The 2017–18 UCF Knights men's basketball team represented the University of Central Florida during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were members of the American Athletic Conference. The Knights, in the program's 49th season of basketball, were led by second-year head coach Johnny Dawkins and played their home games at the CFE Arena on the university's main campus in Orlando, Florida.UCFKnights.com | UCF KnightsUCF Knights College Basketball – UCF News, Scores, Stats, Rumors & More – ESPN They finished the season 19–13 overall and 9–9 in AAC play to finish in 6th place. In the AAC tournament, they defeated East Carolina in the first round before losing to Houston in the quarterfinals.
Previous season The Knights finished the 2016–17 season 24–12, 11–7 in AAC play to finish in fourth place. They defeated Memphis in the quarterfinals of the AAC tournament before losing in the semifinals to SMU. They received an invitation to the National Invitation Tournament, where they defeated Colorado, Illinois State, and Illinois to advance to the semifinals at Madison Square Garden for the first time in school history. There, they lost to the eventual NIT Champion, TCU.
Offseason Departures Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure Tank Efinanayi 0 G/F 6'6" 210 Senior Orlando, FL Graduated Matt Williams 12 G 6'5" 215 RS senior Orlando, FL Graduated Nick Banyard 14 F 6'8" 230 RS senior Flower Mound, TX Graduated
Incoming transfers Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous school Collin Smith 15 C 6'10" 240 Sophomore Jacksonville, FL Transferred from George Washington. Under NCAA transfer rules, Smith had to sit out from the 2017–18 season. Had three years of remaining eligibility.
2017 recruiting class
2018 recruiting class
Roster
Schedule and results
!colspan=9 style=| Non-conference regular season
!colspan=6 style= |AAC regular season
!colspan=9 style=| American Athletic Conference tournament
References