NCAA Tournament March Madness

#58 UCF

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Projected seed: 7

UCF’s profile reads like a team with a high-end offensive identity and a handful of signature moments but also a glaring defensive hole that must be addressed; the road win at Texas A&M and the neutral-site victory over Pittsburgh are the kind of resume builders that catch attention, while the ugly defeat to Vanderbilt revealed how quickly the defense can undo a strong scoring night. Many of the other wins came against lesser foes so the remaining stretch is pivotal: trips to Iowa State, BYU, Houston and Kansas State and home dates with Kansas and Arizona are the chances to earn resume-changing road or neutral victories, and the more routine home games against mid-majors offer a way to shore up the ledger. How UCF responds in those big environments will determine whether its offensive fireworks are enough to overcome the defensive inconsistency that currently limits its standing.

Date Opponent Ranking Outcome
11/3Hofstra136W82-78
11/8Vanderbilt6L105-93
11/11Florida A&M343W97-60
11/14@Texas A&M45W86-74
11/17Oakland144W87-83
11/20(N)Pittsburgh94W77-67
11/25Quinnipiac148W102-91
11/29VMI339W82-57
12/7Towson13183%
12/17Mercer17290%
12/20FGCU16889%
12/23FL Atlantic11781%
1/3Kansas1841%
1/6@Oklahoma St5036%
1/11Cincinnati7467%
1/14@Kansas St7645%
1/17Arizona928%
1/20@Iowa St510%
1/24@Colorado6842%
1/27Arizona St8270%
1/31Texas Tech3047%
2/4@Houston812%
2/8@Cincinnati7445%
2/14West Virginia6964%
2/17TCU5259%
2/21@Utah12063%
2/24@BYU1013%
2/28Baylor2946%
3/3Oklahoma St5058%
3/6@West Virginia6942%