TAMPA -  The USF men's basketball team travels to South Bend, Ind., to take on Notre Dame on Sunday, Feb. 15, at 2 p.m. at the Joyce Center.

The game is an ESPN regionally televised game and can be seen locally on WFTS ABC. The game can be heard on 1250 AM and GoUSFBulls.com. A live blog will also be ongoing during the game on GoUSFBulls.com.

After Notre Dame, the Bulls return home to face Georgetown on Wednesday, Feb. 18, at 7 p.m. at the Sun Dome. The game is an ESPN regionally televised game and can be seen locally on Bright House Sports Network. The game can be heard on 1250 AM and GoUSFBulls.com. A live blog will also be ongoing during the game on GoUSFBulls.com.

The Bulls are 8-15 on the year and 3-8 in BIG EAST play. Notre Dame is 13-10 and 4-7 in league action.

SETTING THE SCENE
Date:  Sunday, Feb. 15, 2009
Tip-off:  2 p.m. ET
Location:  Notre Dame, Ind. - Joyce Center (11,418)
Television: ESPN Regional game televised locally on WFTS ABC with Anthony Calhoun and Dave Kaplan calling the action.
Radio: 1250 AM with Jim Lighthall handling play-by-play and Jim Louk as color analyst.
Webcast: GoUSFBulls.com (audio)
USF's Last Time Out: Lost 77-62 to Providence on Feb. 10 at the Sun Dome.
Notre Dame's Last Time Out: Defeated No. 7 Louisville 90-57 on Feb. 12 at home.
Series History:  Notre Dame leads 3-1
Last Meeting:  Notre Dame won 67-60 on March 8, 2008 at the Sun Dome.
Website:  GoUSFBulls.com
Website:  UND.com
USF Tickets: 1-800-GoBulls

LEADING THE BULLS
 Sophomore guard Dominique Jones leads USF at 18.6 points per game, with senior guard Jesus Verdejo behind him at 13.7 an outing. Jones also leads the team in rebounds at 5.1 per game, assists at 3.9 an outing and with 35 steals. Freshman forward Augustus Gilchrist leads the team with 19 blocks.

YEAR TWO OF THE HEATH ERA
 This season marks 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 NOTRE DAME
 The Bulls face Notre Dame on Sunday, Feb. 15, at 2 p.m. at the Joyce Center. The Fighting Irish are coached by Mike Brey who is in his 9th season at UND and his 14th overall. Notre Dame is 13-10 overall and 4-7 in BIG EAST play after blowing out Louisville 90-57 on Feb. 12 at home. Last season's BIG EAST Player of the Year, Luke Harangody, leads Notre Dame at 24.6 points per game and 12.8 rebounds an outing. Kyle McAlarney averages 16.0 points per game and Tory Jackson 5.7 assists a game.

THE NOTRE DAME SERIES
 USF and Notre Dame have met four times previously, with all of the meetings coming in BIG EAST play. The Fighting Irish lead the series 3-1. The Bulls won the third all-time meeting, 69-63, on Feb. 3, 2007 at the Sun Dome when UND was ranked 21st nationally. Notre Dame won 67-60 last year on March 8, 2008 in Tampa. This is the third meeting at Notre Dame.

UP NEXT: GEORGETOWN
 The Bulls face Georgetown on Wednesday, Feb. 18, at 7 p.m. at the Sun Dome. The Hoyas are coached by John Thompson III who is in his fifth season at Georgetown.  Georgetwon is 13-9 overall and 4-7 in BIG EAST play and play at Syracuse on Saturday, Feb. 14. DaJuan Summers leads GU in scoring at 14.2 a game and four Hoyas average 12 or more points per game. Greg Monroe leads the team in rebounding at 6.4 a game.

USF KNOCKS OFF TOP-10 RANKED TEAM FOR FIRST TIME IN HISTORY
 The win over No. 8 Marquette was USF's highest win against an Associated Press ranked opponent in its 38 year history. The previous high was an 81-76 win at No. 15 Tulane on Feb. 24, 1992. 

BULLS STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE RANKED 10TH TOUGHEST BY SAGARIN
 We already know the BIG EAST is argueably the toughest conference in the country and USF's schedule is no different according to the Sagarin Ratings. Sagarin has USF's schedule rated the 10th toughest in the country through the Feb. 12 games.

JONES ONE OF JUST TWO PLAYERS IN BCS CONFERENCES TO LEAD TEAM OUTRIGHT IN POINTS, REBOUNDS, ASSISTS AND STEALS
 Dominique Jones is putting together another impressive season and is one of just two players in the six BCS conferences to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists and steals through the Feb. 12 games. The other is Ohio State guard Evan Turner. Maryland's Greivis Vasquez leads his team in three categories and is tied for his team lead in rebounds.

