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The UCF Knights Men’s Basketball team played on the biggest regular season stage it has ever seen on March 2nd when they traveled to Houston to take on the 11th ranked Cougars. The game would be televised on ESPN, and it would also be where ESPN’s College GameDay would be at.
It was a tough spot for the Knights, who came in on the bubble and taking on a Houston team that had won 33 straight home games. Houston had won the earlier meeting in Orlando on February 7, 77-68.
UCF found themselves down 33-28 at halftime, but came out strong, outscoring Houston 11-0 to start the 2nd half, and holding Houston scoreless for the first four minutes of the half.
Collin Smith led the way, scoring 21 points, as the Knights would end up outscoring Houston 41-31 in the 2nd half and pull off the signature win of the season, defeating Houston 69-64.
It was the 22nd win of the regular season for the Knights, which matched the program record for wins in a regular season (2003-04 and 2006-07). It was also the 12th win in league play, marking the most-ever wins for UCF in The American.
It was also the biggest win in program history, as it came over #6-ranked Houston, which is the highest-ranked opponent UCF has beaten on the road, and they did it in front of a national TV audience. It gave the team the signature win on the resume and got UCF one step closer to making the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005.