2017–18 UCF Knights men's basketball team

The 2017–18 UCF Knights men's basketball team represented the University of Central Florida during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Knights are members of the American Athletic Conference. The Knights, in the program's 49th season of basketball, were led by second-year head coach Johnny Dawkins and played their home games at the CFE Arena on the university's main campus in Orlando, Florida.[1][2] They finished the season 19–13 overall and 9–9 in AAC play to finish in 6th place. In the AAC Tournament, they defeated East Carolina in the first round before losing to Houston in the quarterfinals.

2017–18 UCF Knights men's basketball
ConferenceAmerican Athletic Conference
2017–18 record19–13 (9–9 AAC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaCFE Arena
2017–18 American Athletic Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
No. 6 Cincinnati162 .889  315  .861
No. 21 Houston144 .778  278  .771
No. 16 Wichita State144 .778  258  .758
Tulsa126 .667  1912  .613
Memphis108 .556  2113  .618
UCF99 .500  1913  .594
Temple810 .444  1716  .515
UConn711 .389  1418  .438
SMU612 .333  1716  .515
Tulane513 .278  1417  .452
East Carolina414 .222  1020  .333
South Florida315 .167  1022  .313
2018 AAC Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

The Knights finished the 2016–17 season 24–12, 11–7 in AAC play to finish in fourth place. They defeated Memphis in the quarterfinals of the AAC Tournament before losing in the semifinals to SMU. They received an invitation to the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Colorado, Illinois State, and Illinois to advance to the semifinals at Madison Square Garden for the first time in school history. There they lost to the eventual NIT Champion, TCU.

Offseason

Departures

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownReason for departure
Tank Efinanayi0G/F6'6"210SeniorOrlando, FLGraduated
Matt Williams12G6'5"215RS SeniorOrlando, FLGraduated
Nick Banyard14F6'8"230RS SeniorFlower Mound, TXGraduated

Incoming transfers

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious school
Collin Smith15C6'10"240SophomoreJacksonville, FLTransferred from George Washington. Under NCAA transfer rules, Smith will have to sit out from the 2017–18 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility.

2017 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Myles Douglas
#64 PF
Aberdeen, MD Aberdeen High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jul 12, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 75
Daniel Lewis
SG
Atlanta, GA Westlake High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) May 17, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved 12 November 2017.

    2018 recruiting class

    Roster

    2017–18 UCF Knights men's basketball team
    PlayersCoaches
    Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
    G 1 B. J. Taylor 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)200 lb (91 kg) RS JrWilliam R. Boone High School Orlando, Florida
    G 2 Terrell Allen 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)183 lb (83 kg) RS SoDrexel Upper Marlboro, Maryland
    G/F 3 A. J. Davis 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)215 lb (98 kg) RS SrTennessee Atlanta, Georgia
    G 4 Ceasar DeJesus 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)195 lb (88 kg) RS FrMt. Zion Prep Jersey City, New Jersey
    F 5 Myles Douglas 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)215 lb (98 kg) FrAberdeen High School Edgewood, Maryland
    G 10 Dayon Griffin 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)208 lb (94 kg) RS JrLouisiana Tech St. Petersburg, Florida
    F 11 Rokas Ulvydas 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)235 lb (107 kg) RS SoTexas Tech Kaunas, Lithuania
    G 13 Daniel Lewis 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)175 lb (79 kg) FrWestlake High School Atlanta, Georgia
    G/F 15 Aubrey Dawkins  6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)205 lb (93 kg) JrMichigan Palo Alto, California
    G 20 Brock Stephenson (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)190 lb (86 kg) SoDade Christian School Miami, Florida
    F 21 Chad Brown 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)240 lb (109 kg) JrDeltona High School Deltona, Florida
    G 22 Chance McSpadden 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)184 lb (83 kg) RS SoWinter Haven High School Winter Haven, Florida
    C 24 Tacko Fall 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m)295 lb (134 kg) JrLiberty Christian Prep Dakar, Senegal
    G 25 Tate Morse (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)165 lb (75 kg) SrOrangewood Christian Orlando, Florida
    G/F 30 Anthony Catotti (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)200 lb (91 kg) SrSeminole High School Oviedo, Florida
    G 33 Djordjije Mumin (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)210 lb (95 kg) SrAmerican Heritage Podgorica, Montenegro
    C 35 Collin Smith  6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)235 lb (107 kg) SoGeorge Washington Jacksonville, Florida
    G 51 Nathan Laing (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)185 lb (84 kg) RS SrJacksonville State Lillington, North Carolina
    Head coach
    Assistant coach(es)

    Legend
    • (C) Team captain
    • (S) Suspended
    • (I) Ineligible
    • (W) Walk-on