JONES ON PACE TO BE SECOND FASTEST BULL TO 1,000 CAREER POINTS
 Sophomore guard Dominique Jones is on pace to be the second fastest Bull in history to reach 1,000 career points and one of only three USF players to do it in two seasons. Jones will also be the quickest sophomore to reach 1,000.
 Jones currently sits at 959 career points and is on pace to eclipse 1,000 points at Connecticut on Saturday, Feb. 21, three games from now. If he goes over 1,000 at UConn he will have reached 1,000 in his 57th career game.
 Only Tony Grier reached 1,000 career points in fewer games. Grier, who spent one season at Polk Community College before coming to USF, surpassed 1,000 in his 51st career game during his junior season.
 USF's all-time leading scorer, Charley Bradley, went over 1,000 in his 59th career game during his sophomore season.
 “What Dominique has accomplished in just under two seasons has been tremendous,” said Head Coach Stan Heath. “And to accomplish what he has playing in the Big East is even more impressive. If he continues to work hard and improve he has a chance to be mentioned in the same breath as the other great players who have played at USF.”

JONES TOSSES IN GAME-HIGH 29 VS. PROVIDENCE
 The Bulls had three players in double digit points for the second straight game vs. Providence. The Bulls were led by sophomore guard Dominique Jones who had a game-high 29. Chris Howard added 13 and Jesus Verdejo added 10. Jones also added a team- high eight rebounds.

JONES GOES OVER 20 OR MORE POINTS FOR 20TH TIME
 Jones' 29 points vs. Providence marked the 20th time he has had at least 20 or more points in his career.

JONES GOES FOR 29 OR MORE FOR THE 9TH TIME 
 Jones' 29 points against Providence was the 4th time this season and the 9th of his career that he has scored at least 29 points.

JONES HITS 959 CAREER POINTS, IS 20TH ALL-TIME ON USF SCORING LIST
 Sophomore Dominique Jones continues to move up the all-time USF scoring list. With 29 points vs. Providence he has moved into 20th all-time with 959 points. He is 10 points behind Brian Swift's 969 points for 19th all-time and just 23 points from moving into 17th all-time.

VERDEJO CLIMBING SCORING LADDER TOO, IS AT 777
 With 10 points vs. Providence Jesus Verdejo now has 777 career points and is just 23 points away from becoming the 33rd player in USF history with 800 career points. He is 28 points behind Jorge Azcoitia's 805 points for 32nd all-time.

HOWARD SITS AT 10TH ALL-TIME ON USF ASSIST LIST, CLOSING IN ON 9TH
 With four assists vs. Providence, junior guard Chris Howard now has 315 career assists, which moved him into 9th on the all-time on the USF career assist list with 315.  He is 49 assists behind Penny Greene's 364 for 8th all time.

VERDEJO 10TH ALL-TIME AT USF FOR 3-POINT FIELD GOALS MADE
 Jesus Verdejo is moving up the all-time 3-point made list at USF. With two made against Marquette, Verdejo now has 103 career 3-pointers, good for good for 10th on the all-time list and just four behind James Holmes' 107 for 9th on the USF list.

JONES SCORES GAME-WINNER VS. GOLDEN EAGLES, SECOND OF CAREER
 Jones' game-winning tally vs. Marquette was the second of his career. He also hit the game-winner at Rutgers last season on March 1, 2008, giving USF its first BIG EAST road win. Jesus Verdejo added a team-high 21 points in the win.

FIRST TIME IN HISTORY FACING THREE DIFFERENT TOP 10 TEAMS IN ONE YEAR
 The Feb. 6 game vs. No. 8 Marquette was the first time in USF history that the men's basketball team has faced three different teams ranked in the top 10 nationally in the same season.  The Bulls also faced three top 10 teams in 1996 but two of the games were against Cincinnati, with the other vs. Memphis. USF has already faced No. 1 Pitt and No. 7 Louisville this season. The number could grow to four if No. 1 ranked UConn remains in the top 10 when the Bulls face them on Feb. 21.

