Not since the 2010-11 season have the UCF Knights been ranked among the nation’s best teams.
An upset win over the Houston Cougars on March 2 helped propel the Knights to 25th in the latest Associated Press Top 25 rankings released on March 4. UCF defeated the Cougars, who suffered just one loss and had the nation’s longest home win streak before facing the Knights, 69-64 on the road.
The Cougars were previously ranked sixth in the USA Today Coaches Poll and eighth in the AP Top 25 in Week 17. They dropped to 12th in both polls.
Additionally, UCF has also begun earning votes in the Coaches Poll in the Week 18 rankings, again. The Knights have won their last three games, including two double-digit wins over the SMU Mustangs (95-48) at home on Feb. 24 and the USF Bulls (75-63) on the road on Feb. 27.
In the 2010-11 season, the Knights improved their ranking to as high as 19th after beating the Miami Hurricanes on Dec. 28, 2010. UCF won its next four games as part of a 14-game win streak to open the season that included a win over the then-No. 18 Florida Gators but, coincidentally, lost to unranked Houston to start an eight-game losing streak.
UCF will host the No. 20 Cincinnati Bearcats on Thursday at 7 p.m. in the first-ever ranked matchup in CFE Arena. The Bearcats handed the Knights their most recent loss, a 60-55 result in Ohio on Feb. 21. The matchup will be broadcast on ESPN2.
For more on the Knights, as they look to cap off one of their most historic regular seasons, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.
To contact Victor, you can email him at vtan@newdayreview.com, or you can tweet at him.
