UCF Gets Crushed Again on the Road, 92-72 at Cincinnati

· Yahoo Sports

Feb 8, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats center Moustapha Thiam (52) battles for the loose ball against UCF Knights center John Bol (7) in the first half at Fifth Third Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images | Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

Wednesday night’s 79-55 loss in Space City to the Houston Cougars made the UCF Knights hungry for a bounce-back road win against the Cincinnati Bearcats on Sunday afternoon. The Knights won the first meeting against the Bearcats 73-72 back in Orlando on Jan. 11.

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In the second meeting in Cincinnati, the Knights suffered their second consecutive double-digit blowout loss. The Bearcats defeated the Knights 92-72 at Fifth Third Arena. With the loss, the Knights fell to 17-6 overall and 6-5 in the Big 12.

The Bearcats led wire-to-wire to hand the Knights their second consecutive loss by at least 20 points. Head coach Johnny Dawkins simply put it after another blowout loss: “We just have to continue to get better.”

From momentum to ice cold in the first half

With 5:30 remaining in the first half, Jamichael Stillwell made a 2-pointer for UCF to tie the game at 26 and complete a 6-0 run. UCF had not led in the first half, but kept the game close.

Then, it all went downhill.

Cincinnati finished the half on a 14-2 run to lead by 12 at halftime. UCF went scoreless for the remaining 3:13 of the half, and Cincinnati’s Jalen Celestine made two 3-pointers to finish the half.

UCF shot under 35 percent from the floor and shot 2-10 from three in the first half.

Getting close, then a second-half shutdown

Cincinnati began the second half hot and held a 20-point lead 5:10 into the half. Even down by 20, UCF was able to cut it to a 6-point game with 9:33 remaining after back-to-back 3-pointers by George Beale Jr., which capped off an 11-0 UCF run.

However, just like the first half, Cincinnati made an offensive surge when UCF made the game close. After Beale Jr.’s second 3-pointer, Cincinnati went on a quick 5-0 run, then went back up by as much as 22 points.

One bright spot off the bench

Chris Johnson has been on and off this season. Before Cincinnati, Johnson had averaged just 6 points per game, as well as fewer than 2 rebounds and assists per game on the season. Against Cincinnati, Johnson delivered his best game as a Knight.

Johnson’s 16 points were tied for the most on UCF, and it set a season-high for him as well. Johnson’s 16 points were his most since Nov. 4, 2024, when he scored 17 points as a member of the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks. Johnson also led UCF with 6 assists, which set a new career-high. Dawkins expressed how Johnson gave the team a lift with his energy.

“Just happy to see him continue to develop in our system,” Dawkins said.

Next up: Rest, then West Virginia

After back-to-back road games, UCF will get some rest before its next game. UCF will host the West Virginia Mountaineers at Addition Financial Arena on Feb. 14 at 6 p.m. ET.

In the only meeting between the two teams last season in Morgantown, the Knights lost 72-65 to the Mountaineers at WVU Coliseum. After losing 70-63 to the No. 13 Texas Tech Red Raiders at home earlier today, the Mountaineers have a 15-9 overall record and a Big 12 record of 6-5.

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