No more March Madness for UCF as season comes to end with loss to UCLA in NCAA Tourney
PHILADELPHIA — There was no buzzer-beater, no bracket-buster or March Madness miracle. Nothing that will steal away from this year’s One Shining Moment montage. Quite simply, UCF found itself in an all-too-familiar situation: late offensive woes led to the Knights trailing by double digits throughout much of the game before losing to UCLA, 75-71, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on ...
PHILADELPHIA — There was no buzzer-beater, no bracket-buster or March Madness miracle. Nothing that will steal away from this year’s One Shining Moment montage. Quite simply, UCF found itself in an all-too-familiar situation: late offensive woes led to the Knights trailing by double digits throughout much of the game before losing to UCLA, 75-71, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.
UCF pulled within three points with six seconds left, but UCLA held on for the win. The Knights finished the season by losing five of their last six games. Jordan Burks broke out of a shooting slump to lead UCF with 22 points, while Riley Kugel had 13 and Jamichael Stillwell had 10.
UCF (21-12) drops to 1-6 all time in NCAA Tournament appearances, with the only win coming against VCU in the 2018-19 season. UCLA was without its top scorer, Tyler Bilodeau, who missed the game with a right knee injury, but Eric Dailey Jr. led the Bruins with 20 points.
UCF was relentless on defense to open the game, forcing UCLA into poor shot selection as the Bruins missed their first seven shots from the floor. The Knights, meanwhile, pulled out to a quick 6-0 lead. The Bruins went on a 9-2 run to take their first lead of the game at 13-10 as Daily Jr.