FORMER AD DICK BOWERS RECOGNIZED AT MARQUETTE GAME
 USF honored long-time USF Athletics Director Richard T. “Dick” Bowers at halftime of the Marquette game. USF raised a banner in the Sun Dome and recognized his family in Bowers' honor for his over 16 year tenure as the school's Athletics Director. Bowers passed away on Nov. 29, 2007 at the age of 77. Attending for the Bowers family was his wife Madge, son Rick, daughter Delisa, and grandchildren Casey and Carissa.
 Bowers joined the Physical Education staff at USF in 1963 and assumed the Director role of the Physical Education Department in 1966. At that time the PE Department oversaw athletics at USF and he remained in that role until 1982.
 He was instrumental and largely responsible for most of the University's early intercollegiate athletic teams. The first USF intercollegiate athletic team was the men's soccer team which began play in 1965. Bowers spearheaded the campaign for the USF baseball field, the USF golf course and The Sun Dome. He also helped form the Sun Belt Conference, and in 1982 was honored for Outstanding Contribution to the Sun Belt Conference.

MERCER DISMISSED, CRATER REMAINS ON PROBATIONARY STATUS
 Men's basketball coach Stan Heath announced on Jan. 26 that junior guard Mike Mercer has been dismissed from the team and that freshman guard Anthony Crater will remain on the team but on a probationary status for a violation of teams rules.

AJAYI PARTIALLY TEARS RIGHT ACL, OUT FOR REMAINDER OF THE YEAR
 USF men's basketball coach Stan Heath announced on Jan. 23 that senior forward Mobolaji Ajayi has a partially torn right Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) and will miss the remainder of the season.
 The injury happened during practice Thursday, Jan. 24. He had appeared in all 18 games, starting 12. Ajayi was averaging 3.7 points per game and 4.7 rebounds in 17 minutes of action a game.

SECOND DOUBLE DOUBLE OF JONES' CAREER
 The 26 points and 10 rebounds for Jones vs. DePaul is just the second double-double of his career. The other was a 30-point, 14 rebound performance last year at Richmond (12/5/07).

JONES HAS FOUR GAME SCORING RUN SNAPPED, LONGEST FOR USF IN 10 YEARS
 Dominique Jones had his personal best scoring run of scoring 22 or more points in four straight games snapped Jan. 24 vs. Nova when he scored 11. He had totalled 26, 35, 22 and 22 in his four previous games, respectively. His previous best was a three-game run last season against UCF, Richmond and UAB. The last time a USF player had scored 22 or more points in four straight games was more than 10 years ago when B.B. Waldon did it during the 1998-99 season.

SEASON HIGH 10 REBOUNDS FOR JONES VS. DEPAUL
 The 10 boards vs. DePaul is a season high for Jones and the second most of his career, bested only by the 14 he had last year at Richmond (12/5/07).

FIRST CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLE FOR GILCHRIST
 Freshman forward Augustus Gilchrist tallied 16 points and 11 rebounds for his first career double-double vs. DePaul. The 11 rebounds by Gilchrist is a career high, besting the eight he had vs. Vanderbilt (12/16/08).

FIRST POINTS-REBOUNDS DOUBLE-DOUBLES OF THE YEAR VS. DEPAUL
 The pair of double-doubles by Jones and Gilchrist were just the second and third by USF this season, and the first two as points and rebounds. Chris Howard had a 12 point and 10 assist outing at DePaul on 1/10/09.

JONES POURS IN 35 AT WVU, HIS HIGH FOR A BIG EAST GAME AND ONE SHY OF HIS CAREER HIGH
 Dominique Jones poured in a game-high 35 points at WVU, one shy of his career high of 36 set earlier this season vs. Iona (12/27/09). It was his career high for a BIG EAST game, besting the 31 he had vs. Seton Hall last year (2/26/08).

SIXTH GAME WITH 30 OR MORE FOR JONES
 With 35 at West Virginia, Jones now has six career games with 30 or more points, second most in USF history.

USF FALLS TO NO. 1 FOR THIRD TIME IN HISTORY
 USF's 75-62 loss at Pitt on Jan. 14 was its third loss against the No. 1 ranked team in the country. The Bulls faced No. 1 North Carolina and Michael Jordan on Dec. 12, 1981, and No. 1 Cincinnati and Kenyon Martin on Jan. 29, 2000, losing both games on the road. It was just the fifth time overall, men's and women's, that the Bulls have taken on the No. 1 ranked team. The USF women took on No. 1 ranked Connecticut at home earlier this season and traveled to No. 1 UConn last season.

GILCHRIST GOES FOR CAREER HIGH 22 AT PITT
 The 22 points for Gilchrist at Pitt were a career high, besting his previous high of 16 set 1/10 at DePaul. He also played a career high 32 minutes and added two blocked shots.

