Bulls Basketball Newsletter: USF has a statement win at the Yuengling Center

USF Puts the College Basketball World on Notice With Win Over Memphis

The University of South Florida has often been an afterthought in a Tampa Bay community that is usually more focused on its professional teams.

However, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers deep in the offseason, the Tampa Bay Rays in the batting cages preparing for spring training and the Tampa Bay Lightning on its Olympic break, the Bulls basketball squad was the main attraction for Tampa Bay sports on Thursday night.

The Bulls, who found themselves in first place in the American Conference standings, hosted the Memphis Tigers. The Tigers have been to the NCAA Tournament in three of the past four seasons and are heralded as the crown jewel basketball program of the American. They were picked as the preseason conference champions. But on Thursday, Bryan Hodgson and the Bulls made a statement.

“We knew that we were going to get Memphis’ best shot, but I think these guys did a great job tonight letting them know that their best shot wasn’t good enough — not here, not tonight, not here in Tampa in the Yuengling Center,” Hodgson said after the Bulls’ 87-66 win over Memphis.

USF’s win came on the back of its defensive effort.

Memphis shot a season-low 33% from the floor. In the first half, Memphis went more than 12 minutes without making a field goal, missing 19 shots in a row during that span.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever been part of a game where you miss 19 shots in a row,” an emotional Penny Hardaway told the local Memphis media after the game. “I couldn’t believe it.” He fought back tears during the postgame press conference.

Memphis has now lost three games in a row and is 12-14 overall.

The Bulls’ defense was suffocating all night, recording seven blocks and six steals. Memphis scored just 16 points in the paint.

Senior forward Izaiyah Nelson had four blocks and two steals. Nobody in the country has more combined blocks and steals than Nelson this season. He also had 17 points and 14 rebounds, marking his 17th double-double of the season, the second most in Division I.

Junior guard Wes Enis had a game-high 20 points; he has scored 20 or more in three of his past four games. Senior guard Joseph Pinion had 19 points. Sophomore guard C.J. Brown added 13 points and a game-high eight assists.

The Bulls’ offense relied on production from the charity stripe. USF made 30-of-35 free throw attempts. The Bulls rank first in the country in free throws made and attempted this season.

Sophomore guard Julius Thedford led the Tigers with 13 points. Junior forward Aaron Bradshaw and sophomore guard Curtis Givens III added 12 points apiece.

USF delivered the performance in front of a raucous crowd at the Yuengling Center. A season-high 6,705 fans were in attendance Thursday night. The Amir Abdur-Rahim student section was overflowing, with more than 2,000 students attending the game.

“It brings another level of energy and another level of intensity to us,” Nelson said about the crowd.

For the majority of the second half, an entire section of fans in the upper deck had their shirts off and were waving them around.

“I don’t know who those guys were, but that was electric,” Hodgson said about the “tarps off” section.

The win moved USF up to No. 53 in the NET rankings, the highest ranking in program history.

Up next, USF heads on the road to face Rice on Wednesday night.

Checking In Around the American

Last week saw several crucial games, with teams jockeying for position in the American Conference standings and a chance at a bye or double-bye in the conference tournament.

The Tulsa Golden Hurricane entered the week on a three-game losing streak but got back on track with back-to-back wins against Tulsa and UTSA. The Golden Hurricane made 30 3-pointers combined in the two wins. They are the American’s top 3-point shooting team and rank 12th in the country in 3-point percentage.

The Tulane Green Wave continue to be the league’s streakiest team, riding a three-game winning streak to an 8-6 conference record. Before the streak, the Green Wave had lost six of their previous seven games. Guard Rowan Brumbaugh is third in the American, averaging 18.9 points per game.

On the opposite end of the spectrum are the Temple Owls, who have lost four straight and are plummeting in the conference standings.

Wichita State continues to play well, winning five of its past six games and sitting tied for second in the American Conference standings, 1 1/2 games behind USF. The Shockers survived a double-overtime scare from East Carolina on Wednesday and then handled Temple on Sunday. Guard Kenyon Giles averages 19.1 points and accounts for 25% of the Shockers’ scoring on a nightly basis.

Florida Atlantic snapped its six-game losing skid with a win over UTSA on Wednesday but fell to North Texas on Sunday. The Owls have now lost seven of eight after holding first place in the conference standings in January.

Some pivotal matchups to watch this week include Tulsa at Tulane on Wednesday and Wichita State at Memphis on Thursday.