Bulls Basketball Newsletter: USF continues it's winning ways at home, heads into major road test.
USF has started to stack some wins, but will it continue for their toughest test yet?
Beckford and Pinion lead USF to second straight win
The South Florida Bulls are starting to hit their stride under first-year head coach Bryan Hodgson.
USF outlasted the College of Charleston 81-75 on Wednesday night to improve to 6-4. It was the Bulls’ second consecutive win and their fourth victory in as many games at the Yuengling Center.
Charleston jumped out to an 11-point lead early, but after the under-12 media timeout it was all USF. The Bulls used a 23-0 run to seize a 12-point advantage and never looked back.
USF continued to keep the Cougars at bay in the second half. Charleston tied the game five times in the final frame but never took the lead.
Charleston opened the game shooting 91% from the floor en route to its early 11-point advantage. The Cougars finished at 37% and scored just 32 points in the second half. The Bulls’ defense was stifling, forcing 13 turnovers that led to 25 USF points.
The dagger came from senior USF guard Joseph Pinion. With under four minutes remaining, Pinion flew in for an offensive rebound, kicked the ball to sophomore guard C.J. Brown, then relocated, got the ball back and drilled a 3-pointer to put the Bulls up four.
Pinion scored a game-high 21 points and accounted for six of USF’s nine made 3-pointers. He shot 50% from beyond the arc, while the rest of the team shot 15%. He has scored 15 or more points in three of his last four games.
Freshman forward Tristan Beckford delivered a breakout performance. Beckford played 28 minutes after logging just six total minutes across the team’s first nine games and finished with 17 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and a steal.
“I told him just stay the course and continue to stack days,” Hodgson said. “I told him it’s coming.”
Hodgson said he texted Beckford’s parents earlier in the week, raving about Beckford’s play during the Bulls’ previous week of practice. “If he continues to do this, tune in on Wednesday,” Hodgson texted them.
Senior forward Izaiyah Nelson added 17 points and nine rebounds, eight of them on the offensive glass. The Bulls grabbed 20 offensive rebounds and scored 21 second-chance points. USF is rebounding 37.8% of its misses this season, 28th best in the nation.
Charleston had four players score in double figures. Graduate guard Jlynn Counter led the Cougars with 19 points and six assists.
The Cougars are led by veteran coach Chris Mack, who owns a 455-307 record across 15 seasons coaching Xavier, Louisville and Charleston.
Up next, the Bulls head to Tuscaloosa for a showdown against No. 16 Alabama.
How can USF pull off the upset?
The Bulls have played a challenging nonconference schedule, but Wednesday night’s trip to Tuscaloosa will be their toughest test yet.
Alabama is 7-3, boasting wins over St. John’s, Clemson and Maryland. It will be the first ranked opponent USF has faced in the Bryan Hodgson era.
The Crimson Tide average 93.1 points per game. They rank fifth nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency and have scored 90 or more points in all seven of their wins.
USF is holding opponents to 79.6 points per game this season. Their swarming defense has forced turnovers on 21.5% of their opponents’ possessions, the 23rd highest rate in Division I.
Bulls fans will notice plenty of similarities between the two teams’ styles of play. Hodgson worked under Alabama coach Nate Oats for eight seasons before taking the Arkansas State head coaching job in 2023. He spent four years with Oats at Buffalo and four more at Alabama as associate head coach. During that span, the Crimson Tide made three NCAA Tournament appearances and reached the Sweet 16 twice.
Both teams play at a rapid pace, ranking inside the top 20 nationally in adjusted tempo. The average possession length for both Alabama and USF is under 15 seconds.
One potential advantage for USF is on the glass. The Bulls own a plus-4.6 rebounding margin and have 155 offensive rebounds this season. Alabama has struggled defensively on the boards, allowing opponents to rebound 32.1% of their misses, which ranks 211th nationally.
Another key will be defending the 3-point line. Alabama makes 13 3-pointers per game, with 53.5% of its field-goal attempts coming from beyond the arc. USF is allowing opponents to make 8.4 3s per game.
Alabama is led by its dynamic guard play. Sophomore Labaron Philon Jr. is the SEC’s leading scorer at 21.7 points per game, while junior guard Aden Holloway averages 15.6.
The Bulls will need to rediscover their high-scoring ways to pull the upset. USF scored 90 or more points in each of its first five games but has reached that mark just once in its last five contests — a 97-91 overtime win over Western Kentucky.
USF is 2-4 away from the Yuengling Center this season, with a win at Kennesaw State and a loss at Oklahoma State in its only true road games.
A win would mark the best of Hodgson’s head coaching career and one of the biggest victories in USF history — and it would come against his former mentor.