Bulls Basketball Newsletter: USF makes a statement with two impressive road wins
USF may have had the breakthrough this week we have been waiting for.
USF grinds out first conference win of Bryan Hodgson era
Getting road wins in conference play is never easy, but the Bulls’ win over North Texas on Wednesday wasn’t just difficult — it was excruciating.
The South Florida Bulls outlasted the North Texas Mean Green 74-70 to secure Bryan Hodgson’s first career American Conference win.
Another monster performance from senior forward Izaiyah Nelson propelled USF to the victory. Nelson scored ten of the Bulls’ final 12 points, including an emphatic one-handed dunk with 13 seconds left that put an exclamation point on the win.
Nelson finished with 17 points and ten rebounds against the Mean Green. It marked his fifth straight game with at least 17 points and ten rebounds. His 11 double-doubles are the second most in Division I this season.
USF’s offense struggled early against North Texas’ vaunted defense. The Bulls turned the ball over nine times in the game’s first eight minutes and finished with 17 turnovers.
North Texas owns the No. 1 defense in the American, and it showed. The Mean Green held USF to its lowest point total since scoring 68 points against Colorado State in the Battle 4 Atlantis in November.
The Bulls scored just 25 points in the first half, their lowest total in a half this season. However, USF found its groove after the break, scoring 49 points and shooting 53.6% from the floor in the second half.
Three Bulls reached double figures in the second half: Nelson with 14 points, senior forward Josh Omojafo with 11 and senior guard Joseph Pinion with 11.
Sophomore guard Je’shawn Stevenson once again led the Mean Green with 21 points, his seventh game this season with 20 or more. Junior guard David Terrell Jr. added 17 points.
USF dominated at the free throw line, making 27-of-36 attempts. North Texas went just 9-of-20.
The win marked USF’s first road victory since beating Kennesaw State on Nov. 16. The Bulls are now 5-1 this season following a loss.
USF gets statement road win against American’s top team
The Bulls’ win in Denton wasn’t their only road success last week.
South Florida lit up the Tulsa Golden Hurricane 93-78 at the Donald W. Reynolds Center on Saturday afternoon.
The victory gave USF back-to-back conference road wins. Entering the week, the Bulls were 2-5 away from the Yuengling Center.
Saturday’s win came against the team with the best record in the American.
USF was led by the sharp shooting of junior guard Wes Enis. The Division II Lincoln Memorial transfer scored a team-high 32 points. Enis made 10 3-pointers, tying his own program record set last Sunday against UAB. He scored 24 points and hit eight of his 3s in the first half.
After the game, Enis noted he shot with his right hand until seventh grade. Safe to say his left hand is treating him well — Enis has made 27 3-pointers over his last four games.
In total, USF made a season-high 16 3-pointers. Defensively, the Bulls slowed down the American’s top 3-point shooting team. Tulsa made just seven 3s and shot 30.4% from beyond the arc, both below its season averages.
Nelson turned in another spectacular performance with 22 points and 14 rebounds, recording his sixth straight double-double and 12th overall. Nelson has the second-most double-doubles in the country and is the only player in the American averaging a double-double. He also leads the conference in field-goal percentage at 63.3%.
Nelson grabbed seven offensive rebounds as USF dominated the glass. The Bulls finished with ten more total rebounds and eight more offensive rebounds than Tulsa, leading to 18 second-chance points. USF is rebounding 38% of its misses this season, 20th best nationally.
Tulsa was led by graduate forward David Green, who scored a career-high 34 points.
USF raced out to a 15-point halftime lead and 51 first-half points. Tulsa cut the deficit to as few as seven in the second half, but each Golden Hurricane run was answered. Pinion led the Bulls with 11 second-half points.
The win moved USF up to 56th in the NET rankings, the highest ranking in program history. The Bulls are also 70th in KenPom, best in the American.
USF will look to build on its momentum when it returns home to face East Carolina and Wichita State this week.
Checking in around the American Conference
Parity has been on full display through the first two weeks of American Conference play.
Tulane and Temple are the only unbeaten teams in conference action.
Tulane rolled past one of the league’s bottom teams, UTSA, with an 85-52 win Saturday. Temple’s three conference wins have come against East Carolina, UTSA and Charlotte, teams with a combined 18-31 record this season.
Florida Atlantic had an impressive week, defeating UAB 76-71 on the road before beating Memphis 89-78 at home Sunday. Junior guard Kanaan Carlyle averaged 21 points per game in the two wins. The Owls lead the American, averaging 5.8 blocks per game.
On the other end, Memphis fell to 7-8 overall. The preseason conference favorites are 2-1 in league play with wins over North Texas and Rice. The Tigers rank in the bottom half of the conference in both scoring offense and defense.
Charlotte has been the league’s biggest surprise so far. The 49ers entered conference play at 6-7 but are now 3-1, highlighted by a double-overtime win over Wichita State and a one-point victory against Rice.
The American has four teams ranked inside the top 100 of the NET: Tulsa, USF, Wichita State and FAU. Four teams also sit inside KenPom’s top 100: USF, Tulsa, Memphis and Florida Atlantic.
So far, the cream has yet to rise to the top in the American.