Three Key Takeaways From UCF's Historic Win Over FAU At Disney World

The UCF Knights finished their non-conference slate with a bang on Tuesday afternoon with a close victory over the Florida Atlantic Owls, 85-80, at the ESPN Wide World of Sports.

Beyond proud of this team and how much they’ve grown during non-conference! Excited to see what the rest of this season holds for our group ⚔️ https://t.co/bQ25I9dGfa
— Johnny Dawkins (@Coach_Dawkins) December 23, 2025

The win is the Knights' 10th consecutive one, marking the first time they've achieved this unofficially since the 2010-11 season. However, since those wins were vacated due to NCAA sanctions, it's officially the first time since the 2003-04 season. It also wraps up UCF's non-conference slate at 11-1, the best it has ever done in non-conference play in the Johnny Dawkins era.

Here are three key takeaways from the game:

1. Deja Vu

Similar to the Knights' most recent game against FGCU, Florida Atlantic utilized its three-point shooters to help get out to an early lead. While the Owls, who went 7-18 from three, were not as successful as the Eagles were a few days before, they still created a 15-point swing from beyond the arc in the first half since UCF shot for just 2-9 from beyond the arc.

Fortunes flipped for both teams in the second half. While UCF would not end up finishing the game with more threes than FAU, it still managed to close its halftime deficit by six points thanks to three-pointers.

This is where guard Riley Kugel, who finished his game with 18 points and six rebounds, entered the picture. The Mississippi State transfer had been going through some struggles in the last few UCF games, finishing two of them scoreless and not sinking a single three since Nov. 25. That streak was broken in the State Farm Field House as Kugel went 2-5 from beyond the arc for the day.

The Knights also got a three out of guard Themus Fulks, who captured his second double-double of the season, thanks to leading the team in scoring with 24 points and getting 12 assists. He also went a perfect 5-5 from the free-throw line.

2. On the Bol

Center John Bol had a milestone day for his young career as he recorded his first double-double, getting 11 points and 11 rebounds. Six of his rebounds were offensive ones, which helped the Knights keep up with the Owls in second-chance points, even if FAU ultimately won out in that category, 18-14.

Bol was most active during the first half, when he recorded seven of his 11 rebounds. In the second half, while he was still among the team's leaders, Kugel ended up pulling down five rebounds in the second half, just one more than Bol.

3. Watch Out For Blockers

The Knights faced some issues when dealing with the Owls' big men on Tuesday.

Forwards Devin Williams, who is ranked in the Top 10 in the nation in blocks, and Xande Pintelon were both among FAU's leading scorers against the Knights, especially in the second half. Combined, the duo came up with six of FAU's seven blocks, the second-most a UCF opponent was able to get against the Knights, only losing out to Quinnipiac.

The Knights were able to counteract FAU's blockers in part with their transition game and scoring on the fast-break, which created a 17-point swing in one of the starker statistical differences of the game.

UCF is set to have another test in a similar vein to open conference play on Jan. 3 at 2 p.m. as it hosts Kansas, a top 10 team in the nation in blocks, in Addition Financial Arena.

Catch up on more UCF news below:

UCF Hires New Offensive Line Coach

UCF Hoops Reaches Highest Position Yet In NCAA Selection Ranking

Three Key Takeaways From UCF Basketball's Ninth Straight Win