February 24, 2026; Provo, Utah, USA; UCF Knights guard Temus Fulks (1) dribbles the ball while being defended by BYU Cougars forward Kennard Davis Jr. (30) during the second half at the Marriott Center. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Baker-Imagn Images After sweeping the road trip through Utah, the Utes and No. By defeating 19 BYU, UCF placed itself firmly on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble.
The Knights are scheduled to host Baylor in another Big 12 Conference contest Saturday night in Orlando.
“Anytime you can have success, it helps the players’ overall confidence,” UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said Friday. “They are energized and working to get better throughout the season. They know it is a process.”
The BYU team’s 97-84 drilling of its own win over Iowa State was a huge step forward along the way. The Knights (20-7, 9-6 Big 12) made 14 of 24 3-point attempts and got 24 points, 11 assists from Temus Fulks and 24 points from Jordan Burks to establish a 52-28 halftime lead.
UCF’s Chris Johnson said the key to continued success is not taking anything for granted.
“We’re trying to stay hungry and not be complacent and focus on the next game,” he said.
While the Knights aim to polish their postseason resume, the Bears (14-14, 4-11) simply hope to qualify for the postseason tournament. They almost pulled off a big upset that would have sealed the win, but lost 87-80 at home to second-place Arizona on Tuesday.
Baylor took a 44-34 lead early in the second half but couldn’t get a stop all game long against the Big 12 leaders. Cameron Carr shot 49.1% from the field and committed just five turnovers but still scored 26 points for the Bears, who lost for the fifth time in six games.
Barring a string of wins that include multiple wins in the conference tournament, the Bears will likely miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017-18.
“As long as we play, we can control our own destiny,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said. “From this perspective, I think it’s a blessing for most colleges, and in the Big 12, there’s an opportunity to get that in the regular season or in the tournament.”
–Field level media
