The stakes are high for this matchup

No.25 UCF men’s basketball takes on the Cincinnati Bearcats at home on Sunday with a couple of familiar faces returning to the Addition Financial Arena.

Cincinnati center Moustapha Thiam and Cincinnati assistant coach Mamadou N’Diaye reunite with the Knights on the other side of the court after an alleged controversial exit from UCF in April 2025, which intensifies the rivalry between the two teams.

As for the program, UCF has not secured a win against Cincinnati in the past five years, since their 75-61 victory during the 2021-2022 season.

Cincinnati began this season’s conference play with two losses against the Houston Cougars (60-67) and West Virginia Mountaineers (60-62).

“We have to step up and make some plays. My big concern coming off the last game was ‘Can we get shots up on the rim in those tough moments?’ But we’ll make some of those or we have to get some off the offensive glass and we don’t,” Cincinnati men’s basketball head coach Wes Miller said during a postgame press conference on January 6.

Cincinnati excels UCF in a few defensive areas with more assists per game at 17.3%, steals per game at 6.7% and turnovers forced per game at 14.6%, while the Knights surpass the Bearcats offensively with 28.21% off the bench per game, 48.2% from the field and a 37.2% from three.

However, after the Knights’ first loss of conference play against Oklahoma St. on January 6, UCF men’s basketball head coach Johnny Dawkins believes his players need to be more disciplined defensively.

“Whenever you put yourself in those compromising positions defensively [or] when you’re picking up fouls, it usually has something to do with your discipline. You need to stay true to what the game plan is: defend hard, but you can’t foul,” Dawkins said during a media availability session on January 9. “I thought early in the season we were doing that a bit much. We had gotten better and it looked like we reverted in our last game.”

Right now, UCF sits at No.25 after earning its spot in the Week 9 Associated Press Top 25 after an 81-75 victory over the Kansas Jayhawks—who were previously No.17—on January 3, marking its first appearance in the poll since 2019.

Tune into Sunday’s matchup broadcasting on ESPN 2 at 5 p.m. as the Knights look for a second win during the Big XII 2025-2026 season.