The UCF Knights (24-11) are preparing to make their first-ever National Invitational Tournament final four appearance Tuesday night in New York City.
The team practiced Friday afternoon after knocking off Illinois in front of a sold-out crowd at CFE Arena Wednesday evening.
The Knights are excited to keep their postseason going and hoping to carry the momentum up to the Big Apple.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to compete for a championship,” said sophomore guard B.J. Taylor.
“There are a few teams left – eight teams left after today in the NCAA tournament and only four left in the NIT. So that's 12 teams right there - so we're just excited for the opportunity to represent UCF and get out there and make a good showing in the Garden.”
First-year head coach Johnny Dawkins has won the tournament twice with Stanford and knows what it will take to come home victorious.
“We are going to have to play well. As well as we played to get there, we will have to be better,” Dawkins said. “So everyone is preparing to try to win it and we need to be at our best when we go to New York if we expect to bring back a championship.”
UCF will begin its preparation for TCU on Saturday. The two teams will meeting in the NIT semifinal Tuesday at 9 p.m. at Madison Square Garden.