The University of Central Florida Men’s Basketball team will play a home-and-home series with the University of Alabama Crimson Tide starting December 3, 2017, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Alabama will return to CFE Arena sometime time in 2018, according to UCF Athletics.
The Crimson Tide finished the 2016-17 season at 19-15 in the SEC, compared to UCF’s 24-12 record in the American Athletic Conference. Both teams earned a spot in the National Invitation Tournament although Alabama would fall to Richmond in the first round as a three-seed.
CBS Sports ranks Alabama 20th in the country in a 2017-18 preseason poll.
UCF brought home record after record under Johnny Dawkins and his first year as head coach. Tacko Fall and Matt Williams broke UCF all-time records in blocks, surpassing John Friday thirty year record, 1986-87 season, with 75 blocks, and three-pointers made, surpassing Gary Johnson (103, 2004-05) and Jermaine Taylor (251, 2005-09), respectively.
The UCF men’s basketball team earned a spot in the NIT Semifinals in Madison Square Garden, New York City, for the first time in its history, scoring milestone wins against Memphis and Cincinnati along the way.
CFE Arena sold out for the first time ever for a home men’s basketball game during the NIT matchup against Illinois.
Dawkins was named a finalist for National Coach of the Year after his performance with the Knights.
UCF and Alabama have met on three previous occasions (1987, 1988, 1994) with the Crimson Tide claiming victory in all three.
Photo courtesy of UCF Athletics Communications.
