Last season, the UCF men’s basketball team hosted then No. 15 Cincinnati on Senior Night and defeated the Bearcats for the first time ever, igniting a historic run to the NIT Final Four. Now Cincinnati is back – and ranked 13th in the nation as of Monday morning – as the two teams square off at CFE Arena Tuesday night.

The win over the Bearcats last season was part of a five-game win streak to end the regular season for the Knights, catapulting UCF to the fourth seed in the American Athletic Conference Tournament. The loss for Cincinnati prevented the Bearcats from taking a share of the regular season title and pushed them to the number two seed in the conference tournament.

It was UCF’s fourth ever win over a nationally ranked team and the first since 2011. The Knights have since added one more victory over a Top 25 team to that list, defeating then No. 24 Alabama on the road back on December 3.

UCF (12-5, 3-2) comes in ready to play spoiler again. Having won eight of their last 10 games, and recording a near perfect 8-1 mark at home, the Knights are ready for the challenge a team like Cincinnati brings to the table.

The Bearcats (15-2, 4-0) are unbeaten in league play, having played three common opponents so far. Cincinnati defeated Memphis 82-48, won at Temple 55-53, and took down SMU by a score of 76-56 to extend its win streak to eight games going into Tuesday’s matchup.

On Tuesday, the Knights will look for their second win against the Bearcats and their second in a row. UCF and Cincinnati will tip-off at 7 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.

GAME INFO
Date: Tuesday, Jan. 16
Time: 7 p.m.
TV: CBS Sports Network
Radio: 96.9 FM/740 AM The Game