By KY-SHON HEPBURN
Special to GoUSFBulls.com
TAMPA - Shut-down defense has USF sitting pretty in the Big East.
The Bulls cruised to their third straight win and swept the season series against Villanova, 65-51, on Wednesday night in front of a crowd of 4,636 at the Tampa Bay Times Forum.
USF (16-10, 9-4) is now 13-1 at home this season and has tied the mark for the most conference wins under head coach Stan Heath in the program's history. The Bulls are also five games over .500 for the first time since joining the Big East.
"It's good to be in this position," Heath said.
The Bulls' defense dominated the second half, holding the Wildcats to 30.2 percent shooting and won the rebounding battle, 33-30. USF led by as many as 20 points and forced 14 turnovers.
"We really guarded today, pretty much to the last minute of the game," Heath said.
Four Bulls scored in double figures with Hugh Robertson and Victor Rudd Jr. leading all scorers with 14 points apiece. Anthony Collins and Jawanza Poland added 10 points respectively.
The Bulls' defense held Villanova to 28.6 percent shooting from the field in the first half and blocked six shots.
Poland's layup with 4:04 remaining was the last bucket scored by either team in the first half with the game tied at 20.
USF gained its first lead of the game 2:05 into the second half on a free throw made by Poland, 23-22.
Robertson made a huge dunk then made two technical foul shots and Ron Anderson Jr. followed with a layup with just under 14 minutes remaining to give the Bulls an eight point lead, 33-25.
"I think it took a little pressure off once we got a little bit of a lead," Heath said.
The Bulls won their first meeting against Villanova, 74-57, which was Villanova's previous scoring low for the season. The Bulls have held each of their last opponents under 55 points.
"I love their team, their toughness," Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "It's hard to prepare for them because they have so many weapons."
Collins made four free throws in a row with 12:01 left in the half to stretch the Bulls lead to 10 points, 37-27.
The Bulls return to action 7 p.m. Sunday at Pittsburgh.
