As soon as March Insanity begins, hardly ever do convention tournaments finish in a no. 1 vs. no. 2 matchup within the championship sport, however that’s precisely what occurred Thursday night time when UCF confronted off towards South Florida for the AAC tourney title.
The end result was a hard-fought sport when UCF got here out victorious thanks to a different phenomenal Diamond Battles efficiency. The victory topped UCF champions of the AAC; it additionally gave the Knights revenge for his or her loss to the Bulls in final season’s convention title sport and gave them an automated bid to the NCAA event.
This sport was removed from a one-sided affair. South Florida led on the finish of every of the primary three quarters. It wasn’t till 5:02 remained within the fourth quarter that UCF pulled away, occurring a 9-0 run to realize the lead and safe the victory. The Knights turned the tide by getting the soiled work accomplished: Hitting free throws, grabbing rebounds, and making the occasional jumper.
It took a staff effort for UCF to win this sport; Battles was nothing in need of sensational, scoring 17 factors and doing so by driving to the basket and attending to the free-throw line. Forwards Future Thomas and Masseny Kaba each had 9 rebounds apiece, serving to the Knights win the rebounding battle 39-33, and the bench got here by means of, scoring 12 factors.
For South Florida, there may be nothing however the agony of defeat. The Bulls had been the reigning 2021 tourney champs, so dropping their title to the staff they beat final 12 months must be disappointing. It’s additionally disappointing that they misplaced to UCF in each matchup they’d this season, going 0-3. UCF was the highest staff all season lengthy within the American Athletic Convention, however with a lead all through the sport, it regarded like South Florida had an opportunity to upend that hierarchy, till they didn’t.
The Bulls nonetheless had some optimistic takeaways within the loss. Their beginning guard trio was sensational, taking part in all however one minute of the sport, and their protection was aggressive, getting eight steals and 4 blocks on the night time. That aggressiveness additionally led to 19 fouls, however I feel that type suits South Florida greater than UCF. It stored the Bulls in command of the sport and performed beneath their phrases. It virtually labored. They only couldn’t shut out the sport.
Now we wait to see what seed UCF will get and if South Florida makes it to the massive dance. The Bulls probably have the resume to qualify, and in response to ESPN, they’re at the moment pegged as a ninth seed. UCF is ranked twenty fifth within the nation, so can the Knights earn a fifth seed or larger? We’ll discover out on Choice Sunday, however for now, UCF will get to get pleasure from its AAC event title.
