UCF Knights: 5 final thoughts after College Basketball Crown championship loss to Nebraska

UCF came up one win short of capturing the first College Basketball Crown, falling Sunday evening in a wild, back-and-forth showdown against Nebraska.

The Cornhuskers led by as many as 12 in the first half, trailed by 14 in the second and then scored 42 of the game’s final 57 points to pull away from UCF for a 77-66 victory at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Brice Williams and Connor Essegian had 21 points apiece for Nebraska, while Juwan Gary added 20 points and eight rebounds.

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Nebraska also secured the grand-prize NIL payout of $300,000, courtesy of the Crown and its corporate partner, Vivid Seats. UCF’s players will split the runner-up’s purse of $100,000.

Thus, the longest basketball season in Knights history is finally over. UCF closes with a 20-17 record, notching significant wins over Texas A&M and Texas Tech before New Year’s Day and embarking on a seven-game losing streak in February that derailed any chance of an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament.

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However, the Knights — despite a shorthanded, portal-plundered roster — capitalized on their invitation to the Crown by defeating Oregon State, Cincinnati and Villanova in the space of five days to reach the final.

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Before officially putting the 2024-25 campaign in the books, here are five final takeaways from UCF’s memorable, and ultimately profitable, trip to Vegas.

Hamstring injury hampers Darius Johnson’s effectiveness

Fox Sports play-by-play broadcaster Gus Johnson bestowed the nickname “The Moon Man” upon Knights senior guard Darius Johnson during the course of the tournament for his high-arcing 3-point shots — including a game-tying jumper with 7.6 seconds left in Saturday’s semifinal against Villanova.

However, Johnson sustained a right hamstring injury in the second half, and it severely hampered his effectiveness in his final college game.

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Johnson went 1 of 11 from the field, including an 0-for-5 mark from long range, and finished with just four points before fouling out. Several 3-pointers fell well short, and Nebraska’s guards kept pace with Johnson in his downhill drives toward the basket.

In UCF’s previous two outings, Johnson popped off for 73 points — highlighted by a career-best 42 in the win over Villanova.

“He gave us what he had,” Dawkins said. “When you see a young man who’s played his heart out throughout this entire tournament, he didn’t have much left at the end.”

Closing the book on Darius Johnson’s 4-year UCF career

Johnson earned a standing ovation on senior night before blitzing Oklahoma State for a then-career-high 36 points, a figure he surpassed Saturday. Given the transient nature of college basketball, in which more than 1,000 players have already entered the transfer portal since its March 24 opening, it could be quite some time until UCF fans can celebrate a four-year career like his.

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In a November win over Tennessee Tech, Johnson became the 21st UCF player to surpass 1,000 career points. The two-time All-Big 12 honorable mention ends his career ranked seventh in program history with 1,586 points, an average of 12.7 per game.

Here is where the 6-foot-1, 200-pound Maryland native finishes all-time statistically in several other categories:

• 3rd in games played (125)

• 10th in field goals made (518)

• 4th in 3-pointers made (218)

• 3rd in 3-pointers attempted (606)

• 8th in free throws made (332)

• 5th in free-throw percentage (81.4%)

As noted by Rivals’ Brandon Helwig over the weekend, it seems like a mere formality that Johnson will be enshrined as a UCF Athletics Hall of Famer in due time.

Jordan Ivy-Curry explodes for season-high 29 points

With Johnson laboring and sidelined due to early foul trouble, fifth-year guard Jordan Ivy-Curry caught fire to flip momentum.

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Ivy-Curry knocked down six of his nine first-half attempts, tying for the game-high with 15 points as the teams entered the break tied 35 apiece. He finished with a season-high 29, surpassing his previous best of 24 set on Jan. 21 at Iowa State.

Ivy-Curry played just eight minutes across the Knights’ final four regular-season contests but returned in time for the Big 12 Tournament. He contributed 28 points in their bouts with Utah and Kansas, making 10 of 18 attempts from the field.

“He’s been playing injured, probably, the last two months of our season,” Dawkins said. “He’s a warrior. He’s been fighting through it and giving us everything he had on the floor. I thought he gave a great effort for us, both offensively and defensively — unfortunate it wasn’t enough.”

Nils Machowski, Tyler Hendricks shine in expanded minutes

Allowed to compete for UCF despite entering the transfer portal, guards Nils Machowski and Tyler Hendricks made the most of their expanded roles in the Crown.

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Machowski topped double figures in three of the four games, hitting 8 of 19 attempts from beyond the arc. Hendricks logged no fewer than 28 minutes in each game, averaging 10.5 points and recording his first college double-double in the opening round versus Oregon State.

“Once we said we were going to play in the postseason, our guys were very loyal. They took that commitment to heart,” Dawkins said Friday in a virtual press conference. “They elected to continue to play and kept their word with regards to that. For me, I counted on them being able to do that, and they did. I had no hard feelings with guys entering the portal; guys are entering the portal for a myriad of reasons. … That’s fine. That’s just the world we’re in now.”

And just because a player enters the transfer portal does not necessarily guarantee an exit. An athlete can withdraw at any time and remain with their current school. Dawkins said that option is on the table for Machowski, Hendricks and others.

“These things are never over until they’re over,” Dawkins said. “But these guys have opportunities and making the most out of it, I’m just very happy for them. They’re our guys. They’re UCF players. And I think they’ve developed under our tutelage.”

What will UCF basketball look like for 2025-26 season?

Next season will be critical for Dawkins, and likely transformational once again for UCF’s roster.

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Dawkins has two years remaining on the contract which UCF extended last summer, though the second season’s salary is not guaranteed, according to an executive summary the school’s athletics association provided to USA TODAY.

Through nine seasons, Dawkins has a record of 324-235, good for a .580 winning percentage and the third-most victories in program history behind Torchy Clark (in UCF’s Division II era) and Kirk Speraw.

Eight players have already entered the portal, and there’s still another two-plus weeks before it closes. Keyshawn Hall and Jaylin Sellers — the team’s leading scorers in the previous two campaigns — signed with Auburn and Providence, respectively, over the weekend.

UCF’s priority with regards to retention is unquestionably 7-foot-2, 235-pound freshman center Moustapha Thiam, the school’s highest-ranked recruit ever according to 247Sports. Thiam had a strong debut season for the Knights, starting 34 games and averaging 10.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game.

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Meanwhile, Dawkins made his first transfer addition Saturday with the commitment of Orlando native Riley Kugel, formerly of Mississippi State. The 6-foot-5, 210-pound guard averaged 9.3 points on 43.3% shooting during his junior season.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: UCF Knights: 5 thoughts after College Basketball Crown final