Bulls Return Home to Face Memphis Wednesday Night
Matchup:Â USF (8-14, 1-8 AAC) vs. Memphis (13-8, 4-4 AAC)
Date:Â Wednesday, Jan. 31
Time: 8:30 p.m.
Location:Â Tampa, Fla. | USF Sun Dome (10,411)
TV: ESPNews (Mike Corey, Mark Wise)
Radio:Â AM 820 | USF Bulls Unlimited (
Jim Lighthall, Neil Solondz)
Follow: Listen | Stats | Twitter
GAME NOTES
TAMPA, JAN. 30, 2018Â
– The USF men's basketball team returns home to take on the Memphis Tigers on Wednesday night. Tip-off is slated for 8:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPNews.
The Bulls (8-14, 1-8 AAC) are coming off a 1-1 road trip that saw them get their first win of the conference season on Jan. 25 at Tulane. The Bulls concluded the trip with a 63-40 loss at Houston on Sunday afternoon.
Following the 1-1 week, graduate point guard
Stephan Jiggetts (Forestville, Md.) was named to the American Athletic Conference weekly honor roll. He averaged 16.5 points, 4.5 assists, and 3.0 rebounds for the week. Against Tulane, Jiggetts had a season-high 23 points and did not turn the ball over once in 40 minutes.
Against Houston, Jiggetts tied for the team lead with 10 points and added five rebounds and four assists.
Payton Banks (Orange, Calif.) also had 10 points in the game.
Nikola Scekic (Belgrade, Serbia) led the Bulls on the glass with six rebounds. It was his most rebounds in a game since he also had six against Northern Arizona on Dec. 18.
USF is in search of its ninth win of the season, which would be the most victories since the 2014-15 season, when they also had nine wins.
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THE OPPONENTÂ
USF meets Memphis (13-8, 4-4 AAC) for the first time this season and the 29
th time overall. Memphis holds a 24-4 advantage in the all-time series.
The Tigers are led by point guard Jeremiah Martin, whose 18.5 points per game are second in the conference. Martin is averaging 19.0 points per game since the start of conference play, which is also second in the AAC. He also averages 4.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists.
Memphis is led by head coach Tubby Smith, who is in his second season with the Tigers and his 27
th season as a head coach. Smith is 32-21 in two seasons at the helm in Memphis.
NOTABLES
- The Bulls held Houston's Rob Gray to a season-low two points in Sunday's game. In the two-game season series, USF held Gray to 13 points combined after Gray scored a then-season-low 11 points in the conference opener on Dec. 28. The two points on Sunday tie for the second-fewest in Gray's Houston career. His lowest scoring output with the Cougars came on Jan. 23, 2016, when he scored one point against the Bulls. USF won that game, 71-62.
- As a team, the Bulls rank third in the AAC in three-point field goal percentage since the start of conference play. USF is shooting 36.1 percent (53-for-147) from three in that span.
- Payton Banks needs only 84 more points to reach 1,000 in his career. Should Banks surpass the milestone this season, he would be the second USF player to reach the mark. Stephan Jiggetts reached 1,000 points against Bethune-Cookman on Dec. 14.
- A win against Memphis would be the first conference home win for the Bulls in nearly a year. USF last won at the Sun Dome in AAC play on Feb. 11, 2017, a 64-57 victory over ECU.
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 10th 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.
– #GoBulls –