JONES TIES HIS SINGLE-GAME ASSIST MARK AT PITT
 Jones set a season high and tied his single-game assist mark with seven at Pitt, set last season vs. Winston-Salem State (12/29/07).

VERDEJO HAS ONE OF BEST ALL-AROUND GAMES OF HIS CAREER AT DEPAUL
 Jesus Verdejo dropped in 18 points, had eight rebounds and six assists against DePaul. The eight boards are the second most of his career, bested only by the nine he had the previous game vs. Louisville (1/4/09). The six assists are tied for second most of his career, with his high being seven last year vs. Seton Hall (2/26/08).

BEST OVERALL SHOOTING DAY OF SEASON AT DEPAUL
 Despite snowy, blustery weather outside at DePaul, the Bulls were on fire inside Allstate Arena and had their best overall shooting day of the season. USF shot 86.7 from the free-throw line, going 13-15. It was the highest free throw percentage of the year for USF and the highest in two seasons under Stan Heath.
 USF also shot 51.7 percent from the field, its second highest of the year and just the second time shooting better than 50 percent in a game this season.
 The Bulls also shot 41.2 percent from the 3-point line, only the fourth time this season shooting better than 40 percent from 3-point range.

HOWARD NOTCHES SECOND CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLE
 Chris Howard notched his second career double-double with 12 points and 10 assists at DePaul. His other double was last season on 11/17/07 vs. FAU when he had 18 points and a career high 11 assists. It is the third time in his career with 10 or more assists. His other 10 assist game was last year vs. West Virginia (1/20/08).

JUST SECOND BIG EAST ROAD WIN FOR USF
 The win at DePaul was just the second BIG EAST road win in USF history. The Bulls defeated Rutgers 54-52 on March 1, 2008 after starting BIG EAST play 0-23 on the road all-time. They sit at 2-24 all-time.

CRATER TRANSFERS FROM OHIO STATE, IS ENROLLED IN CLASSES
 Stan Heath announced Jan. 5 that freshman guard Anthony Crater has signed a Grant-In-Aid with USF, is enrolled in classes and practicing with the team.
 Crater was granted a release from Ohio State after playing 10 games with the Buckeyes this season. The 6-foot-1 guard will sit out the rest of this year and have two-and-a-half years of eligibility remaining and become eligible as a sophomore at the end of the first semester on December 12, 2009.
 “We are very excited to add Anthony to our basketball team,” said Heath. “I've had the opportunity to watch him play as young player through the years. We felt the need to strengthen our guard play and Anthony's ball skills, quickness and playmaking abilities will be a welcome addition to our team.”
 The Flint, Mich., averaged 13.1 minutes a game at OSU and averaged 1.2 points and had 19 assists to just nine turnovers.
 Crater was highly touted coming out of high school. He was a two-time All-Michigan performer and was voted Class B Player of the Year by the Associated Press following his junior year. He averaged 16.2 points and more than eight assists as a junior and was named an all-league and all-city selection each of his three years at Flint (Mich.) Southwestern Academy.
 Crater led SWA to three city titles and two Michigan Class B final four appearances as a sophomore and junior, helping the Knights finish with identical 24-3 records in 2006 and 2007. After three years at SWA, Crater transferred to Brewster (N.H.) Academy to complete his high school eligibility at the prep school. While at Brewster, the team captured its first New England Class A title and advanced to the national final four with a school-record 31 victories (31-4). He averaged 16 points and 8.0 assists at Brewster.
 He was rated the 21st best point guard in the country by Scout.com after his senior year. Crater is the son of Lisa Jimerson and Anthony Crater Sr. He has a brother, Treyvon, and a sister, Kyla.

VERDEJO PULLS DOWN CAREER HIGH NINE REBOUNDS VS. LOUISVILLE
 Senior Jesus Verdejo notched a career high nine rebounds vs. Louisville, smashing his previous high of six done twice previously (3/8/08 vs. Notre Dame last time). He also had eight points, just missing a double-double.

AJAYI NOTCHES CAREER HIGH 15 AGAINST SYRACUSE
 Senior forward Mobolaji Ajayi tallied a career high 15 points vs. the Orange, going 7-10 from the field. His previous high was 12 which he has reached twice the last being last year against Notre Dame (3/8/08).

SYRACUSE SECOND LARGEST SUN DOME CROWD SINCE ENTERING BIG EAST
 The crowd of 8,350 against Syracuse was larger than any home game at the Sun Dome last season. It is the second largest Sun Dome crowd since USF joined the BIG EAST. The only crowd larger was on March 1, 2006 vs. UConn with a crowd of 9,636.

