Darius Johnson exploded for 33 points as the UCF Knights wrapped up their Big 12 regular-season campaign with a 79-77 win over the TCU Horned Frogs on Saturday at Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
Johnson was slicing and dicing defenders all night, shooting 9-for-13 from the field and 5-for-6 from beyond the three-point line. The junior guard also sank probably the four biggest free throws of his career to get the Knights ahead 78-74 with 15 seconds left in the match.
Road kill ???? pic.twitter.com/9YBhljHMGj
— UCF Men’s Hoops ???? (@UCF_MBB) March 10, 2024
The Horned Frogs, who entered their regular-season finale as the favorites, had a chance to send the game into overtime but Emmanuel Miller blew a game-tying jumper in the final ball possession of the match.
Senior big man Ibrahima Dialo recorded 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks in his final regular-season game with UCF. Jaylin Seller also added 14 points on 6-for-11 shooting.
Took care of business at Schollmaier ???? pic.twitter.com/Kzao4ookJr
— UCF Men’s Hoops ???? (@UCF_MBB) March 10, 2024
UCF finished their regular-season campaign with a 7-11 conference record and 17-14 overall, earning the No.12 seed in the Big 12 tournament. They are scheduled to face the No.13 seed Oklahoma State in the first round on March 12. The winner will take on the No.5 seed BYU, who received a bye to the second round.