1977–78 FTU Knights men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 1977–78 FTU Knights Basketball FTU Knights logo.png 150px Sunshine State Conference SSC 26–4 10–0 Torchy Clark Education Gymnasium NCAA Final Four (Div. II)SSC Tournament ChampionsSSC Regular Season ChampionsColumbus Christmas Tournament Champions NCAA Div. II Semifinal vs. Cheyney State L 63–79 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.In December 1978, Florida Technological University was renamed the University of Central Florida. 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.http://ucfathletics.cstv.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/ucf/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/0708-mbaskbl-mg-four 2007–08 UCF Knights Men's Basketball Media Guide - UCF History University of Central Florida Athletics Association 2013-01-03 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20110810032552/http://ucfathletics.cstv.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/ucf/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/0708-mbaskbl-mg-four 2011-08-10 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. 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.http://www.ucfathletics.com/genrel/053007aaa.html FTU's Early Athletics Programs; UCF First Champions University of Central Florida Athletics Association 2013-01-03 https://archive.today/20130217005647/http://www.ucfathletics.com/genrel/053007aaa.html 2013-02-17 dead To this date, the teams 24–game winning streak and 26 total wins are still program records.http://issuu.com/ucf_athletics/docs/2012-13_yearbook 2012–13 UCF Men's Basketball Yearbook University of Central Florida Athletics Association 2013-01-03 Schedule and results no no no no no |- !colspan=7| Regular season November 30, 1977 no yes no Flagler Orlando, FL no 84–56 1–0 December 8, 1977 no yes no Southern Benedictine Orlando, FL no 64–61 2–0 December 12, 1977 no yes yes no Lamar Beaumont, TX no 62–65 OT 2–1 November 13, 1977 no yes yes no Rice Owls Houston, TX no 63–65 2–2 December 17, 1977 no yes no Lawrence Orlando, FL no 100–77 3–2 December 19, 1977 no yes yes no Knoxville Columbus, GA Columbus Christmas Tournament no 95–85 4–2 December 20, 1977 no yes yes no Columbus Columbus, GA Columbus Christmas Tournament no 74–62 5–2 January 5, 1978 no yes no Edward Waters Orlando, FL no 102–92 6–2 January 7, 1978 no yes no UNC–Asheville Orlando, FL no 88–70 7–2 January 11, 1978 no yes no Western New England Orlando, FL no 106–79 8–2 January 14, 1978 no yes no Florida Memorial Orlando, FL no 106–79 9–2 January 17, 1978 no yes no St. Thomas Miami Gardens, FL no 64–46 10–2 1–0 January 21, 1978 no yes no Rollins Winter Park, FL no 81–71 11–2 2–0 January 24, 1978 no no Florida Southern Orlando, FL no 78–75 12–2 3–0 January 26, 1978 no yes yes no South Florida Tampa, FL no 79–57 13–2 January 28, 1978 no yes no Eckerd St. Petersburg, FL no 109–81 14–2 4–0 January 31, 1978 no no Saint Leo Orlando, FL no 68–53 15–2 5–0 February 2, 1978 no yes yes no Flagler St. Augustine, FL no 88–64 16–2 February 4, 1978 no no St. Thomas Orlando, FL no 76–68 17–2 6–0 February 8, 1978 no no Rollins Orlando, FL no 76–72 18–2 7–0 February 11, 1978 no yes no Florida Southern Lakeland, FL no 97–90 19–2 8–0 February 14, 1978 no no Eckerd Orlando, FL no 100–67 20–2 9–0 February 18, 1978 no yes no St. Leo Saint Leo, FL no 79–61 21–2 10–0 |- !colspan=7| Sunshine State Conference Tournament |- February 21, 1978 no yes no St. Leo Lakeland, FL Semifinals no 89–60 22–2 February 22, 1978 no yes no Rollins Lakeland, FL Championship no 103–66 23–2 |- !colspan=7| NCAA Tournament |- March 3, 1978 no yes no Augusta Orlando, FL First Round no 86–66 24–2 March 4, 1978 no yes no Florida A&M Orlando, FL First Round no 85–78 25–2 March 11, 1978 no yes no San Diego Orlando, FL Quarterfinal no 77–71 26–2 March 17, 1978 no yes no Cheyney State Springfield, MO Semifinal no 63–79 26–3 March 18, 1978 no yes no Eastern Illinois Springfield, MO Third Place no 67–77 26–4 |- | colspan="8" | *Non-conference game |} References Category:UCF Knights men's basketball seasons Ftu UCF Knights UCF Knights