ORLANDO, Fla. – The Missouri Tigers aren't the only SEC team that the University of Central Florida will play in the 2017 season.
The Knights announced a home-and-home series with the Alabama Crimson Tide Monday afternoon.
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The Knights will travel to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on December 3 to battle the Crimson Tide before a home game against the team the next year on a date to be determined.
In the 2016 campaign, the Crimson Tide went 19-15 under the leadership of a former NBA Coach of the Year, Avery Johnson. In Johnson's third year at Alabama, the team earned the No. 3 seed in the National Invitational Tournament before losing to Richmond in the first round.
The Crimson Tide have four starters returning and a top-10 recruiting class in the nation. Alabama was ranked by CBS Sports in its 2017-18 preseason poll at No. 20. NBC Sports has the team at No. 21.
The Knights will be no easy competition as the Central Florida squad is fresh off a run into the final four of the NIT tournament. The 2017 season for UCF will be a challenging one as the Knights face off against the Tigers and the nation's top-ranked recruit, Michael Porter Jr.
The Knights went 24-12 in their first year under Johnny Dawkins. The team doubled its number of wins from the 2015 season and posted the second most wins by a men's basketball team in the program's 33 years spent in Division I of the NCAA.
UCF and Alabama have met only three times, with the Crimson Tide earning wins in every matchup, in 1987, 1988 and 1994. The Knights will look for different results this year with the help of key players including Tacko Fall, B.J. Taylor and A.J. Davis.