Bulls Host Tampa Tuesday in Exhibition Game
Matchup: USF (0-0) vs. University of Tampa (0-0)
Date: Tuesday, Oct. 30
Time: 7 p.m. EST
Location: Tampa, Fla. | Yuengling Center (10,411)
TV: None
Radio: AM 820 | USF Bulls Unlimited (
Jim Lighthall, Neil Solondz)
Follow: Listen | Live Stats | Twitter
TAMPA, OCT. 29, 2018 – The USF men's basketball team makes its 2018-19 debut on Tuesday at 7 p.m. when the Bulls welcome crosstown rival the University of Tampa to the Yuengling Center for an exhibition game that features free admission.
USF has gone a perfect 14-0 in exhibition games since 2005 and has defeated the Spartans twice during that stretch, a 79-64 win in 2008 and a 75-43 victory in 2011. The Bulls and Spartans have met four times during the regular season as well, with USF claiming a 71-54 victory in 1989 in the most recent matchup.
USF enters the 2018-19 season with high expectations after the Bulls closed last season by winning two of their final three games and nearly knocked off Memphis in the opening round of the 2018 American Athletic Conference Tournament. Sophomore guard
David Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) returns after a freshman campaign that saw him land on the AAC All-Rookie Team. Collins averaged 10.0 points per game, which included a 30-point performance against Memphis, and ranked third on the team in both assists and steals.
The Bulls also return senior
Nikola Scekic (Belgrade, Serbia), who started 29 games last season, and sophomore
Justin Brown (Birmingham, Ala.), who averaged 5.5 points per game and shot 31.8 percent from three-point range off the bench.
Three Bulls will also make their highly-anticipated debuts on Tuesday, as senior
T.J. Lang (Mobile, Ala.),
Laquincy Rideau (West Palm Beach, Fla.) and
Alexis Yetna (Paris, France) will don the Green and Gold for the first time after sitting out last season.
THE OPPONENT
Tampa finished the 2017-18 season with a 10-16 overall record and a 6-14 mark in league play. The Spartans lost three of their final five games last season and were just 2-8 away from Tampa. Senior guard Pat Bacon paced the Spartans with 19.0 points and 4.0 assists per game while ranking fourth on the team with 4.1 rebounds per game.
Richard Schmidt begins his 35th season as head coach at the University of Tampa and was inducted into the UT Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004. Schmidt has won 667 with the Spartans and has produced a total of 30 winning seasons.
NOTABLES
- USF Head Coach Brian Gregory has won at least 16 games in year two in each of his two previous coaching stops.
- David Collins averaged 15.7 points per game over the final 10 games of last season.
- USF is 14-0 in exhibition games since the start of the 2005 season and 2-0 against Tampa during that stretch.
- USF defeated Flagler, 94-66, last season in its only exhibition game of the season.
To stay up-to-date on the latest USF men's' basketball news, follow the Bulls on social media (Twitter | Facebook | Instagram).
About USF Men's Basketball
The USF men's basketball team is led by head coach Brian Gregory. On March 22, 2017, 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. In his first season at the helm of the Bulls, Gregory led the team to its first 10-plus win season since 2013-14.
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.
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