# 2023–24 UCF Knights men's basketball team

The 2023–24 UCF Knights men's basketball team represented the University of Central Florida during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, marking their first season as members of the Big 12 Conference. The Knights, in the program's 55th season of basketball, were led by eighth-year head coach Johnny Dawkins and played their home games at the Addition Financial Arena.

## Previous season

The Knights finished the 2022–23 season 18–14, 8–10 in AAC Play to finish in 7th place. They defeated SMU in the First Round of the AAC Tournament before losing in the quarterfinals to Memphis. The Knights received an at-large bid to the NIT, where they defeated Florida in the first round before losing in the second round to Oregon.
This was also the last season UCF played in the American Athletic Conference before moving to the Big 12 Conference.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Lahat Thioune | 0 | C | 6'10" | 225 | RS Senior | Dakar, Senegal | Graduate transferred to South Dakota |
| Jayhlon Young | 1 | G | 6'2" | 175 | RS Sophomore | Dallas, TX | Transferred to Memphis |
| Michael Durr | 2 | F | 7'0" | 250 | RS Senior | Atlanta, GA | Graduated |
| Brandon Suggs | 4 | G/F | 6'6" | 185 | Senior | Powder Springs, GA | Graduate transferred to New Mexico State |
| P. J. Edwards | 5 | G | 6'4" | 200 | Sophomore | Springfield, IL | Transferred to Bowling Green |
| Tyem Freeman | 11 | G | 6'6" | 210 | RS Junior | Springfield, MO | Transferred to Kent State |
| Ithiel Horton | 12 | G | 6'3" | 200 | RS Senior | Vauxhall, NJ | Graduated |
| Taylor Hendricks | 25 | F | 6'9" | 210 | Freshman | Fort Lauderdale, FL | Declare for 2023 NBA draft |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Num | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous college |
| Antwann Jones | 1 | G | 6'6" | 220 | RS Senior | Orlando, FL | Louisiana |
| Shemarri Allen | 2 | G | 6'4" | 200 | GS Senior | Arden, NC | Kansas City |
| Omar Payne | 5 | F | 6'10" | 240 | RS Senior | Kissimmee, FL | Jacksonville |
| Ibrahima Diallo | 11 | C | 7'0" | 220 | RS Senior | Saly, Senegal | San Jose State |
| Jaylin Sellers | 24 | G | 6'4" | 180 | Junior | Columbus, GA | Ball State |

