NCAAB

UCF Knights at Utah Utes

· Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship - 1st Round
17-15, 2-8 Away
Final
87 - 72
16-16, 15-4 Home

No. 14 seed UCF uses 24-3 second-half run to beat No. 11 seed Utah 87-72 in Big 12 tourney opener

UCF Knights vs. Utah Utes: Game Highlights

Darius Johnson added 20 points, Jordan Ivy-Curry had 15 and Moustapha Thiam finished with 14 for the Knights (17-15), who face sixth-seeded Kansas on Wednesday night as they try to play their way into the NCAA Tournament.

Utah (16-16) opened the game with a 21-9 run, but the Knights slowly chipped away at the deficit, and Hall's 3-pointer got them within 40-39 at halftime. He had six more points during a 24-3 run to start the second half, giving the Knights a 63-43 lead with just under 13 minutes to go that carried them to the finish.

Keanu Dawes had 21 points to lead the Utes, who also lost to UCF on Feb. 23, the day before coach Craig Smith was fired.

Josh Eilert, who led West Virginia at the Big 12 Tournament as an interim coach last year, did the same for the Utes on Tuesday night. The school already has announced the hiring of Alex Jensen, one of the stars of their 1998 Final Four team and an assistant with the Dallas Mavericks, to be their new head coach once the season has concluded.

Takeaways UCF won thanks to some brilliant guard play, but its lack of production in the paint could be troublesome, especially with 7-foot-1 center Hunter Dickinson and the rest of the Jayhawks waiting in the next round.

Utah simply couldn't overcome its second-half start, which at one point included 10 consecutive missed field-goal attempts.

Key moment Hall's 3-pointer that sent UCF into halftime with all the momentum.

Key stats Utah was 4 of 26 from beyond the 3-point arc.

Up next The Knights play Kansas on Wednesday night. They lost to the Jayhawks twice in the regular season.

How can I watch UCF vs. Utah?

  • TV Channel: UCF at Utah 2021 College Basketball, week 19, is broadcasted on ESPN+.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo Free trial.
    Try Vidgo for free.

Recent Plays

2nd 0:00 End of Game 87 - 72
2nd 0:00 End of 2nd half 87 - 72
2nd 0:22 Poohpha Warakulnukroh Defensive Rebound. 87 - 72
2nd 0:26 Gabe Madsen missed Three Point Jumper. 87 - 72
2nd 0:35 Poohpha Warakulnukroh subbing in for UCF 87 - 72

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/2116.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originUCF https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/254.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originUTAH
29-53 FG 27-68
54.7 Field Goal % 39.7
10-24 3PT 4-26
41.7 Three Point % 15.4
19-26 FT 14-23
73.1 Free Throw % 60.9
35 Rebounds 40
8 Offensive Rebounds 18
27 Defensive Rebounds 22
15 Assists 17
7 Steals 9
4 Blocks 1
14 Turnovers 11
0 Team Turnovers 1
14 Total Turnovers 11
0 Technical Fouls 0
0 Total Technical Fouls 0
0 Flagrant Fouls 0
16 Points Off Turnovers 20
17 Fast Break Points 9
26 Points in Paint 42
15 Fouls 20
20 Largest Lead 12

Game Information

Venue: T-Mobile Center

Location: Kansas City, MO
Attendance: 12,929 | Capacity:

2024-25 Big 12 Conference Standings

TEAM CONF GB OVER
Houston 19-1 - 34-4
Texas Tech 15-5 4 28-9
BYU 14-6 5 26-10
Arizona 14-6 5 24-13
Iowa State 13-7 6 25-10
Kansas 11-9 8 21-13
West Virginia 10-10 9 19-13
Baylor 10-10 9 20-15
TCU 9-11 10 16-16
Kansas State 9-11 10 16-17
Utah 8-12 11 16-17
Cincinnati 7-13 12 19-15
UCF 7-13 12 18-16
Oklahoma State 7-13 12 17-18
Arizona State 4-16 15 13-20
Colorado 3-17 16 14-21
Full Standings