TAMPA - The Bulls host Colonial Athletic Association foe Northeastern on Saturday, Nov. 29, at 7 p.m. at The Sun Dome.
The game is televised locally on Bright House Sports Network and can also be heard on WNHZ 1250 AM and GoUSFBulls.com with Jim Lighthall and Todd Kalas brining you the action. Live stats are available and a live blog will also be ongoing during the games on GoUSFBulls.com.
USF is 2-1 on the year after defeating High Point, 59-46, on Tuesday, Nov. 25, at home. Northeastern is 3-2 overall after an 83-75 loss to intra-city foe Boston University on Nov. 25.
Against High Point, junior guard Chris Howard led the way with 14 points and four assists. Senior forward Aris Williams added a career high 11 points and had six rebounds. In just his third game, freshman Eladio Espinosa pulled down a career high 10 rebounds to go with nine points.
Senior guard Jesus Verdejo leads USF at 17.3 points per game with sophomore guard Dominique Jones right behind him at 15 an outing. Espinosa leads the team with seven rebounds per game and Jones leads in assists at five a game.
SETTING THE SCENE
Date: Saturday, Nov. 29, 2008
Tip-off: 7 p.m. ET
Location: Tampa, Fla. - The Sun Dome (10,411)
Television: Bright House Sports Network
Webcast: GoUSFBulls.com (audio)
Radio: WHNZ 1250 AM will carry the game with Jim Lighthall handling play-by-play and Todd Kalas as color analyst.
USF's Last Time Out: Defeated High Point, 59-46 at home on Tuesday, Nov. 25.
Northeastern's Last Time Out: Lost at home, 83-75, to Boston University on
Tuesday, Nov. 25.
Series History: USF leads 1-0
Last Meeting: USF won 65-56 at home on Dec. 17, 1997.
website: GoNU.com
USF tickets: 1-800-GoBulls
YEAR TWO OF THE HEATH ERA IS UNDERWAY
The 2008-09 USF season marks the start of head coach Stan Heath's second season at the helm. He is the eighth head coach in the 38-year history of the program.
ABOUT NORTHEASTERN
Northeastern is 3-2 overall after losing 83-75 at home to Boston University on Tuesday, Nov. 25. The Huskies have defeated Providence, 70-66, this season. Northeastern is coached by Bill Coen who is in his third season at the helm. The Huskies return two starters from a 13-19 team last season (9-9 in the Colonial Athletic Association). Junior Matt Janning leads NU at 20 points per game. Eugene Spates is also in double figures at 10.2 points per game.
THE NORTHEASTERN SERIES
This is the second all-time meeting between USF and Northeastern. The Bulls downed the Huskies 65-56 at home on Dec. 17, 1997.
UP NEXT: AT UAB
The Bulls head on the road for the first game of a two-game road trip when they travel to Birmingham, Ala., to face UAB on Wednesday, Dec. 3, at 9 p.m. ET. UAB is 4-2 on the year after losing to Boston College 83-77 in the third place game of the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT season tip-off. The Blazers are coached by Mike Davis who is in his third season at the helm. UAB returns four starters from last year's 23-11 team that played in the NIT. The Blazers are led by Robert Vaden at 18.6 points per game and Paul Delaney at 18.4 an outing, prior to the Boston College game. USF and UAB have met 56 times, the most of any opponent all-time. UAB leads the series 36-20 but the Bulls defeated the Blazers 68-58 last season in Tampa.
THE COUNTDOWN FOR MERCER AND GILCHRIST - THREE GAMES
USF will add two key members to its roster after the next three games are played for the Bulls. Junior guard Mike Mercer and forward/center Augustus Gilchrist will add some much needed experience, talent and depth to the team when they become eligible for the Dec. 14 Niagara game. Mercer averaged 12.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 51 career games for Georgia, which included 27 starts. Glichrist was one of the top-rated post players in the country coming out of high school for the 2007 class.
USF DOWNS HIGH POINT, 59-46
Aris Williams scored all of his 11 points in the second half, helping the University of South Florida rally for a 59-46 victory against High Point on Nov. 25 at the Sun Dome.
Williams triggered a 17-4 run for South Florida (2-1) in the second half with eight quick points, including a pair of slam dunks. Chris Howard and Jesus Verdejo paced the Bulls with 14 and 12 points, respectively. The 11 points was a career high for Williams, who also added six rebounds and three blocked shots.
