No. 8 Houston Cougars vs UCF Knights Live Updates, Box Score
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The No. 8 Houston Cougars are back at home again for an interesting mid-week encounter with the UCF Knights, one of the better teams in the Big 12. This is an earlier tip-off at 6 p.m. at Fertitta Center and poses two former American Athletic programs back against each other in the Space City battle.
Houston enters this matchup at 19-2 overall and 7-1 in the Big 12 while UCF comes in with a formidable 17-4 record and 6-3 mark in conference play. The Knights are not a team to mess around with as they have won their last three games and are coming off a very impressive 88-80 home win over then No. 11 Texas Tech.
UCF senior guard Themus Fulks was the leading scorer against Tech with 21 points and seven assists. Meanwhile, the Cougars are coming off a 76-54 home win on Saturday against Cincinnati where senior point guard Milos Uzan led the way with 16 points, five assists and three steals.
Four Houston players put up double digits in that game, including freshman guard Isiah Harwell who had the best Big 12 game of his young career so far.
Coogs vs Knights
Houston has won its last 16 games at home, which is 10th longest active streak in the country. It's always a tough task to beat the Cougars at home, but the Knights will take a shot at it. UCF has won some big games, including against No. 11 Kansas earlier in the year and Texas A&M in non-conference.
The Knights are 3-2 on the road so far. Senior guard Riley Kugel is the leading scorer overall with 14.8 points per game, while Fulks is second with 14.2 PPG, but leads UCF with just over 7 assists per game. Knights coach Johnny Dawkins is in his 10th season with the program and is 3-14 against Houston and Kelvin Sampson in his career.
Houston leads the all-time series 25-11, which began in 2005. The Cougars have won the last 10 and 14 out of the last 15. The last matchup at UCF was close, as Houston pulled it out 69-68 in Orlando lat season thanks to a game-winning shot from J'Wan Roberts.
UCF is one of seven teams since 2019 to win a game inside Fertitta Center. While Houston is 7-1 at home all-time against the Knights, its last loss against this program was at home in 2019. UH was No. 8 at the time and got upset. Houston will look for that not to be the case again.
Freshman point guard Kingston Flemings leads Houston with 17 PPG and over five assists. Flemings was named a Top-10 Candidate for the Bob Cousy Award, presented annually to the nation’s top point guard, while Sharp was recognized as a Top-10 Candidate for the Jerry West Award, which honors the nation’s top shooting guard.
Houston faces off against UCF at home. Be sure to check back here at tipoff for live updates as the game goes on.
Follow below for live updates as the game progresses.
Live Updates
Starting Lineup: G Kingston Flemings, G Milos Uzan, G Emanuel Sharp, F Joseph Tugler, F Chris Cenac Jr.
1st Half | 2nd Half | Final | |
|---|---|---|---|
Houston | 33 | 46 | 79 |
UCF | 19 | 36 | 55 |
Under 16 Timeout: Houston 6, UCF 4
Flemings is starting the Cougars offense out, and Cenac Jr. throws it down on an alley-oop to cash in points off a turnover. It's close early.
Under 12 Timeout: Houston 9, UCF 8
It's been a slow scoring game so far, as both teams have not crossed 10 yet. Flemings is still the primary offense for Houston right now, and Tugler added a free throw in this period. Houston is 0/8 from three.
Under 8 Timeout: Houston 17, UCF 13
Houston is still struggling offensively, but Uzan found Sakho on the nice alley-oop dunk. Houston goes on a 6-0 run, but UCF comes back and answers with a three by Kugel and dunk by Bol. Flemings already gets to 10 points.
Under 4 Timeout: Houston 27, UCF 13
Sharp gets his first bucket of the game and Cenac Jr. follows, but Flemings is already taking over the game as Houston goes on a 10-0 run. The defense and rebounding stepped up.
HALFTIME: Houston 33, UCF 19
Cenac Jr. is showing what he can do, first with a jumpshot and then a nice pass to Miller for a layup. Flemings also whipped a pass to a cutting Cenac Jr. who found a easy basket. Houston hasn't hit a 3-pointer yet, but are still shooting 44% overall from the field. Flemings had 12 and Cenac Jr. has 10 to lead Houston.
Under 16 Timeout: Houston 43, UCF 29
Tugler is back in and he is looking good on the offensive end for Houston. Coogs maintain their lead.
Under 12 Timeout: Houston 56, UCF 33
The Cougars have broke this game open with a 20 point lead at 51-31 with 13:18 to go thanks to a 10-2 run. Sakho racked the rim again, and Uzan hit his signature floater. Uzan then hit the first 3-pointer of the game for UH.
Under 8 Timeout: Houston 63, UCF 37
Uzan has officially woken up on the offensive end and hit another 3-pointer. Mercy Miller adds a bucket off the bench. Houston continues to dominate the boards.
Under 4 Timeout: Houston 73, UCF 41
Miller is starting to take over to the crowd's delight as they are already starting to file out of Fertitta Center due to the magnitude of this blowout.
FINAL: Houston 79, UCF 55
The Cougars got a lot out of their bench in this game, especially towards the end. This was a big-time win, and Flemings was the leading scorer with 18 points. Cenac Jr. added 14, while Uzan's hot second game gave 12 total. UH shot 55% from the field. Nobody from UCF scored double digits. Houston improves to 20-2 on the season.
Maanav Gupta is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He graduated from the University of Houston in the summer of 2025 with his bachelor’s in journalism and a minor in Spanish. Gupta spent three years at the student newspaper, The Daily Cougar, and also covered the 2025 Final Four and National Championship as Houston beat writer for College Basketball Review. He also has his own YouTube channel, Maanav’s Sports Talk, where he has interviewed professional athletes and broadcasters like Jim Nantz, Jose Altuve, J.J. Watt, Rich Eisen, and Alperen Sengun. Gupta was also a contributor to the Houston athletic program as a student. You can find Gupta on X, Instagram and TikTok @MGSportsTalk.