Over 8,800 attended the Knights’ Big XII open victory

Knights fans stormed the Addition Financial Arena court as they watched UCF men’s basketball win its Big XII 2025-2026 season opener against the 17th-ranked Kansas Jayhawks 81-75 on Saturday afternoon.

Fifth-year guard Themus Fulks opened the game with a layup, and what followed was an intense exchange of play that saw the lead change six times by the end of the first half. During which Kansas showed why they are the top defensive team in the country, ending the first half with 21 rebounds and seven turnovers.

Kansas sophomore Flory Bidunga led the Jayhawks defensively with six rebounds and a steal, while Kansas freshman guard Darryn Peterson—returning to the court after a hamstring injury and quadricep issues sidelined him since December 13, 2025—was the Jayhawks’ offensive standout, scoring 23 points while shooting 7-of-15 in field goals and 5-of-6 from three.

However, senior guard Riley Kugel turned the tide for the Knights by scoring 12 points, shooting 5-of-8 from the field and 2-of-4 from three.

Senior forward Jamichael Stillwell acted as the Knights’ defensive anchor in the first half with four rebounds, two assists and two turnovers.

UCF gained momentum after taking a 24-23 lead with over seven minutes left until the end of the first half, going into halftime on top 44-41.

The intensity of the game grew stronger going into the second half as Kansas tied UCF at 56-56 with more than 12 minutes left on the clock.

Senior guard Melvin Council Jr. became the Jayhawks’ offensive anchor, scoring 20 points and shooting 8-of-10 in the second half, as senior guard Tre White collected 11 rebounds, forced three turnovers, and had two assists overall.

But the Jayhawk defense couldn’t stop Knights junior forward Jordan Burks, who shot 4-of-7 from the field and 3-of-6 from three, while Fulks followed Kugel in scoring 16 points and finishing with four rebounds and three assists.

The continuous back-and-forth action came to a close when sixth-year forward Devan Cambridge iced the game for the Knights with two free throws, leading to a final score of 81-75.

UCF ended the matchup with 38 points in the paint, 18 points off the bench, and 12 opponent turnovers, shooting 43.8% from the field and 30.4% from three.

Kansas only mustered 30 points in the paint, six opponent turnovers and five bench points, shootingt 43.1% from the field and 34.8% from three-point range.

Next up, the Knights travel to Oklahoma State University for a Tuesday, January 6 matchup with the Cowboys. The game tips at 8 pm from OSU’s Gallagher-Iba Arena.