Freshman Eladio Espinosa pulled down a career and game high 10 rebounds and also added nine points, just missing his first career double double in his third collegiate game.
The teams were tied three times before the break, but USF never led. High Point hit 44 percent of its shots from the floor, including 5 of 11 from long range, en route to a 28-24 halftime edge. The Panthers hit only 25.9 percent of their shots in the second half. The Bulls held the Panthers to 34.6 percent shooting for the game.
WILLIAMS NOTCHES CAREER HIGH
Senior forward Aris Williams posted a career high 11 points vs. High Point, including eight in a 10-2 USF run that gave the Bulls their first lead of the game, 34-32, at the 14:14 mark of the second half. Williams also finished with six rebounds, three blocked shots, an assist and a steal.
HOWARD LEADS BULLS AGAINST HIGH POINT
Junior guard Chris Howard led USF with season high 14 points vs. High Point. He added four assists, three rebounds, a steal and a block. The four assists gives him 239 for his career, which ranks 15 on the all-time USF list, just nine out of 14th all-time (Lewis Card - 248, 1982-83).
ESPINOSA PULLS DOWNS 10 BOARDS
Freshman Eladio Espinosa grabbed a game and career high 10 rebounds vs. High Point and added nine points, just missing his first career double double.
VERDEJO IN DOUBLE DIGITS AGAIN
Senior guard Jesus Verdejo added 12 points against High Point and has scored in double digits all three games this season.
VERDEJO ON 3-POINT BINGE
Jesus Verdejo hit three 3-pointers against High Point and has 11 made in the first three games of the season, the best three-game stretch of his career. He made nine in three games early last season.
TEAM DEFENSE FOR THE BULLS
The Bulls are getting after it defensively and are holding its opponents to 34.9 percent shooting from the field after holding High Point to 34.6 last game.
JONES ALSO DISHING THE ROCK
Dominique Jones is averaging 15 points per game but is also leading the team is assists at 5.0 per game.
KARDOK AND EMORY MAKE USF DEBUTS
Junior transfer walk-on Ryan Kardok made his regular season debut in the first half vs. High Point playing six minutes. Freshman walk-on Mitch Emory also made his USF debut.
VERDEJO NETS CAREER HIGH VS. VIRGINIA, POST BEST BACK-TO-BACK PERFORMANCES OF HIS CAREER
Senior guard Jesus Verdejo poured in a career-high 22 points at Virginia, going 9-15 from the field and 4-7 from 3-point range. His previous career high was 20, done twice before (11/24/07 vs. East Carolina and 12/17/06 vs. Norfolk State).
Verdejo totaled 40 points the first two games of the year, the best back-to-back scoring performances of his career. His previous high was 36, done twice over a three-game stretch last season when he scored 19 points, 17 and 19 in three consecutive games.
ZUES ALSO MATCHES CAREER HIGH FOR 3-POINTERS MADE
Verdejo also matched his career high for 3-pointers made with four for the second consecutive game at Virginia. It is his third time overall with four 3-pointers in a game and the eight made against SMU and UVa was the best two-game total of his career. He made seven over two games last year vs. East Carolina and FIU.
AND SOME MORE VERDEJO
With his 22 points vs. UVa, Verdejo eclipsed the 500 career point mark. After High Point, he now has 527 career points. He is also moving up the all-time 3-point made list. He has 68 career 3-pointers, good for 14th on the all-time list.
JONES TOP SCORER AT VIRGINIA, GOES OVER 20 11TH TIME IN CAREER
Dominique Jones tallied a game-high 23 points vs. Virginia. He has now scored in double figures in 30 of his 34 career games. Jones has scored 20 or more points 11 times in his career, which is almost one every three games played so far in his career.
JONES CLOSING IN ON TOP 50 EARLY IN SOPHOMORE SEASON
With nine points vs. High Point, Jones now has 576 career points, just five points behind Solomon Jones at 581 for 53rd all-time on the Bulls scoring list. He could potentially also move past Cal Glover at 582 and into 52nd vs. Northeastern.
