Last night’s game was one for the history books! In their first Big 12 conference game, the UCF men’s basketball team emerged victorious over No. 3 seed, the Kansas Jayhawks. For avid sports fans, this victory seemed to spark the continuation of a trend – college basketball upsets. This week, the Knights are the third unranked team to prevail over a top-five team. Nebraska upset No. 1 Purdue (Big 10), while Iowa State triumphed over No. 2 Houston.
Addition Financial Arena was packed with a sold-out crowd, one that was largely anticipating a first-ever men’s basketball Big 12 win. The Knights came out on fire, but the Jayhawks quickly regained control of the ball, earning them a 16-point lead. Kansas then ran with a consistent lead up until half time. The tides turned in the second half as the Knights put up a commendable 36 points, with junior Jaylin Sellers contributing 18 of the team’s points for the night. Throughout the majority of the second half, it appeared that the match-up would come down to the wire, a common occurrence that has sparked the nickname “Cardiac Knights” for other UCF teams in the past. In the last twenty seconds of the game, both teams could taste victory with only 3 points between them. The clock was ticking, so Knights fans were exhilarated to see UCF’s Darius Johnson put up the final two points of the game, resulting in a score of 65-60.
Knight News writer, Arianna Brooks, was at the game. “There was not a single person in his or her seat in those last few minutes. The energy and anticipation in the crowd was palpable. Before I knew it, my friends and I were descending the stairs, wanting to be closer to the action. Storming the court was some unspoken agreement among peers. You just had to be there.”
