USF Athletics

Bulls Start Two-Game Trip in New Orleans

January 24, 2018

Matchup: USF (7-13, 0-7 AAC) at Tulane (12-7, 3-4 AAC)
Date: Thursday, Jan. 25
Time: 9 p.m. EST
Location: New Orleans, La. | Devlin Fieldhouse (4,000)
TV: ESPNU (Jason Benetti, Malcom Huckaby)
Radio: AM 820 | USF Bulls Unlimited (Jim Lighthall, Joey Johnston)
Follow: Listen | Stats | Twitter
GAME NOTES

TAMPA, FLA., JAN. 24, 2018 – The USF men's basketball team hits the road for a two-game swing trip, beginning Thursday night in New Orleans. The Bulls will take on Tulane at Devlin Fieldhouse, with tip-off slated for 9 p.m. on ESPNU.

Following the matchup with Tulane, the Bulls will continue on to Houston to face the Cougars on Sunday afternoon.

The Bulls (7-13, 0-7 AAC) will look to build upon a game that saw them lead for 29 minutes against UCF on Saturday. USF was unable to come away with the victory, dropping the game 71-69.
Stephan Jiggetts (Forestville, Md.) led the Bulls in scoring in the game with 21, tying his season high. It was the third time this season that Jiggetts has scored 20-plus points, tying him with Payton Banks (Orange, Calif.) for the team lead in 20-point games. He played 39 minutes in the game, turning the ball over just once.

Freshman David Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) was the second-leading scorer for the Bulls. Collins finished the night with 14 points, one point short of his career high. He also finished with five assists, giving him 11 assists over the last two games. From the free throw line, he went 7-for-7. Collins has made his last 15 straight attempts from the free throw line, dating back to the Cincinnati game on Jan. 13.

Justin Brown (Birmingham, Ala.) was the third Bull to finish in double figures with 12 points. Brown snapped a two-game drought from beyond the arc, making two threes in the game. He has moved into ninth place on the USF freshman list for made threes with 26 on the season.
  
THE OPPONENT 
The Bulls meet the Green Wave for the first time this season on Thursday night. Tulane (12-7, 3-4 AAC) has already doubled its win total from 2016-17 in its second season under Mike Dunleavy Sr. Tulane finished last season 6-25, with a 3-15 record in conference play.

This season, the Green Wave are led by junior Melvin Frazier, who is the American Athletic Conference's fifth-leading scorer, averaging 17.5 points per contest.

On the glass, Tulane is led by redshirt senior Cameron Jordan, who has pulled in 6.3 boards per game this season. Jordan is also the team's second-leading scorer at 16.1 points per game.

The game will be the 34^th meeting all-time with Tulane for the Bulls, dating back to 1992. The Green Wave hold an 11-5 lead in the series in New Orleans.

NOTABLES

• Since the start of conference play, David Collins is averaging 3.3 assists per game, best on the Bulls. Collins is also averaging 9.4 points per game, which is second on the team.
• USF is shooting 38.4 percent (43-for-112) from three in conference play, which is second in the AAC in that span.
• The Bulls are currently on pace to set the team record for free throw percentage in a season. The team is shooting 74.4 percent (247-for-332) from the line this season. The all-time USF record is 73.8 percent, which was set in the 1978-79 season.

About USF Men's Basketball
The USF men's basketball team is led by head coach Brian Gregory. On March 22, Gregory was introduced as the 10^th head coach in program history. He previously led programs at Georgia Tech (2011-16) and Dayton (2003-11). Gregory spent nearly a decade as an assistant coach under Michigan State's Hall of Fame head coach Tom Izzo and helped the Spartans win the 2000 NCAA National Championship. Gregory brings nearly 250 career head coaching wins and six postseason appearances, including the 2010 NIT Championship, to Tampa.

USF has retired three numbers in its 47-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.

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