UCF will play 18 regular-season contests at the UCF Arena, highlighted by an in-state showdown with Florida State on Dec. 30. The Seminoles won 24 games in 2010-11, and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. NCAA Tournament participant Hartford will also visit the UCF Arena on Nov. 26. UCF will play two road games during non-league play, including a Dec. 20 matchup at Notre Dame. Last season, the Fighting Irish went 31-8 and advanced to the national championship game.
The Knights, who won 22 games last year, are led by senior guard Aisha Patrick (Rockledge, Fla.). Patrick averaged 10.7 points and dished out a team-high 134 assists in 2010-11. UCF returns seven players from last season's squad, and also welcomes several talented newcomers to the team.
Season tickets, which start at only $45 for 18 home games, are currently available by calling (407) UCF-1000. Special community packages are also available by calling (407) UCF-1000.
The Knights will open the campaign on Nov. 12 at South Alabama. The team will play its first game of the year at the UCF Arena on Nov. 18 when Florida A&M comes to Orlando. The contest against the Rattlers is the first of nine-straight at home for the Knights. The long homestand, which includes the UCF Thanksgiving Classic Nov. 25-26, concludes on Dec. 18 against Virginia Tech.
"The great thing about our non-conference schedule is that we have so many games at home. This year we are really striving to get some consistency going into conference play," Williams said. "We will play some great teams like Florida Gulf Coast, Hartford, Florida State, Virginia Tech and Notre Dame. We will be tested."
UCF will play eight league contests at home, starting with a Jan. 5 game versus East Carolina. The Knights will also host Southern Miss (Jan. 15), Rice (Jan. 19), SMU (Jan. 26), Tulsa (Feb. 2), UAB (Feb. 12), Memphis (Feb. 19) and Marshall (March 1) for league games.
UCF will face a big challenge at the end of the regular season when it travels to Houston to face the Cougars on Feb. 26. A year ago, Houston won 26 contests and earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The C-USA Championship will be held in Memphis, Tenn., and starts on March 7.
"We had a lot of teams in Conference USA that went to postseason play last year," Williams said. "That makes our league a lot stronger and a lot more exciting. It is going to be competitive."
