UCF Basketball Falls In NCAA Selection Rankings
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The UCF Knights men's basketball team is the closest to square one than it's ever been all season, at least in the NET rankings.
Following three straight losses to Houston, Cincinnati and West Virginia, coach Johnny Dawkins and his squad have fallen from 37th to 50th in the NET rankings as of the end of all college basketball games on Feb. 15. It's the Knights' lowest position on the rankings since they were ranked 58th in the very first ones of the season back on Nov. 30.
The loss to the Mountaineers was of particular note, since it was the Knights' first Non-Quad 1 loss of the season. In other words, it's the first time the Knights have lost to a team outside the top 75 on the road, or in this case, the Top 30 at home.
"We have to regroup, and we have to respond," Dawkins said on Saturday following a loss to the Mountaineers.
For comparison, all of the Big 12's other teams still undefeated in Non-Quad 1 games this season sit in the Top 20 of the NET rankings: Arizona, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Texas Tech and BYU. While the Knights' wins against Kansas and Texas Tech, which were Quad 1 games, do help save its reputation slightly, it is still damaged enough that ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi has the Knights among his last four byes.
— Joe Lunardi (@ESPNLunardi) February 16, 2026
UCF has also tumbled in another key NCAA Tournament selection metric, the KenPom rankings, created by statistician Ken Pomeroy, which factors in advanced analytics. Back when the Knights were ranked in the Top 25, it was ranked No. 43. As of Feb. 16, it's fallen nine spots to No. 52, just one spot behind Cincinnati, though four spots ahead of West Virginia, the team they just lost to.
Despite the three consecutive losses, the Knights do have the opportunity to repair their reputation hit with their next game on Tuesday night against TCU. The Horned Frogs are ranked two spots ahead of the Knights in the KenPom rankings at No. 50 and five spots ahead of them in the NET rankings at 45th. A win would make UCF the only one-loss team in Quad 2 games in the Big 12, not to mention it would break its losing streak before a road trip out west for a must-win game against Utah (128th in the NET) on Feb. 21 and a chance for a statement victory against BYU on Feb. 24.
The Knights tip off against TCU at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
Check out more UCF news below:
Three Games UCF Must Win To Punch NCAA Tournament Ticket
How UCF Hoops Turned A Double-Digit Lead Into Third Straight Loss
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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