Bulls Take on Tulsa at Sun Dome on Sunday
Matchup:Â USF (8-15, 1-9 AAC) vs. Tulsa (12-10, 5-5 AAC)
Date:Â Sunday, Feb. 4
Time: 1 p.m.
Location:Â Tampa, Fla. | USF Sun Dome (10,411)
TV: ESPN3 (Bernie Guenther, Mark Wise)
Radio:Â AM 820 | USF Bulls Unlimited (
Jim Lighthall, Neil Solondz)
Follow: Listen | Stats | Twitter
GAME NOTES
TAMPA, FEB. 3, 2018Â
– The USF men's basketball team plays the second of two straight home games on Sunday afternoon. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. and will be streamed live on ESPN3.
The Bulls (8-15, 1-9 AAC) are looking to bounce back after a tough loss to Memphis, 86-74 on Wednesday night. USF was able to get the Memphis lead down to as little as nine points with two points remaining in the game, thanks in part to a career night from freshman
David Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) and a strong second half from fellow freshman
Justin Brown (Birmingham, Ala.).
Collins scored a team-leading and career-high 21 points in the game, his first 20-plus point performance of his career. He also added four assists, four rebounds, two steals, and a block to stuff the stat sheet. Collins was 5-for-9 from the field and an impressive 10-for-11 from the free throw line in the game.
Collins' 10 made free throws marked the first time since Dec. 30, 2015 that a USF player made 10 or more free throws in a game. Former Bulls forward Chris Perry made 11 free throws against Houston on that date.
Collins also had another impressive mark, scoring the most points by a freshman in nearly a year, when
Malik Fitts scored 29 on Feb. 2, 2017.
In all, the Bulls had five players score in double-figures in the game. Brown finished with 13 points, all in the second half. At one point, Brown scored 10 straight points for USF, including two three-point plays. Brown also added three rebounds in 28 minutes.
The other Bulls to score in double figures were the graduate trio of
Payton Banks (16),
Terrence Samuel (12), and
Stephan Jiggetts (10).
As a team, the Bulls shot 92.3 percent (24-for-26) from the free throw line in the game and made their first 16 attempts from the line. The 92.3 percent marks the first time since March 3, 2013 that USF shot above 90 percent from the free throw line in a game.
THE OPPONENTÂ
USF meets Tulsa (12-10, 5-5 AAC) for the first time this season and the sixth time overall. Tulsa has won all five previous meetings in the series, including two straight at the Sun Dome. The Bulls and the Golden Hurricane had not met prior to joining the American Athletic Conference for the 2014-15 season.
Tulsa is coming off a home win over SMU in their last game, 76-67, on Thursday night. Redshirt senior Junior Etou had an impressive showing in the game, collecting a double-double with 17 points and 15 rebounds.
Etou is both the leading scorer and rebounder for the Golden Hurricane, averaging 15.3 points and 7.6 boards per game on the season. His 7.6 rebounds are fourth-most in the conference. Since the start of AAC play, Etou is averaging 9.1 per game, which is second-best in that span.
Tulsa's leading scorer against SMU was Corey Henderson Jr., who finished with 18 points. Henderson Jr. is third on the team in scoring, averaging 10.3 points per game.
The Golden Hurricane are led by head coach Frank Haith, who is in his fourth season at the helm. Tulsa is 70-50 under Haith, who is in his 13
th season overall as a head coach.
NOTABLES
- Since the start of conference play, David Collins is third on the team in scoring, averaging 9.8 points per game. He also leads the team in assists with 2.9 a game.
- Collins has 43 assists on the season and needs just 19 more to enter the top 10 for USF freshman. Josh Heath currently sits in the 10th spot with 62 assists in the 2013-14 season.
- The Bulls are tied for second in the AAC in three-point field goal percentage in conference play, shooting 36.5 percent (61-for-167). Only Wichita State's 37.8 percent is better, while the Bulls are tied with Cincinnati.
- A win against Tulsa would be the ninth of the season for the Bulls, giving them their most victories since the 2014-15 season, when they also won nine. A win would also give USF its first conference home win in nearly a year. The Bulls 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 –