REBOUNDING BY COMMITTEE
The USF rebounding by committee approach continues to work through three games. The four post-players for the Bulls: Mobolaji Ajayi, Aris Williams, Eladio Espinosa and Alex Rivas, have combined for more than 20 rebounds in all three games this season. Against High Point the four pulled down 20 rebounds after grabbing 21 at UVa and 22 vs. SMU.
RIVAS MAKING AN IMPRESSION
Junior transfer Alex Rivas continues to impress despite not being 100 percent healthy due to having rods placed in both tibias in May. Against UVa, Rivas posted career highs in points (10) and rebounds (9), just missing a double-double in his second career game at the DI level. He did sprain his right ankle late in the Virginia game and was doubtful for High Point but he was pressed into action and had four points and two rebounds in just three minutes of action.
TWO GO FOR OVER 20 AT UVA
USF had two 20-point scorers against Virginia, Jones with 23 and Verdejo with 22. The Bulls had three games last year with two players scoring 20 or more points in the same game (Kentrell Gransberry 21 and Aaron Holmes 20 vs. Winston-Salem State; Gransberry 20 and Jones 24 vs. Rutgers at home; and Gransberry 23 and Jones 29 vs. Syracuse at home).
AJAYI MATCHES CAREER HIGH FOR REBOUNDS AT UVA
Senior forward Mobolaji Ajayi led USF with 11 rebounds vs. SMU, matching his career high set last year vs. Seton Hall (2/26/08).
BULLS PUT FORTH TOP DEFENSIVE PERFORMANCE IN HEATH ERA VS. SMU
The defensive effort against SMU was the best of the Stan Heath era. The Bulls held the Mustangs to 27.7 percent shooting from the field which was the lowest in the 32 games since Heath has been head coach. And only one opponent last season, Rutgers in the BIG EAST opener, scored fewer than SMU's 46 points scored.
MAKING THEIR USF DEBUTS VS. SMU
Freshman Eladio Espinosa made his first career start vs. SMU, while freshman Justin Leemow, Gaby Belardo and junior transfer Alex Rivas Sanchez made their first appearances in a Bull uniform against the Mustangs.
FOUR USF STARTERS RETURN
The Bulls return four starters from last year's squad including All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention selection and All-Rookie team pick sophomore guard Dominique Jones. Other starters returning include senior guard Jesus Verdejo, senior forward Mobolaji Ajayi and junior guard Chris Howard. Also joining the Bulls at the conclusion of the first semester are Georgia transfer, junior guard Mike Mercer, and Maryland transfer, freshman forward/center Augustus Gilchrist. Both players will miss the first six regular season games of the season, becoming eligible for the Dec. 14 game vs. Niagara.
GILCHRIST GRANTED WAIVER
The NCAA has granted a waiver request for USF basketball player Augustus Gilchrist that will allow him to be eligible for competition after the fall semester of the 2008-09 academic year. Gilchrist will be eligible to begin competition as a freshman on Dec. 14 when USF hosts Niagara at the Sun Dome. The 6-10 forward/center transferred to USF from Maryland during the Summer of 2008. USF will have played six non-conference games when Giilchrist becomes eligible.
RIVALS.COM RANKS MIKE MERCER THE NO. 5 IMPACT TRANSFER
Rivals.com recently announced its top 10 transfers for the upcoming season and USF's Mike Mercer was ranked fifth. Mercer averaged 12.2 points and 3.6 rebounds in 51 career games for Georgia. He was averaging 13.6 points per game as a sophomore before being sidelined with a right ACL injury. Mercer will miss both exhibition games and the first six regular season games, becoming eligible for the Dec. 14 Niagara game.
RECORD SEVEN BIG EAST TEAMS WERE RANKED IN ESPN/USA TODAY PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
The BIG EAST has seven teams ranked in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' poll and the Associated Press poll. The seven ranked teams are the most ever for one conference in the Coaches' poll, besting the previous all-time record of five.
BULLS SIGN DUMARS AND NORIEGA
USF men's basketball coach Stan Heath announced on Nov. 12 the signing of guards Jordan Dumars and Shaun Noriega to NCAA Letters of Intent during the November signing period. The signing period runs through Nov. 19.
Dumars (6-5, 225) and Noriega (6-4, 195) will join USF as freshmen for the 2009-10 season and bring with them sharp-shooting skills and perimeter size. Noriega is already North Port High School's all-time leading scorer in just three seasons with 1,282 points, while Dumars holds perennial high school power Detroit Country Day's single-game record for 3-point field goals made with nine.
