No more March Madness for UCF as season comes to end with loss to UCLA in NCAA Tourney

Matt Murschel, Orlando Sentinel on Mar 20, 2026

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PHILADELPHIA — There was no buzzer-beater, no bracket-buster or March Madness miracle.

Nothing that will steal away from this year’s One Shining Moment montage.

Quite simply, UCF found itself in an all-too-familiar situation: late offensive woes led to the Knights trailing by double digits throughout much of the game before losing to UCLA, 75-71, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.

UCF pulled within three points with six seconds left, but UCLA held on for the win.

The Knights finished the season by losing five of their last six games.

Jordan Burks broke out of a shooting slump to lead UCF with 22 points, while Riley Kugel had 13 and Jamichael Stillwell had 10.

UCF (21-12) drops to 1-6 all time in NCAA Tournament appearances, with the only win coming against VCU in the 2018-19 season.

UCLA was without its top scorer, Tyler Bilodeau, who missed the game with a right knee injury, but Eric Dailey Jr. led the Bruins with 20 points.

UCF was relentless on defense to open the game, forcing UCLA into poor shot selection as the Bruins missed their first seven shots from the floor. The Knights, meanwhile, pulled out to a quick 6-0 lead.

The Bruins went on a 9-2 run to take their first lead of the game at 13-10 as Daily Jr. powered the Bruins with eight early points. UCLA extended that advantage to 18-12 as UCF turned the ball over six times in the first 10 minutes.

To make matters worse, the Knights went ice cold from the floor, failing to score a point for more than four and a half minutes midway through the first half.

UCLA didn’t waste the opportunity, pushing its lead to 24-12 with 8:50 left in the first.

It was the fourth consecutive game in which UCF fell behind by double digits.

Kugel’s free throw with 8:40 left was the first point by the Knights since the 13:52 mark.

UCF’s long-distance shooting woes from the Big 12 tournament followed them into the NCAA Tournament. The Knights connected on just 13% (6 of 45) from 3-point range in the conference tourney and started out connecting on 20% (2 of 10).

Burks snapped a 0-for-13 streak from beyond the arc when the junior connected on a 3-pointer from the right corner to cut the UCLA lead to 26-16. For Burks, who was a 36% shooter from 3-point range, it was his first in the past four games.

Things were so bad at one point that when Knights’ center John Bol rebounded a missed 3-point attempt by UCLA’s Xavier Booker, he tipped it into the Bruins’ basket by mistake.

Despite the dismal first half, UCF pulled within single digits of UCLA’s lead thanks to a pair of 3-pointers by Devan Cambridge and Carmelo Pacheco to pull within single digits at the half: 35-27.

UCLA kept the Knights at bay throughout much of the final 20 minutes, extending their lead to as many as 14 points with 16:20 left in the game.

The Knights lost Bol early in the second half after a hard foul sent him to the floor. He eventually left the court and was in the locker room for several minutes before returning to the bench.

Hoping to chip away, UCF went with a full-court press, which resulted in a quick turnover and another Burks’ 3-pointer that pulled the Knights within single digits at 46-37 with 15:21. Another turnover by the Bruins led to another Burks’ 3, which pulled UCF within six.

Cambridge followed with another 3-pointer as UCF pulled within 46-43 with 14:00 left.

But the Bruins wouldn’t back down, going on an 8-0 run to push their advantage back to double-digits at 54-44.

UCF would go on a 10-3 run to pull within 63-56 with 2:40 left, fueled by seven points from Kugel. The Knights would inch closer to 66-60 with 58.5 seconds left, but UCLA refused to relent and held on for the win.

It was a record-setting season for the Knights, who went on to win a program-best nine Big 12 games, while making their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since the 2018-19 season. The team posted five Quad 1 wins against Texas A&M, Kansas, Texas Tech, BYU and Cincinnati.

UCLA (24-11) moves on to face the winner of No. 2 UConn and No. 15 Furman in the Round of 32 on Sunday.