Big 12 Basketball: Way-too-early power rankings for 2023-24 season

14. UCF Knights

Basketball may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of UCF, but Johnny Dawkins’ team was actually solid this past year. Led by freshman Taylor Hendricks, the Knights went 19-15 and finished seventh in the underrated AAC, and played close games with Houston, Miami, and Memphis. Per KenPom, UCF was the 56th-ranked team in the country, ahead of tournament teams Missouri, Pitt, VCU, and Nevada, among others.

The problem with UCF’s outlook for next season is twofold. First, for as tough as the AAC is, the Big 12 is a huge jump in competition. The schedule no longer contains winnable games against the likes of SMU, Tulsa, and East Carolina. Even the bottom three teams in the Big 12 last year (Oklahoma, Texas Tech, and West Virginia) were very tough.

Worse still, the Knights are losing their best player, 6’9″ freshman Taylor Hendricks, to the NBA. Seniors C.J. Kelly and Ithiel Horton will also be gone. These three players represented over half of the Knights’ scoring this past season, and it’s unclear how their production will be replaced. Hendricks’ twin brother Tyler, a 6’4″ shooting guard, will step into the lineup after redshirting this past season, but Dawkins will need help from the transfer portal to round out the roster.

It’s tough to have a rebuilding season when stepping up in competition. It will also be interesting to see how the Knights handle being geographically separated from the rest of the conference. West Virginia has hung tough in similar circumstances since joining the Big 12, but the Mountaineers also have a richer history of basketball success. The Knights’ inaugural Big 12 campaign may be a tough one.