### 2023 Recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Comeh Emuobor #80 SF | Raleigh, NC | Brewster Academy | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Sep 29, 2022 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 78 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 27, 2023. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2023* 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | FIU | W 85–62 | 1–0 | 23 – Sellers | 6 – Tied | 5 – Allen | Addition Financial Arena (6,225) Orlando, FL |
| November 10, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+ | | at No. 13 Miami (FL) | L 72–88 | 1–1 | 22 – Sellers | 11 – Sellers | 1 – Tied | Watsco Center (7,972) Coral Gables, FL |
| November 16, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Cal State Fullerton Jacksonville Classic campus game | W 72–44 | 2–1 | 15 – Sellers | 8 – Diallo | 5 – Sellers | Addition Financial Arena (5,322) Orlando, FL |
| November 19, 2023* 8:00 p.m. | | vs. South Dakota State Jacksonville Classic Coast semifinals | W 83–80 | 3–1 | 22 – Avery | 5 – Tied | 4 – Johnson | Flagler Gymnasium (609) St. Augustine, FL |
| November 20, 2023* 8:30 p.m. | | vs. Charlotte Jacksonville Classic Coast championship | W 74–71 $^{OT}$ | 4–1 | 25 – Johnson | 14 – Diallo | 4 – Johnson | Flagler Gymnasium (329) St. Augustine, FL |
| November 26, 2023* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Stetson | L 82–85 | 4–2 | 34 – Sellers | 8 – Sellers | 7 – Johnson | Addition Financial Arena (5,089) Orlando, FL |
| December 2, 2023* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Lipscomb | W 72–57 | 5–2 | 19 – Johnson | 9 – Diallo | 3 – Johnson | Addition Financial Arena (5,152) Orlando, FL |
| December 6, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Jacksonville | W 94–52 | 6–2 | 20 – Sylla | 11 – Sylla | 3 – Tied | Addition Financial Arena (5,278) Orlando, FL |
| December 10, 2023* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Ole Miss | L 68–70 | 6–3 | 25 – Johnson | 10 – Payne | 3 – Tied | Addition Financial Arena (6,067) Orlando, FL |
| December 18, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Maine | W 74–51 | 7–3 | 16 – Johnson | 9 – Allen | 5 – Allen | Addition Financial Arena (5,014) Orlando, FL |
| December 21, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Florida A&M | W 69–56 | 8–3 | 15 – Sellers | 12 – Diallo | 5 – Johnson | Addition Financial Arena (5,066) Orlando, FL |
| December 29, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Bethune–Cookman | W 98–54 | 9–3 | 19 – Sellers | 7 – Sylla | 5 – Langford Jr. | Addition Financial Arena (5,188) Orlando, FL |
| Big 12 regular season |||||||||
| January 6, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at Kansas State | L 52–77 | 9–4 (0–1) | 10 – Johnson | 7 – Avery | 3 – Machowski | Bramlage Coliseum (9,698) Manhattan, KS |
| January 10, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | No. 3 Kansas | W 65–60 | 10–4 (1–1) | 18 – Sellers | 6 – Allen | 6 – Johnson | Addition Financial Arena (9,469) Orlando, FL |
| January 13, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | No. 18 BYU | L 58–63 | 10–5 (1–2) | 18 – Johnson | 19 – Diallo | 3 – Allen | Addition Financial Arena (9,137) Orlando, FL |
| January 17, 2024 8:00 p.m., LHN | | at Texas | W 77–71 | 11–5 (2–2) | 24 – Sellers | 9 – Walker | 7 – Allen | Moody Center (11,235) Austin, TX |
| January 20, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at No. 5 Houston | L 42–57 | 11–6 (2–3) | 10 – Avery | 9 – Sellers | 3 – Johnson | Fertitta Center (7,184) Houston, TX |
| January 23, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | West Virginia | W 72–59 | 12–6 (3–3) | 18 – Sellers | 12 – Diallo | 5 – Allen | Addition Financial Arena (8,882) Orlando, FL |
| January 27, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Cincinnati | L 57–68 | 12–7 (3–4) | 19 – Tied | 7 – Avery | 3 – Johnson | Fifth Third Arena (12,112) Cincinnati, OH |
| January 31, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | No. 18 Baylor | L 69–77 | 12–8 (3–5) | 23 – Johnson | 7 – Johnson | 10 – Johnson | Addition Financial Arena (8,683) Orlando, FL |
| February 3, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | No. 23 Oklahoma | W 74–63 | 13–8 (4–5) | 14 – Darthard | 11 – Moore | 3 – Hugley IV | Addition Financial Arena (9,387) Orlando, FL |
| February 10, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at No. 23 Texas Tech | L 63–74 | 13–9 (4–6) | 14 – Tied | 9 – Sylla | 3 – Tied | United Supermarkets Arena (13,715) Lubbock, TX |
| February 13, 2024 9:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at No. 19 BYU | L 88–90 | 13–10 (4–7) | 20 – Johnson | 6 – Payne | 3 – Johnson | Marriott Center (15,590) Provo, UT |
| February 17, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Cincinnati | L 74–76 | 13–11 (4–8) | 16 – Johnson | 6 – Diallo | 7 – Allen | Addition Financial Arena (8,924) Orlando, FL |
| February 20, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at West Virginia | L 67–77 | 13–12 (4–9) | 29 – Johnson | 9 – Walker | 4 – Johnson | WVU Coliseum (9,569) Morgantown, WV |
| February 24, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | No. 23 Texas Tech | W 75–61 | 14–12 (5–9) | 16 – Johnson | 8 – Walker | 5 – Johnson | Addition Financial Arena (8,711) Orlando, FL |
| February 28, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Oklahoma State | W 77–71 | 15–12 (6–9) | 17 – Johnson | 6 – Walker | 2 – Allen | Gallagher-Iba Arena (5,044) Stillwater, OK |
| March 2, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | No. 8 Iowa State | L 52–60 | 15–13 (6–10) | 13 – Sellers | 6 – Diallo | 2 – Johnson | Addition Financial Arena (9,392) Orlando, FL |
| March 6, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | No. 1 Houston | L 59–67 | 15–14 (6–11) | 15 – Walker | 5 – Johnson | 4 – Allen | Addition Financial Arena (9,390) Orlando, FL |
| March 9, 2024 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at TCU | W 79–77 | 16–14 (7–11) | 33 – Johnson | 9 – Johnson | 6 – Allen | Schollmaier Arena (7,033) Fort Worth, TX |
| Big 12 tournament |||||||||
| March 12, 2024 12:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (12) | vs. (13) Oklahoma State First Round | W 77–62 | 17–14 | 17 – Diallo | 11 – Diallo | 5 – Johnson | T-Mobile Center Kansas City, MO |
| March 13, 2024 11:30 a.m., ESPN2 | (12) | vs. (5) No. 20 BYU Second Round | L 73–87 | 17–15 | 32 – Johnson | 9 – Allen | 3 – Tied | T-Mobile Center (16,044) Kansas City, MO |
| NIT |||||||||
| March 19, 2024* 9:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (4) | South Florida First Round – Villanova Bracket War on I-4 | L 77–83 | 17–16 | 24 – Sellers | 9 – Avery | 4 – Johnson | Addition Financial Arena (4,164) Orlando, FL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||
Source