JONES EXPLODES FOR CAREER-HIGH 36 VS. IONA
 Sophomore Dominique Jones exploded for a career high 36 points vs. Iona, shooting an efficient 12-16 from the field, 7-9 from 3-point range and 5-6 from the free throw line. The 36 points bested his previous high of 31 done twice previously (12/6/08 at UCF and 2/26/08 vs. Seton Hall). He also finished with five assists, accounting for at least 46 of USF's 68 points. He began the assualt with a 17-point first half, hitting 6-8 field goals, 3-4 3-pointers and 2-2 from the free throw line.
 It was his fifth career game with 30 or more points, which is second all-time at USF. Only Charley Bradley, with 24, has more games with 30 or more points scored.

JONES' 36 TIED FOR FIFTH ON USF SINGLE-GAME SCORING LIST
 Dominique Jones' 36 point outburst vs. Iona is tied for fifth on the all-time USF single-game scoring list. He is tied with five other players for fifth. The record is 42 by Charlie Bradley vs. Florida State on 12/10/82.

JONES HITS CAREER HIGH SEVEN 3-POINTERS VS. IONA
 Jones' seven 3-point field goals was also a career high, surpassing his previous high of five, done twice.

VERDEJO NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM IN PUERTO RICO
 Jesus Verdejo was the only Bull named to the All-Tournament team in Puerto Rico after averaging 17.7 points in the three games. He matched his career high with 26 against Wright State, had nine vs. Murray State and 18 vs. Oral Roberts.

VERDEJO MATCHES CAREER HIGH VS. WRIGHT STATE
 Senior guard Jesus Verdejo tallied 26 points vs. Wright State, matching his career high from earlier this season on Dec. 3 at UAB. It was his fourth game this season scoring 20 or more points, after going for 20 or more just twice the two previous seasons (one each season).

EMORY DOES NOT RETURN
 Freshman walk-on Mitch Emory has decided not to return to the team for the second semester. Emory is focusing on his acedemics at USF.

JONES GOES FOR 30 OR MORE FOR SECOND TIME VS. UCF
 Sophomore guard Dominique Jones matched his then career high with 31 points at UCF, going 11-17 from the field and 2-5 from 3-point range. His previous 31-point outing was last season vs. Seton Hall (2/26/08). Jones also had 30 points in a USF win over UCF last season.
 
VERDEJO FIRES AWAY FOR CAREER HIGH 26 AT UAB
 Senior guard Jesus Verdejo led USF with a game and career-high 26 points at UAB, besting the 22 he had at Virginia earlier this year (11/19/08). He was 10-20 from the field buried a career high six 3-pointers on 12 attempts. His previous best was four 3-pointers made three times previously.

LEEMOW GOES FOR CAREER HIGH NINE, HITS THREE 3-POINTERS AT UAB
 Freshman guard Justin Leemow had a career-high nine points at UAB, going 3-3 from 3-point range, also a career best.

UAB JUST SECOND OT GAME OF THE HEATH TENURE AT USF
 The UAB game was just the second overtime game played for Stan Heath while at USF. The other OT game was last season vs. UConn.

37 POINTS ALLOWED VS. NORTHEASTERN SECOND LOWEST IN USF HISTORY
 The 37 points that USF held Northeastern to is the second lowest defensive performance in the 38-year history of Bulls basketball and only the fifth time in history holding an opponent to less than 40 points. The record is 34 in a 45-34 win over St. Peters on Dec. 4, 1985. Only one opponent last season, Rutgers 45 in the BIG EAST opener, scored fewer than 46 points scored in a game. This season has seen three teams score 46 or less against the Bulls.

USF HOLDS NORTHEASTERN TO 11 HALFTIME POINTS
 The 11 points that Northeastern scored in the first half is the lowest defensive half under Stan Heath. The previous low half was the last half USF played, the second against High Point where they gave up 18.

WILLIAMS MATCHES CAREER HIGH IN TWO STRAIGHT GAMES
 Aris Williams matched his career high with 11 points vs. Northeastern, which he set Nov. 25 vs. High Point. He also pulled down seven rebounds.

ANOTHER LOW IN HEATH ERA
 USF's 24.1 percent field goal percentage defense vs. NU was the lowest in the Stan Heath era, besting the 27.7 against SMU in the season opener.

WILLIAMS NOTCHES CAREER HIGH VS. HIGH POINT
 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.

ESPINOSA PULLS DOWN CAREER HIGH 10 BOARDS VS. HIGH POINT
 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.

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.
 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 mark 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."

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.