By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
DAYTON, Ohio - Cal forward Harper Kamp said a lot with just a handful of words.
The Bulls roared loud, gave up little and will soon land in Nashville after handling the Bears in a 65-54 win that opened up a lot of eyes around the nation late Wednesday night.
"I think we maybe had the wrong impression," said Kamp after witnessing USF shoot almost 70 percent in the first half.
Outside of the Big East, casual USF onlookers didn't give the Bulls much of a chance let alone think they'd make it out of the first round of the NCAA tournament. Equipped with their first-ever tourney win, head coach Stan Heath's confident bunch is itching to make more noise in the grandest dance of them all.
"We didn't want to just come here for one game," Heath said. "We were excited to get in here. But we did want to prove a little bit that we deserve and we belong and we're legit. And I think the kids took that to heart."
USF (21-13) didn't take long showing the Bears that it is for real, and boy it was a harsh reality for the foe in the first half. The Bulls stepped on the gas pedal from the opening buzzer and had a 23-point lead at halftime while TV analysts had double the compliments for a team that clawed its way to the program's first tournament bid since 1992.
"We always talk about getting in the paint, getting in the paint, close shots, high percentage to make it, so basically put pressure on the defense and just attack, attack, and don't settle for jump shots," said freshman Anthony Collins, who had 10 points at the break.
What might have been more stunning, at least for newbies to USF's defensive toughness, was the fact that Cal only had 13 points at the break and headed into the half with 20 percent next to the stat line of the shooting percentage total. It marked USF's second-lowest point allowance in the last 10 years of program history and totally deflated the Bears' national title dreams in the First Four.
"We dug ourselves a huge hole in the first half and it was probably as bad as I've seen us play," Cal coach Mike Montgomery said. "We just didn't seem to have energy. They shot the ball in, we couldn't make a shot; they were getting loose balls, we couldn't get loose balls. We weren't doing much of anything."
The final score made it seem like Cal did a complete 180 in the second half, but that was far from the case. Monster jams by Victor Rudd Jr. and Jawanza Poland put out the vibe for what turned into a 32-point advantage for the Bulls more than halfway through the second period.
USF's bench played well in extended minutes on the floor afterwards while the Bears finally got the gas light on just in time to make the final margin respectable.
"They look like they belonged tonight. I will say that," Montgomery said.
Cal found out USF's potential in 40 minutes but the Bulls have believed for much longer than that, even at the beginning of the season when key players like Collins and Poland were injured.
When asked if the Bulls thought in December that they'd make it out of the first round of the NCAA tournament, Rudd Jr. took a moment and then delivered his reply with a smile in Wedneday's postgame press conference.
"Yeah, I would have believed it. We're a good team, I think. We don't expect to lose any games," he said.
Wednesday's celebration lasted only minutes after the Bulls checked back into the team hotel and the focus went right back to the way it was when USF landed in Ohio on Monday.
"It's a building process and we took a big step in the right direction today," Heath said. "But we want to take some more steps as well."
The next step is located in Music City and the Bulls are eager to stay in stride after making many more critics believe they can get it done in a first-round orientation on USF men's basketball.
"I didn't imagine that happening," said Montgomery about USF's quick first-half leap to confirming they're for real.
