KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Arizona will face eighth-seeded UCF in a Big 12 Tournament quarterfinal game Thursday at noon after the Knights beat No. 9 seed Cincinnati 66-65 on Wednesday at T-Mobile Center.
Tthe Knights overcame an eight-point deficit in the final two minutes of regulation to send the game into overtime, then held the Bearcats scoreless over the final 1:45 after Cincinnati's Day Day Thomas hit a 3-pointer to cut UCF's lead to a single point.
"Our guys had to fight back on numerous occasions... but this team has done this all season long, their competitive spirit," UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said. "It showed in the summer. It showed up again tonight, just their will to win."
In regulation of a defensive struggle in which both teams shot just under 39% from the field, Cincinnati held a 58-50 lead with 2:17 to go after Thomas hit a pair of free throws, but committed two turnovers that led to four points during UCF's 8-0 run.
With the game tied at 58 after UCF's Riley Kugel missed a 3-pointer, the Bearcats had 20 seconds to run a final play but wasn't able to set up one before coach Wes Miller called a timeout with 0.8 seconds left -- and then Thomas missed a final 3-point attempt.
UCF's Riley Kugel, left, heads to the basket as Cincinnati's Jizzle James and Moustapha Thiam (52) defend during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the second round of the Big 12 Conference tournament Wednesday, March 11, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
UCF's Jamichael Stillwell had four of his 17 points to help UCF pull out the win and send Cincinnati possibly out of the NCAA Tournament consideration. The Knights (21-10) are projected to receive one of the last NCAA at-large berths, according to ESPN.
"Of course, it's an added incentive with everything that's being talked about, absolutely," Dawkins said, referring to postseason consideration. "But our guys mainly were focused on winning and approaching it the way we've done all the games that we've played this season so far."
Arizona faced UCF once during the Big 12 regular-season play, beating the Knights 84-77 on Jan. 17 in Orlando. In that game, UA center Motiejus Krivas had 17 points and 12 rebounds while Jaden Bradley scored 23 points and hit 9 of 10 free throws he took over the final 77 seconds to hold off the Knights.
