UCF shocks No. 3 Kansas in Big 12 opener
ORLANDO — UCF delivered a shocking blow to one of college basketball’s bluebloods Wednesday night, scoring its first Big 12 victory in court-storming style.
Jaylin Sellers led all scorers with 18 points, Darius Johnson finished with 16 after knocking down a pair of clutch free throws with 14.6 seconds left and UCF (10-4, 1-1) climbed out of a 16-point, firsthalf hole to stun No. 3 Kansas 65-60 in front of a sellout Addition Financial Arena crowd of 9,469 fans.
The Knights forced 18 turnovers and registered seven blocks, none bigger than Ibrahima Diallo’s final-minute rejection of KJ Adams Jr. to spring Sellers for an acrobatic finish at the opposite basket and put UCF up by six.
“It’s a great night for UCF, and for our guys,” UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said. “Our guys kept in the game. They got down early in the first half to a very good Kansas basketball team. I’m just proud of the way we fought back. We chipped away and, in the second half, we started to gain a little more momentum, take the lead and sustain it for the most part. “What a difference a day makes.” More accurately, what a difference four days made.
UCF, picked to finish last of the Big 12’s 14 teams in the preseason media poll, opened league play with a 25-point loss at Kansas State. The Knights scored 19 points in the first half and shot 23.8% from behind the three-point line.
Sellers set the tone in the game’s first 21⁄2 minutes, burying a corner three after two UCF offensive rebounds and throwing down an emphatic transition dunk to punctuate a 7-0 run out of the gates.
Kansas (13-2, 1-1) settled in after a quick timeout, scoring 23 of the next 28 points and eventually building a 35-19 advantage with 3:41 left before halftime. That’s where, Jayhawks coach Bill Self said, the Big 12 favorites lost control.
“We did some things that, I think, good teams shouldn’t do, especially playing in a hostile environment,” Self said. “We did some very, very careless and loose things to allow them to get back into it. The game was lost — or the game was won, depending on what side you’re on — in the last four minutes of the half, and the first three minutes of the second half.”
UCF went on a 10-0 run before Kevin McCullar Jr. sunk a three-pointer at the buzzer, pulling the Knights within single digits. They pulled even before the 14minute mark of the second period, and reclaimed the lead moments later on a Sellers turnaround jumper.
Diallo played a key role in his 24-plus minutes in the paint, often winning the individual battle down low with Preseason All-American and Big 12 Player of the Year Hunter Dickinson. The 7-foot Senegalese center set a season-high with 13 points, grabbed five rebounds, dished out three assists and provided the crucial block on Adams.
“I was excited to match up with (Dickinson),” Diallo said. “There was something I needed to prove. It was really hard; he’s really good, too.”
Dickinson, who Self said labored through a knee bruise, battled foul trouble throughout the night. He tallied 12 poiints and four rebounds in just under 28 minutes. The 7-foot-2, 260-pound senior sunk a second-chance three-ball with 17 seconds left to make it a one-possession game.
One of the few returning Knights, a team reshaped largely through the transfer portal, Johnson escaped the Jayhawks’ full-court press and drew a foul to set up a one-and-one. He made both free throws, and UCF defended for a frantic final 10 seconds to secure victory.
The scenes were unlike any ever produced at a UCF basketball game. Palm fronds adorned the basket nearest to the student section, hundreds of fans rushed the court with cardboard cutouts and inflatable trees in hand, and a shoe landed on the announcer’s table.
“The court-storming was crazy. I’ve never seen nothing like that in my life,” Sellers said. “I kind of got up out of there and went to the locker room. I ain’t ever seen that many people around me, and I am kind of shy.”
UCF’s first foray into Big 12 play appeared to be a baptism by fire. Of the Knights’ first nine scheduled league games, six are against opponents currently ranked in The Associated Press’ Top 25 — Kansas (No. 3), BYU (18), Houston (2), Texas (25), Baylor (14) and Oklahoma (9).
Dawkins granted his players until midnight to relish the moment, but practice resumes 8:30 a.m. Thursday ahead of BYU’s visit to Orlando at 4 p.m. Saturday.
“We really haven’t accomplished anything at the end of the day. This only equals out to one win,” Sellers said. “Yes, it sends a message but at the end of the day it doesn’t mean (anything) if we don’t keep winning.”
On a grander scheme, though, the win holds plenty of significance. Kansas is the highest-ranked opponent UCF has ever defeated; the Knights upended No. 4 UConn at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas more than a dozen years ago.
UCF last knocked off a ranked opponent on Jan. 19, 2020, an 86-74 road win over No. 15 Florida State. It had lost each of its previous seven contests against teams inside the top-25.
“(Orlando) is probably the entertainment capital of the world. … For us, it’s important that we can be one of the attractions, too,” Dawkins said. “The only way you can become one of those is to have success — to be in moments and games like this, but also to win games like this.”
UCF might not see a better team than Kansas all year, but that certainly does not mean the path is any easier. Five of the Knights’ next six games come against squads ranked in The Associated Press’ Top 25 poll: BYU (No. 18), Houston (2), Baylor (14) and Oklahoma (9).