ORLANDO — Look, the UCF Knights might already be in the NCAA Tournament.
They gave themselves a cushion by stealing a victory at Utah and crushing then-No. 23 BYU on the road last week.
But if they wanted to leave no doubt, if they wanted to essentially wrap up a March Madness berth and kick their feet up before the conclusion of a solid regular season, a home win over Baylor or Oklahoma State on Saturday or Tuesday would’ve been a good way to do it.
Instead, UCF (20-9, 9-8) squandered chances against two teams near the bottom of the Big 12 standings, falling to the Bears by one point and losing 111-104 in overtime against the Cowboys.
Now, the Knights have to go to West Virginia at 8 p.m. Friday. They blew a 14-point lead to the Mountaineers at home in mid-February.
After that matchup, UCF will head to the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City, Missouri.
Win a game, and almost assuredly go dancing. Lose out, and well, palms get sweaty.
If you’re ready now …
“We have to understand the importance of regrouping and responding,” head coach Johnny Dawkins said. “We’ve done that all throughout the season. We have to do that again.”
He added: “There are lessons in there for our team to learn, and we have to learn them. We have to learn them quick.”
UCF had opportunities in back-and-forth battle vs. OK State
Tuesday brought opportunities for that clinching triumph.
Just seven-and-a-half minutes into the contest, the Knights led 23-10. Ten minutes later, the score was tied, and by halftime, Oklahoma State entered the locker room ahead 45-40.
UCF jumped back in front 56-54 six minutes into the second half. From the 15:50 mark to the 9:02 mark, the Cowboys didn’t convert a single shot from the field.
Seven free throws kept them in the game. They made 32 of their 40 tries overall.
The Knights trailed 89-83 with a minute remaining but leveled the score at 94 and forced OT on a Chris Johnson 3-pointer with 11 seconds left. They held a 100-99 advantage halfway through the extra period.
Just failed to close.
“I thought our guys gave great effort,” Dawkins said. “It’s just that we came up a little short. They made one or two more plays than we made.”
12 people in conference room decide NCAA Tournament field on Selection Sunday
Again, UCF might have already padded its resume enough to crack the tournament without any additions.
And if the Knights handle West Virginia later this week, the potential problem goes away. They would lock down a winning record in the Big 12 for the first time, and the selection committee isn’t going to omit a 21-win program, with an above-.500 ledger in the league and three ranked victories, from this juggernaut of a conference.
But if they don’t, they place a debate into the hands of 12 people sitting in a conference room. That’s not comfortable, especially if you’re not a blueblood and you limped to the finish.
When Selection Sunday arrives, doubt is a terrifying thing.
The worst part: UCF would look back and know it had chances to avoid it.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Selection Sunday doubt would be scary thing for UCF basketball | Vinel
Reporting by Chris Vinel, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
