By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
LUBBOCK, Texas – The Bulls conducted their NCAA tournament rehearsal in front of thousands of empty red seats at United Spirit Arena on Friday afternoon.
Fast-forward the clock about 24 hours and the national spotlight will be on USF as it faces Texas Tech and Red Raiders' loyal group of followers. Texas Tech's average home crowd this season has been 6,439 and USF expects to see a packed house Saturday night.
“I feel like the most difficult thing will be playing in front of a big crowd. For us as a team, we have to stick together, talk and communicate,” junior guard Inga Orekhova said.
USF is in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2006 but the big stage is nothing new to head coach Jose Fernandez's squad that takes it on the regular. The Bulls went 8-3 on the road this regular season that included victories at then-No. 12/11 Louisville, Clemson, Georgetown and UNC-Asheville.
“I think we are prepared to play against big crowds, so we take it as motivation and look forward to it,” senior guard Andrea Smith said.
No player on USF's roster has been to the NCAA tournament before this season but nobody said the word “nervous” when describing their feelings about Saturday's battle. It's business as usual for a team that's seen it all in Big East play.
“Playing in the Big East, you are playing in great basketball environments,” Fernandez said. “I think it's the best league in the country because there are so many different styles of play and so many different on-campus and off-campus venues.”
Quote of the Day
“You can't go out there unconfident because that's an automatic loss,” junior center Akila McDonald said.
TV Details
USF-Texas Tech is ESPN's national game of the night on Saturday starting at 6:50 p.m. (ET). The game will be aired on ESPN2 in its entirety in the Tampa Bay region. DirecTV subscribers can watch the game on channel 733-1. Dish Network viewers can find the Bulls on channel 148 and on the EFC channel (465).
Special Sendoff
The entire USF baseball team, staff members and a ton of fans lined the sidewalks outside the Muma Center on Thursday afternoon to give the Bulls a special sendoff.
The band was playing, Rocky was dancing and the Bulls appreciated an unforgettable moment before boarding the bus for the airport.
“This is wonderful. I've never really been a part of this, so seeing this makes us more excited actually,” senior forward Tiffany Conner said.
