Johnny Dawkins, UCF head to Philly for March Madness showdown with UCLA
UCF’s NCAA Tournament journey officially began Wednesday afternoon, with the Knights getting a campus send-off before boarding a bus bound for Orlando Sanford International Airport and their charter flight to Philadelphia.
A group of fans, athletic department staffers and coaches from other UCF sports gathered to cheer on Johnny Dawkins’ team as the Knights prepared to leave for the East Region, where No. 10 seed UCF will face No. 7 seed UCLA on Friday at 7:25 p.m. at Xfinity Mobile Arena. The matchup marks the first meeting between the two programs, and the winner will advance to face either No. 2 seed UConn or No. 15 seed Furman.
This is the program’s sixth all-time NCAA Tournament appearance and the first since 2019.
“I’m excited about going out there and competing,” Dawkins said. “That’s something that we’ve done all season long. I’ve been proud of our group, their effort and energy has been amazing.
“I think we’ve had a really good year and now we have an opportunity to play in the postseason and see what we can do in March.”
UCF enters the tournament with a 21-11 record after earning an at-large bid out of the Big 12, while UCLA comes in at 23-11 out of the Big Ten.
“Another storied program, great coach, great tradition,” Dawkins said of the Bruins. “You can’t ask for anything more than that in college basketball and we’re excited to be a part of it.”
UCF has dealt with some injury issues down the stretch. Jamichael Stillwell, Riley Kugel and Jeremy Foumena have dealt with sprained ankles, while John Bol suffered a chest injury in last week’s Big 12 Tournament. Dawkins was asked about the status of Stillwell, who boarded the bus wearing a boot.
Dawkins downplayed any major concern and indicated he expects Stillwell to be available when the Knights take the floor Friday.
“He should be fine. He should be able to go,” Dawkins said. “A lot of guys are banged up this time of year. As you know, it’s a long season, but our guys are in great shape. They’re in good shape, they’re excited to play and he’ll be ready to go.”
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