    Roster
    Last update: November 11, 2017

    Schedule and results

    Date
    time, TV
    Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
    city, state
    Non-conference regular season
    Nov 10, 2017*
    8:00 pm, ESPN3
    Mercer W 88–79  1–0
    CFE Arena (6,167)
    Orlando, FL
    Nov 15, 2017*
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    Gardner–Webb W 68–65  2–0
    CFE Arena (4,016)
    Orlando, FL
    Nov 18, 2017*
    2:00 pm, ESPN3
    William & Mary W 75–64  3–0
    CFE Arena (4,143)
    Orlando, FL
    Nov 23, 2017*
    6:00 pm, ESPN3
    vs. Nebraska
    AdvoCare Invitational quarterfinals
    W 68–59  4–0
    HP Field House (3,348)
    Lake Buena Vista, FL
    Nov 24, 2017*
    8:30 pm, ESPN2
    vs. No. 23 West Virginia
    AdvoCare Invitational semifinals
    L 45–83  4–1
    HP Field House (2,834)
    Lake Buena Vista, FL
    Nov 26, 2017*
    12:00 pm, ESPNU
    vs. St. John's
    AdvoCare Invitational 3rd place game
    L 43–46  4–2
    HP Field House (1,712)
    Lake Buena Vista, FL
    Nov 30, 2017*
    9:00 pm, ESPN2
    Missouri L 59–62  4–3
    CFE Arena (5,122)
    Orlando, FL
    Dec 3, 2017*
    2:00 pm, ESPNU
    at No. 24 Alabama W 65–62  5–3
    Coleman Coliseum (13,534)
    Tuscaloosa, AL
    Dec 9, 2017*
    1:00 pm, ESPN3
    Southern W 76–60  6–3
    CFE Arena (4,139)
    Orlando, FL
    Dec 12, 2017*
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    Southeastern Louisiana W 61–53  7–3
    CFE Arena (3,449)
    Orlando, FL
    Dec 19, 2017*
    6:00 pm, ESPN3
    at Stetson W 74–55  8–3
    Edmunds Center (1,918)
    DeLand, FL
    Dec 21, 2017*
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    South Carolina State W 89–64  9–3
    CFE Arena (3,055)
    Orlando, FL
    AAC regular season
    Dec 27, 2017
    9:00 pm, ESPN2
    at SMU L 51–56  9–4
    (0–1)
    Moody Coliseum (6,628)
    Dallas, TX
    Dec 31, 2017
    4:00 pm, ESPNews
    at East Carolina W 59–39  10–4
    (1–1)
    Williams Arena (2,946)
    Greenville, NC
    Jan 3, 2018
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    Memphis W 65–56  11–4
    (2–1)
    CFE Arena (4,298)
    Orlando, FL
    Jan 7, 2018
    12:00 pm, CBSSN
    Temple W 60–39  12–4
    (3–1)
    CFE Arena (4,010)
    Orlando, FL
    Jan 10, 2018
    7:00 pm, CBSSN
    at UConn L 53–62  12–5
    (3–2)
    Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (5,065)
    Storrs, CT
    Jan 16, 2018
    7:00 pm, CBSSN
    No. 12 Cincinnati L 38–49  12–6
    (3–3)
    CFE Arena (7,565)
    Orlando, FL
    Jan 20, 2018
    6:00 pm, ESPNews
    at South Florida
    Rivalry
    W 71–69  13–6
    (4–3)
    USF Sun Dome (4,611)
    Tampa, FL
    Jan 25, 2018
    9:00 pm, ESPN2
    at No. 17 Wichita State L 62–81  13–7
    (4–4)
    Charles Koch Arena (10,506)
    Wichita, KS
    Jan 31, 2018
    9:00 pm, CBSSN
    UConn W 70–61  14–7
    (5–4)
    CFE Arena (5,233)
    Orlando, FL
    Feb 3, 2018
    12:00 pm, ESPNU
    Houston L 65–69  14–8
    (5–5)
    CFE Arena (4,301)
    Orlando, FL
    Feb 6, 2018
    7:00 pm, CBSSN
    at No. 6 Cincinnati L 40–77  14–9
    (5–6)
    BB&T Arena (8,673)
    Highland Heights, KY
    Feb 11, 2018
    4:00 pm, CBSSN
    at Memphis W 68–64  15–9
    (6–6)
    FedEx Forum (7,163)
    Memphis, TN
    Feb 14, 2018
    6:00 pm, ESPNU
    South Florida
    Rivalry
    W 72–57  16–9
    (7–6)
    CFE Arena (4,310)
    Orlando, FL
    Feb 17, 2018
    11:00 am, ESPNU
    SMU W 52–37  17–9
    (8–6)
    CFE Arena (4,016)
    Orlando, FL
    Feb 21, 2018
    9:00 pm, ESPNews
    at Tulsa L 61–70  17–10
    (8–7)
    Reynolds Center (3,342)
    Tulsa, OK
    Feb 25, 2018
    2:00 pm, ESPNU
    at Temple L 56–75  17–11
    (8–8)
    Liacouras Center (7,119)
    Philadelphia, PA
    Mar 1, 2018
    7:00 pm, ESPN
    No. 11 Wichita State L 71-75 OT 17–12
    (8–9)
    CFE Arena (5,930)
    Orlando, FL
    Mar 4, 2018
    4:30 pm, ESPNU
    Tulane W 60–51  18–12
    (9–9)
    CFE Arena (4,420)
    Orlando, FL
    American Athletic Conference Tournament
    Mar 8, 2018
    8:30 p:m, ESPNU
    (6) vs. (11) East Carolina
    First Round
    W 66–52  19–12
    Amway Center (7,918)
    Orlando, FL
    Mar 9, 2018
    9:00 p:m, ESPNU
    (6) vs. (3) No. 21 Houston
    Quarterfinals
    L 56–84  19–13
    Amway Center (8,680)
    Orlando, FL
    *Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
    All times are in Eastern Time.

    References

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