin (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr American Heritage Podgorica, Montenegro
C 35 Collin Smith Current redshirt 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) So George Washington Jacksonville, Florida
G 51 Nathan Laing (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Sr Jacksonville State Lillington, North Carolina
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: November 11, 2017

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
Nov 10, 2017*
8:00 pm, ESPN3
Mercer W 88–79  1–0
CFE Arena (6,167)
Orlando, FL
Nov 15, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Gardner–Webb W 68–65  2–0
CFE Arena (4,016)
Orlando, FL
Nov 18, 2017*
2:00 pm, ESPN3
William & Mary W 75–64  3–0
CFE Arena (4,143)
Orlando, FL
Nov 23, 2017*
6:00 pm, ESPN3
vs. Nebraska
AdvoCare Invitational quarterfinals
W 68–59  4–0
HP Field House (3,348)
Lake Buena Vista, FL
Nov 24, 2017*
8:30 pm, ESPN2
vs. No. 23 West Virginia
AdvoCare Invitational semifinals
L 45–83  4–1
HP Field House (2,834)
Lake Buena Vista, FL
Nov 26, 2017*
12:00 pm, ESPNU
vs. St. John's
AdvoCare Invitational 3rd place game
L 43–46  4–2
HP Field House (1,712)
Lake Buena Vista, FL
Nov 30, 2017*
9:00 pm, ESPN2
Missouri L 59–62  4–3
CFE Arena (5,122)
Orlando, FL
Dec 3, 2017*
2:00 pm, ESPNU
at No. 24 Alabama W 65–62  5–3
Coleman Coliseum (13,534)
Tuscaloosa, AL
Dec 9, 2017*
1:00 pm, ESPN3
Southern W 76–60  6–3
CFE Arena (4,139)
Orlando, FL
Dec 12, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Southeastern Louisiana W 61–53  7–3
CFE Arena (3,449)
Orlando, FL
Dec 19, 2017*
6:00 pm, ESPN3
at Stetson W 74–55  8–3
Edmunds Center (1,918)
DeLand, FL
Dec 21, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
South Carolina State W 89–64  9–3
CFE Arena (3,055)
Orlando, FL
AAC regular season
Dec 27, 2017
9:00 pm, ESPN2
at SMU L 51–56  9–4
(0–1)
Moody Coliseum (6,628)
Dallas, TX
Dec 31, 2017
4:00 pm, ESPNews
at East Carolina W 59–39  10–4
(1–1)
Williams Arena (2,946)
Greenville, NC
Jan 3, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Memphis W 65–56  11–4
(2–1)
CFE Arena (4,298)
Orlando, FL
Jan 7, 2018
12:00 pm, CBSSN
Temple W 60–39  12–4
(3–1)
CFE Arena (4,010)
Orlando, FL
Jan 10, 2018
7:00 pm, CBSSN
at UConn L 53–62  12–5
(3–2)
Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (5,065)
Storrs, CT
Jan 16, 2018
7:00 pm, CBSSN
No. 12 Cincinnati L 38–49  12–6
(3–3)
CFE Arena (7,565)
Orlando, FL
Jan 20, 2018
6:00 pm, ESPNews
at South Florida
Rivalry
W 71–69  13–6
(4–3)
USF Sun Dome (4,611)
Tampa, FL
Jan 25, 2018
9:00 pm, ESPN2
at No. 17 Wichita State L 62–81  13–7
(4–4)
Charles Koch Arena (10,506)
Wichita, KS
Jan 31, 2018
9:00 pm, CBSSN
UConn W 70–61  14–7
(5–4)
CFE Arena (5,233)
Orlando, FL
Feb 3, 2018
12:00 pm, ESPNU
Houston L 65–69  14–8
(5–5)
CFE Arena (4,301)
Orlando, FL
Feb 6, 2018
7:00 pm, CBSSN
at No. 6 Cincinnati L 40–77  14–9
(5–6)
BB&T Arena (8,673)
Highland Heights, KY
Feb 11, 2018
4:00 pm, CBSSN
at Memphis W 68–64  15–9
(6–6)
FedEx Forum (7,163)
Memphis, TN
Feb 14, 2018
6:00 pm, ESPNU
South Florida
Rivalry
W 72–57  16–9
(7–6)
CFE Arena (4,310)
Orlando, FL
Feb 17, 2018
11:00 am, ESPNU
SMU W 52–37  17–9
(8–6)
CFE Arena (4,016)
Orlando, FL
Feb 21, 2018
9:00 pm, ESPNews
at Tulsa L 61–70  17–10
(8–7)
Reynolds Center (3,342)
Tulsa, OK
Feb 25, 2018
2:00 pm, ESPNU
at Temple L 56–75  17–11
(8–8)
Liacouras Center (7,119)
Philadelphia, PA
Mar 1, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN
No. 11 Wichita State L 71-75 OT 17–12
(8–9)
CFE Arena (5,930)
Orlando, FL
Mar 4, 2018
4:30 pm, ESPNU
Tulane W 60–51  18–12
(9–9)
CFE Arena (4,420)
Orlando, FL
American Athletic Conference tournament
Mar 8, 2018
8:30 p:m, ESPNU
(6) vs. (11) East Carolina
First Round
W 66–52  19–12
Amway Center (7,918)
Orlando, FL
Mar 9, 2018
9:00 p:m, ESPNU
(6) vs. (3) No. 21 Houston
Quarterfinals
L 56–84  19–13
Amway Center (8,680)
Orlando, FL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

References