TAMPA, DEC.  20, 2016 – Despite outrebounding its opponent for the third straight game, the USF men's basketball team could not withstand 21 turnovers in a 59-48 loss to Northern Illinois Tuesday at the Sun Dome.

Along with the season-high turnover count, the Bulls (5-5) shot a season-low 31.5 percent from the field, which was helped with a 0-of-9 effort in the final 6:35 of the contest. USF outrebounded NIU 44-38, including a 17-11 advantage on the offensive end.

Freshman guard Michael Bibby (Phoenix) earned his fourth start of the season, finishing with 10 points and a career-best six rebounds in a career-high 37 minutes. Junior Bo Zeigler (Detroit) joined Bibby in double figures with 10 points and eight rebounds.

USF led 26-24 at halftime, the second consecutive game the Bulls had an advantage at the break. After seven lead changes in just over five minutes into the second half, the Huskies (7-5) took a 35-34 lead on a Levi Bradley layup with 15:32 remaining. NIU never trailed the rest of the game.

Consecutive free throws by Zeigler cut the Bulls' deficit to 51-47 with 2:45 remaining. The Huskies closed the game on an 8-1 run.

Quotables

USF head coach Orlando Antigua
On Michael Bibby:

“I thought Mike did a great job for us. As he has, every time we've asked him to come in and play.”

“Mike brings a high IQ, a great poise to his game. He is very unselfish and we've got to get him to be a little more selfish because there are opportunities for him to take. I'm really happy with his growth and I can't say enough about him.”

On Malik Fitts:

“Malik continues to get better. He's got to take the right shots, not just shots. For young players that's one of the things they have to learn.”

“Malik is doing fine. He's got a great seal and so much to learn. I'm excited to be working with him and I'm excited to see his development. He's got a bright future.”

On the loss:

“You're not going to be able to beat any Division I team when you give them that many opportunities by turning the ball over.  We talked about wanting to control the backboards and we did that. We show toughness. We show fight when we do that. We talked about wanting to hold them under 40 percent and we did that. But we didn't take over the ball like we need to. For a young team, we learn. We've got to learn from that and we've got to learn quickly.”

“We've got what we need. We've got to come out, take care of business and compete.”

Key Stats

·        NIU outscored USF 35-22 in the second half.

·        USF shot 26.9 percent from the field in the second half.

Notables:

·        USF played without guards Troy Holston and Jahmal McMurray.

·        Freshman forward Tulio Da Silva (Brazil) scored nine points and had eight rebounds.

·        Prior to Tuesday's game, USF had shot at least 42 percent from the field in all but one game this season. The Bulls ranked fourth in the American Athletic Conference at 47.8 percent for the season.

·        USF's 48 points scored was a season low.

·        There were three ties and eight lead changes.

Up Next:

USF hosts Delaware (6-5) on Thursday at 7 p.m., its final game before Christmas.

The USF men's basketball team is led by Orlando Antigua, who is in his third season as the head coach after spending the previous six season as an assistant to Naismith Hall of Fame coach John Calipari. The Bulls are led by Preseason All-American Athletic Conference member Jahmal McMurray who scored the second-most points ever by a USF freshman last season. The Bulls also feature freshman Tulio Da Silva, junior Ruben Guerrero, sophomore Troy Holston and junior Geno Thorpe.

USF has retired three numbers in its 46-year history: Chucky Atkins (12), Charlie Bradley (30) and Radenko Dobras (31). The Bulls have earned three NCAA tournament bids and appeared in the NIT eight times. In the 2011-12 season, USF was one win away from an appearance in the Sweet 16.

For tickets, contact the USF Ticket Office at 1-800-Go-Bulls or by going online to USFBullsTix.com.