A UCF Knights March Madness History: Record, Titles, Best Highlights
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For the first time in seven years, the UCF Knights are back in March Madness.
While the Knights have not been a consistent participant in the NCAA Tournament since their elevation to Division 1 for the 1984-85 season and only got their first win in 2019, the right circumstances have still helped them reach the big dance five times before their appearance this season.
So, in honor of UCF's sixth appearance, here is a look back at all five of its previous March Madness teams:
1994
Proud to celebrate the 30 year anniversary of UCF basketball’s FIRST NCAA tournament team! Great having Coach Speraw and team back home 👏 pic.twitter.com/5MEQyshBaj
— UCF Men’s Hoops 🌴 (@UCF_MBB) March 2, 2024
After 14 seasons at the Division 2 level, mostly under Florida Sports Hall of Famer Torchy Clark, the Knights struggled to acclimate to Division 1, failing to achieve a single winning record in their first nine seasons.
Then came coach Kirk Speraw.
A former Florida Gators assistant, Speraw not only led the Knights to their first-ever winning season in their Division 1 era (21-9) but also took down Stetson to claim the ASUN's (then called the TAAC) automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Forward Ochiel Swaby, a transfer from Miami (FL), an all-conference first-teamer that season, led the way for the Knights in points, in part due to his ability to drain the ball from the free throw line, going 114 of 141 from the charity stripe. Even today, the 1993-94 Knights rank third in program history for the most made free throws in a season with 511.
However, it was fellow forward Victor Saxton, an all-conference second-teamer, who had the team's highest scoring average at 21 points per game. Both forwards were joined by guards Darryl Davis and Sinua Phillips, a pair of four-year players who finished their careers with 1,000 points and are in the UCF Athletics Hall of Fame.
The Knights were given a 16-seed and faced a 1-seed Purdue team that sported future NBA All-Star Glenn Robinson. They ended up losing that contest, 98-67.
1996
Despite going 8-18 during the regular season, including a seven-game losing streak, and committing a program-record 553 turnovers that still stands today, UCF crashed the TAAC Tournament as a 6-seed to claim its second conference tournament title and March Madness automatic bid.
Forward Howard Porter, a bench player from the 1994 Tournament team, got his time in the spotlight this season as the team's leading rebounder.
JUCO transfer Harry Kennedy led the team in scoring thanks to his 94 three-pointers, which today is still tied for the third-most in a single season in program history. Another newcomer, freshman guard Eric Riggs, also made his mark with 343 points, the most points by a freshman in program history until Taylor Hendricks came along in 2022-23. This season also marked the start of guard Brad Traina's UCF career, who went on to finish in the Knights' 1,000-point club.
The Knights once again lined up against a 1-seed. This time, they faced a UMass squad led by John Calipari, which sported 2007 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Camby. Despite UCF getting 16 steals, the most it's ever gotten in an NCAA Tournament game by a wide margin, the Minutemen won, 92-70, and ended up advancing to the Final Four.
2004
It would take eight years before Speraw and the Knights captured another automatic bid in the since-renamed ASUN Conference. However, after falling to Troy State in the conference championship game in 2003, they came back and beat them the following year.
It was one of UCF's winningest teams in its history, partly thanks to a 14-game winning streak that remains the longest in program history today. Its 25 total wins came short of the 1977-78 team, which advanced to the Division 2 Final Four. It also holds the record for the most team assists in a single season at 520.
Forward Dexter Lyons, now a UCF Athletics Hall of Famer, put together one of the highest-scoring seasons in the Knights' Division 1 era with 567 points while also earning All-ASUN First Team honors and being named its Defensive Player of the Year. Right behind him in scoring with 418 points is center Roberto Morentin, an All-ASUN Second Teamer who also led the team with 214 rebounds.
This season also saw the college debut of forward Josh Peppers, and while he did not see the starting five, he was a consistent contributor off the bench, leading that group of players with 118 points.
Facing off against the Knights this time was 3-seed Pittsburgh under first-year coach Jamie Dixon, who sported Third-Team All-American center, Aaron Grey. This game remains the lowest-scoring NCAA Tournament game for UCF to this day, though the Panthers still came out on top, 53-44, en route to the Sweet 16.
2005
During a media timeout halfway through the first half in @AdditionFiArena, @UCF_MBB honored its 2004 and 2005 @ASUN_MBB championship teams, including #UCF HoF HC Kirk Speraw, broadcast analyst @MOD4three, and standout forward Dexter Lyons. #GKCO #ChargeOn pic.twitter.com/8aWM6QpO5t
— KnightShift (@KnightShift_UCF) February 1, 2025
Despite losing Lyons to graduation, the Knights were back at it again the following season, their final one in the ASUN. While this team came up one win short of the season before, it still led to a trip back to the tournament after taking down 1-seed Gardner-Webb in the ASUN title game.
