ORLANDO — When the final buzzer sounded at Addition Financial Arena on Saturday, chaos erupted on the court for the UCF Knights as students flocked to the team logo and shared their team’s cheers after the team beat the No. 17 Kansas Jayhawks 81-75.
It had been nearly two years since UCF last defeated one of the most storied programs in college basketball, but the Cavaliers made the most of every opportunity and executed enough of a game plan to pull out the victory.
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“We beat a good basketball team tonight,” UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said. “Their tradition, the coaches, the players; very proud of our guys for playing 40 minutes. They showed a lot of enthusiasm throughout the game because Kansas is a really good team.”
The Cavaliers entered the game as underdogs. About a year ago, Kansas defeated UCF 99-48 at Addition Financial Arena. The Cavaliers lost two more games to Kansas in tighter games in 2024-25, and the Jayhawks returned star freshman Darryn Peterson, who scored 23 of the team’s 41 first-half points, in Saturday’s game.
The Cavaliers withstood Peterson’s attack and didn’t allow another Jayhawk to score in double figures in the first 20 minutes of the game. Meanwhile, Themus Fulks and Riley Kugel provided a balanced offense for UCF, scoring 12 points each on 5-of-8 shooting as the team led 44-41 at halftime.
After the game, Fulks made it clear that no player could beat them.
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“Darian Peterson is a really good player,” he said. “He deserves all the credit, but we just didn’t think one player could beat us. It’s a team game. I don’t feel like he made his teammates better.”
Peterson was limited to five minutes in the second half as he battled injuries that have plagued him this season. UCF took advantage of his absence, allowing only Jayhawks’ Melvin Council Jr. to score in double figures in the second half.
Meanwhile, eight of the Cavaliers’ 10 players on the court scored in the second half, forcing Kansas into turnovers and fouls. Kugel led UCF with 19 points.
“I feel like Riley is locked in,” Cavaliers forward JaMychal Stillwell said. “You know, we’ve been watching him all week and practicing with little things, but, I feel like he’s embraced it. You know, he doesn’t take it personally.”
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“He knows we love him and we’re trying to make him better and make the team better. I felt like today he showed up and showed he’s listening.”
UCF held a nine-point lead with 4:59 left in the game, but the game ended up tied at 70 with just over three minutes remaining. However, the Cavaliers didn’t waver. Instead, they buried Kansas with a Riley Kugel 3-pointer and a pair of free throws from Dewan Cambridge in the final seconds as the crowd erupted in deafening cheers and applause.
“I thought we came out strong at the end of the game and Kansas hit a really good run to tie the game,” Dawkins added. “I thought we came out strong and those are things we talked about as a team before the Christmas break, how we have to perform in the division.”
“I think that reflected in how we finished today.”
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UCF is off to its best start in program history with a 12-1 record, and the win over the Jayhawks provides a huge boost moving forward. However, the Cavaliers are not ignoring the challenges ahead.
“This game,” Stillwell said. “This game is over now. So, we move on to the next game. It’s all about moving on to the next game. You know, we can’t just let this game go over our heads. We play Oklahoma State and we have other games after that, so it’s all about moving on to the next game.”