“We felt we needed to address our perimeter shooting and both Shaun and Jordan are very skilled players that can stretch the defense and consistently knock down 3-point shots,” said USF Head Coach Stan Heath. “We also felt both players had very high basketball IQ's and will be players that will make good decisions and be good teammates. Both players come from winning programs and have very strong academic backgrounds.”
USF GOES 2-0 IN EXHIBITION GAMES
In the final tune-up before the regular season, USF used a second half surge to pull away from intra-city foe Tampa and down the Spartans 79-64 in an exhibition on Nov. 10 at the Sun Dome.
Senior guard Jesus Verdejo led the Bulls with 27 points, going 8-15 from the field, including 4-7 from 3-point range. He notched 18 of his points in the second half. Junior guard Chris Howard poured in 18 and added five assists. Sophomore guard Dominique Jones struggled from the field but turned distributor and dished out a game-high 11 assists to go along with eight points and four rebounds. Freshman forward Eladio Espinosa and senior forward Aris Williams led USF with eight rebounds a piece. Senior forward Mobolaji Ajayi had nine points and seven rebounds.
Prior to Tampa, the Bulls downed the University of West Florida, 80-41, in the opening exhibition game of the season on Nov. 4 at the Sun Dome.
Nine Bulls played as every healthy player saw the court, including new walk-on, junior guard Ryan Kardok. Jones ended with a game-high 26 points, going 10-15 from the field. He connected on 3-7 3-pointers and also had a game-high nine assists and seven rebounds.
Senior Jesus Verdejo finished the night with 14 points and Eladio Espinosa was also in double figures with 11 points, including three thunderous dunks. Senior forward Mobolaji Ajayi led the Bulls with nine rebounds to go along with eight points. Junior guard Chris Howard had eight points, seven rebounds and three assists.
TV ALL THE TIME
In 2007-08, the BIG EAST began a new multiyear agreement with ESPN that brought the national television exposure for the league to unprecedented levels. That coverage continues this season. For the second straight year, every conference regular-season game will be televised.
The BIG EAST has always been considered a leader in TV. Twelve of the 16 BIG EAST institutions are located in the top 34 media markets in the country. Some of the highlights of the current agreement:
ESPN, Inc. will produce 140 of the 144 regular-season conference games this season. The four remaining games will be carried by CBS Sports.
ESPN and ESPN2 will telecast a minimum of 60 games each year. In 2008-09, ESPN or ESPN2 will televise 45 regular-season league games, 11 games of The BIG EAST Championship and eight nonconference home contests.
ESPN Regional will carry a minimum of 67 games under the banner of The BIG EAST Network and continue to produce its weekend Game of the Week package, which reaches over a third of the nation's homes and has a household reach of more than 38 million. Most games offered by ESPN Regional are also available nationally as part of ESPN Full Court, the pay subscription college basketball outer-market service.
A record 45 conference contests will be carried on ESPN or ESPN2. CBS Sports will televise 10 more games involving BIG EAST teams. ESPN will continue to televise The BIG EAST Championship from Madison Square Garden in New York. The dates are March 10-14.
In total, 70 of the 144 regular-season BIG EAST games will be on national television, which includes 21 that will be carried on ESPNU. The remaining games will be carried on ESPN360 or the BIG EAST Network, which is produced by ESPN Regional Television.
BULLS PICKED TO FINISH 16TH IN BIG EAST PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
The Bulls were picked to finish 16th in the BIG EAST Preseason poll.
BIG EAST FIELD TO INCREASE TO 16 FOR 2009
The Presidents of the BIG EAST Conference voted to include all 16 member institutions in the men's and women's basketball championship tournaments beginning in 2009. The Presidents took this action at their annual meeting, which was held Nov. 6 in Philadelphia.
Previously, on the top 12 teams in the final regular-season standings advanced to participate in the men's and women's championships. The men's championship is held in New York City at Madison Square Garden. The women's championship is held in Hartford, Conn., at the Hartford Civic Center.
WALK-ON ADDED TO ROSTER
Junior college transfer Ryan Kardok has been added to the 2008-09 roster as a walk-on. Kardok spent two years playing at Broward Community College. He attended Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., where he averaged 17 points and six assists per game as a senior.
