March 11, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; UCF Knights center John Bol (7) reacts after the game against the Cincinnati Bearcats at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Image Riley Kugel scored 15 points, including two baskets that helped send the game to overtime, and John Bol added four huge free throws in overtime as UCF edged past Cincinnati, 66-65, in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament Wednesday afternoon in Kansas City.
The eighth-seeded Knights (21-10) advanced to the quarterfinals and faced top-seeded Arizona on Thursday afternoon. Cincinnati (18-15), which took an eight-point lead with 2 minutes, 17 seconds left in regulation, suffered a major blow to its NCAA tournament hopes.
Ja-Michael Stillwell led the Knights with 17 points and 15 rebounds, and Ball added 13 points.
Moustapha Thiam paced Cincinnati with 18 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks. Day Day Thomas added 15 points, Jalen Celestine had 11 and Keyshuan Tillery had 10.
Cincinnati led by 12 points midway through the second half, but Kugel’s layup cut the margin to 53-50 with 2 minutes and 57 seconds to play. Celestine hit a 3-pointer and Thomas added a pair of free throws with 2:17 to play to get the Bearcats’ advantage back to eight points.
But UCF dominated the final stretch, scoring the final eight points as the Bearcats committed three straight turnovers. Kugel tied the game at 58-58 with a driving layup with 1:02 left.
Cincinnati missed two shots in the final minute, including Thomas’ 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Bol made four free throws in the first 3:02 of overtime, the last pair giving the Knights a 66-62 lead. Thomas responded with a ringing 3-pointer to cut the margin to 66-65, but the Bearcats were doomed by a turnover (19th of the game) with 40 seconds left as UCF continued to play.
Cincinnati used an early 11-0 run capped by Thomas’ jumper at the 15:22 mark to take an 11-2 lead. The Bearcats extended their lead to 19-9 after Tillery’s jumper with 8:34 left in the first half.
When Stillwell converted a layup with 4:12 to play until halftime, UCF scored 13 of the next 15 points to take a 22-21 lead. Thiam’s 3-pointer with 2:55 left put the Bearcats back on top, and Thiam’s 3-point play helped Cincinnati maintain a 27-26 advantage heading into intermission.
Thiam led all scorers with 11 points by halftime, while Bol’s seven paced the Knights.
–Field level media
