Orlando mayor Buddy Dyer and City Commissioners are encouraging residents to wear black and gold in support of the UCF Knights basketball team leading up to their game against TCU in the NIT Final Four semifinals at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night at 9:00 p.m.

The city will also light up the Lake Eola Fountain, city buildings and the SEE ART Orlando sculptures in the Knights' black and gold colors during the night of the game. Orlando residents are also encouraged to share their support of UCF on social media using the hashtags - #kNYghts and #ChargeOn.

First-year UCF coach Johnny Dawkins enters Tuesday's game with a 12-1 record in NIT matchups.

 

"I'm excited to go back to the Big Apple and have a chance to play for a championship," Dawkins told the Orlando media before Friday's practice. "Having the ability to take this team and share that experience is big for our program and we're looking forward to it."

The Knights have won three consecutive games against Colorado, top-seed Illinois State and Illinois to advance to the semifinals. Prior to the 2016-17 season, the Knights had participated in just four NCAA Tournaments and one NIT, having never won a game in either.

"All the tournaments that we've played in have helped prepare us for the situation we're going to face next week," Dawkins said. "Any time you can play in tournaments with the fields that we had in the Charleston Classic and our conference tournament, that's great prep for this tournament in the NIT.

UCF defeated Illinois, 68-58, last week thanks to a 17-point performance by B.J. Taylor. Tacko Fall recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

A.J. Davis and Matt Williams each finished with 16 points, respectively during last week's victory.