While he was a main starter the season before, this one was when guard Gary Johnson stepped up to deliver one of the best three-point shooting seasons in program history, with both his 103 conversions on 248 attempts still ranking second in program history today. His 71 steals are also among the Top 10 most in a single season in program history.
Johnson's production from beyond the arc led the way for a squad that remains third in program history in three-pointers and three-point attempts. It also only trails the season before in program history with 512 assists.
Meanwhile, Peppers, now a regular starter, was not far behind Johnson with 420 points, well en route to finishing his career in UCF's 1,000-point club. Both players were named All-ASUN Second Teamers.
The Knights were awarded a 15-seed and faced off against a 2-seed UConn squad coached by Jim Calhoun and sporting a freshman Rudy Gay. Despite going down 47-31 at the half, UCF rallied and ended up winning the second half, 40-30, but still came up short, losing 77-71. Though such late success foreshadowed the Huskies' early exit from the tournament in the very next round against NC State.
The game still holds today as UCF's most successful NCAA Tournament game from the charity stripe, with the Knights going 18-21, or 85.7%.
Despite moving from the mid-major ASUN to Conference USA, which can be a multi-bid league on occasion, Speraw never made it back to the tournament again at the helm of the Knights. However, for over a decade, he was the only coach to take them to March Madness. That, among other contributions, was enough to earn him an induction into the UCF Athletics Hall of Fame in 2024.
2019
Entering this game, @UCF_MBB had never won an NCAA tournament game.
— March Madness Men’s Basketball TV (@MM_MBB_TV) March 24, 2019
UCF’s seniors outshone VCU’s strong defense to march them on to the next round facing #1 ranked Duke. pic.twitter.com/ueOgZlP2Ta
In just his third season in Orlando, coach Johnny Dawkins was the one who led the Knights to their first-ever NCAA Tournament win in their fifth try.
It helped that this time, UCF did not need the automatic bid to punch its ticket. Thanks to moving to The American, their schedule quality increased enough that, even though they finished fourth in the conference and were eliminated in the conference tournament quarterfinals, their 23-8 record was good enough to get an at-large spot along with a 9-seed, which is still the highest in program history.
VCU, the 8-seed, ended up being the team on the losing end of UCF's historic win, 73-58. The Knights' 49.1% shooting from the floor, 64.3% shooting from three and 42 rebounds all broke program records in NCAA Tournament games. Center Tacko Fall's 18 rebounds and five blocks during that game are also the most by a Knight in an NCAA Tournament game.
Fall, who finished his career in UCF's 1,000-point club, was one of three all-conference honorees on this team, with the other two being the dynamic guard duo of B.J. Taylor, also a 1,000-point club member, and Aubrey Dawkins, the youngest son of the team's coach. The center from Senegal earned All-AAC Third-Team honors that season, and his 7-foot-6 frame helped him have the most career blocks (280), the highest field goal percentage (74%) and the third-most rebounds (887) in program history.
In the backcourt, Taylor and Dawkins both ended up scoring over 500 points, partly thanks to both of them hitting over 60 shots from three. Taylor, an All-AAC First Teamer that season, also sank 187 free throws, the second-most in a season in program history. Meanwhile, Dawkins, an All-AAC Second-Teamer, was more of a rebounder, pulling down 133 for the second-most on the team after Fall.
Following their win over VCU, the Knights had their third NCAA Tournament game against a 1-seed in its history, and it ended up being against their coach's alma mater, Duke, still headed by the elder Dawkins' former coach, Mike Krzyzewski, and featuring three future NBA players in Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett and Tre Jones.
Back in 2019, Tacko Fall and UCF just barely came up short in a thriller vs. Zion Williamson and Duke 🤯 pic.twitter.com/Qxctuoill6
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 12, 2025
The game came down to the wire with the younger Dawkins' 32 points and Taylor's nine free throws, both UCF NCAA Tournament game records, helping the Knights get the lead, 76-74, with under 20 seconds remaining. So close to an upset.
However, a pair of free throws from Williamson, followed by a second-chance layup by Barnett, ended up putting the Blue Devils on top, and despite one final push from UCF, the shot did not end up falling. Duke survived, 77-76, and went on to the Elite Eight.
Now, making their sixth appearance, the second of the Dawkins era and the first of the Big 12 era, the Knights are a 10-seed. This time, a different storied college basketball program awaits them on the other bench in the 7-seed UCLA Bruins. Both teams tip off at 7:25 p.m. on Friday in Philadelphia.
Catch up on more UCF news below:
UCF Basketball Players Share Thoughts On Big 12 Tournament's Glass Court
UCF Knights March Madness Hub: Schedule, Seed, Opponent and Path to Final Four
Bryson Turner is a sports journalist who covers UCF Athletics. Turner has contributed to the Black and Gold Banneret, the home for UCF Athletics on SB Nation. He has called the Orlando area home since the age of 8 and received his bachelor's and master's degrees from UCF.
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