1977–78 FTU Knights men's basketball team

1977–78 FTU Knights men's basketball
1977–78 FTU Knights men's basketball
NCAA Final Four (Div. II); SSC Tournament Champions; SSC Regular Season Champions; Columbus Christmas Tournament Champions
NCAA Div. II Semifinal vs. Cheyney State, L 63–79
Conference	Sunshine State Conference
Record	26–4 (10–0 SSC)
Head coach	Torchy Clark;
Home arena	Education Gymnasium
	Seasons ← 1976–77 1978–79 →

The 1977–78 FTU Knights men's basketball team was an NCAA Division II college basketball team that represented Florida Technological University, now named the University of Central Florida.^[1] The Knights competed in the Sunshine State Conference (SSC), and played their home games in the university's education gymnasium on FTU's main campus in Orlando, Florida. The team was led by head coach Torchy Clark who was in his ninth season with the team.^[2]

In the previous year, the Knights finished the season 24–4, 8–2 in SSC play. In 1978, Clark led the Knights, which at the time were riding a 24–game winning streak, to a Sunshine State Conference regular season title, the inaugural Sunshine State Conference post-season tournament title, and the NCAA South Regional and the NCAA Quarterfinals titles, en route to the Final Four in Springfield, Missouri.^[2] It was one of six tournament appearances that the Knights made between 1976 and 1982. Due to the team's impressive performance, Clark was named the Sunshine State Conference Coach of the Year.^[3] To this date, the teams 24–game winning streak and 26 total wins are still program records.^[4]

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Opponent	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
November 30, 1977* no, no	Flagler	W 84–56	1–0	Orlando, FL
December 8, 1977* no, no	Southern Benedictine	W 64–61	2–0	Orlando, FL
December 12, 1977* no, no	at Lamar	L 62–65 ^OT	2–1	Beaumont, TX
November 13, 1977* no, no	at Rice Owls	L 63–65	2–2	Houston, TX
December 17, 1977* no, no	Lawrence	W 100–77	3–2	Orlando, FL
December 19, 1977* no, no	vs. Knoxville Columbus Christmas Tournament	W 95–85	4–2	Columbus, OH
December 20, 1977* no, no	at Columbus Columbus Christmas Tournament	W 74–62	5–2	Columbus, OH
January 5, 1978* no, no	Edward Waters	W 102–92	6–2	Orlando, FL
January 7, 1978* no, no	UNC–Asheville	W 88–70	7–2	Orlando, FL
January 11, 1978* no, no	Western New England	W 106–79	8–2	Orlando, FL
January 14, 1978* no, no	Florida Memorial	W 106–79	9–2	Orlando, FL
January 17, 1978 no, no	at St. Thomas	W 64–46	10–2 (1–0)	Miami Gardens, FL
January 21, 1978 no, no	at Rollins	W 81–71	11–2 (2–0)	Winter Park, FL
January 24, 1978 no, no	Florida Southern	W 78–75	12–2 (3–0)	Orlando, FL
January 26, 1978* no, no	at South Florida	W 79–57	13–2	Tampa, FL
January 28, 1978 no, no	at Eckerd	W 109–81	14–2 (4–0)	St. Petersburg, FL
January 31, 1978 no, no	Saint Leo	W 68–53	15–2 (5–0)	Orlando, FL
February 2, 1978* no, no	at Flagler	W 88–64	16–2	St. Augustine, FL
February 4, 1978 no, no	St. Thomas	W 76–68	17–2 (6–0)	Orlando, FL
February 8, 1978 no, no	Rollins	W 76–72	18–2 (7–0)	Orlando, FL
February 11, 1978 no, no	at Florida Southern	W 97–90	19–2 (8–0)	Lakeland, FL
February 14, 1978 no, no	Eckerd	W 100–67	20–2 (9–0)	Orlando, FL
February 18, 1978 no, no	at St. Leo	W 79–61	21–2 (10–0)	Saint Leo, FL
Sunshine State Conference Tournament
February 21, 1978 no, no	vs. St. Leo Semifinals	W 89–60	22–2	Lakeland, FL
February 22, 1978 no, no	vs. Rollins Championship	W 103–66	23–2	Lakeland, FL
NCAA Tournament
March 3, 1978 no, no	vs. Augusta First Round	W 86–66	24–2	Orlando, FL
March 4, 1978 no, no	vs. Florida A&M First Round	W 85–78	25–2	Orlando, FL
March 11, 1978 no, no	vs. San Diego Quarterfinal	W 77–71	26–2	Orlando, FL
March 17, 1978 no, no	vs. Cheyney State Semifinal	L 63–79	26–3	Springfield, MO
March 18, 1978 no, no	vs. Eastern Illinois Third Place	L 67–77	26–4	Springfield, MO
*Non-Conference Game.

References

^ In December 1978, Florida Technological University was renamed the University of Central Florida.
^ ^a ^b "2007–08 UCF Knights Men's Basketball Media Guide - UCF History". University of Central Florida Athletics Association. Archived from the original on 2011-08-10. Retrieved 2013-01-03.
^ "FTU's Early Athletics Programs; UCF First Champions". University of Central Florida Athletics Association. Archived from the original on 2013-02-17. Retrieved 2013-01-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^ "2012–13 UCF Men's Basketball Yearbook". University of Central Florida Athletics Association. Retrieved 2013-01-03.

[1] In December 1978, Florida Technological University was renamed the University of Central Florida.

[clark-2] "2007–08 UCF Knights Men's Basketball Media Guide - UCF History". University of Central Florida Athletics Association. Archived from the original on 2011-08-10. Retrieved 2013-01-03.

[3] "FTU's Early Athletics Programs; UCF First Champions". University of Central Florida Athletics Association. Archived from the original on 2013-02-17. Retrieved 2013-01-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

[4] "2012–13 UCF Men's Basketball Yearbook". University of Central Florida Athletics Association. Retrieved 2013-01-03.

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v t e UCF Knights men's basketball
Venues	Education Gymnasium (1969–1991) UCF Arena (1991–2007) Addition Financial Arena (2007–present)
Rivalries	South Florida
Culture & lore	Knightro Marching Knights
People	Head coaches Statistical Leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25