USF Athletics

Bulls Face Temple for Annual Autism Awareness Game

February 09, 2018

Matchup: USF (8-15, 1-9 AAC) vs. Temple (14-10, 6-6 AAC)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 10
Time: Noon
Location: Tampa, Fla. | USF Sun Dome (10,411)
TV: ESPNU (Roy Philpott, Mark Wise)
Radio: AM 820 | USF Bulls Unlimited (Jim Lighthall, Joey Johnston
Follow: Listen | Stats | Twitter
GAME NOTES

TAMPA, FEB. 9, 2018 – The USF men's basketball returns home after a quick road trip to take on Temple on Saturday in the Sun Dome. Tip-off is at noon and the game will be broadcast on ESPNU.

Saturday is the annual Autism Awareness game for the Bulls as part of Coaches Powering Forward for Autism. The initiative, which is through Autism Speaks, was co-founded by USF assistant coach Tom Herrion, along with Towson head coach Pat Skerry. Herrion's son, Robert, has autism.

All USF coaches and staff will be sporting the blue puzzle piece lapel pin, and USF players will wear special blue shooting shirts before the game. More than 400 programs across the country will be joining in the initiative this season, with staffs across all levels of collegiate men's basketball, as well as women's basketball and the NBA, wearing the pins in support of autism awareness.

RECAPPING UCONN
The Bulls (8-17, 1-11 AAC) are coming off a hard-fought loss to UConn on Wednesday night, 68-65. Freshman David Collins had a shot at a three at the end of the game to tie the score and force overtime, but couldn't get the shot to go.

In the game, the Bulls shot 93.3 percent (14-for-15) from the free throw line, which stands as the sixth-best free throw shooting performance in USF team history. It is also the best free throw percentage in a game since the Bulls shot 94.4 percent on Feb. 25, 2009 at Seton Hall.

Individually, Stephan Jiggetts (Forestville, Md.) led the Bulls in scoring with 18 points, including 6-for-6 from the free throw line.

Isaiah Manderson (Bronx, N.Y.) had his best performance as a Bull, scoring a career-high 15 points to go with eight rebounds. Five of his rebounds came on the offensive end. Manderson was 6-for-7 from the field in the game.

The Bulls had two more scorers in double figures with Payton Banks (Orange, Calif.) finishing with 12 points and Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) had 11.

USF dominated the glass in the game, finishing with a 36-27 advantage in rebounding. Four different Bulls finished with five or more rebounds in the game. Manderson led with his eight, while Justin Brown, Malik Martin, and Nikola Scekic each had five.

THE OPPONENT 
USF meets Temple (14-10, 6-6 AAC) for the first time this season and the 11th time in team history. The Bulls took the first two meetings in the series but have not won since, dropping eight straight matchups.

The Owls are the last team the Bulls will face for the first time this season, with each of the five remaining contests coming against repeat opponents.

Temple is led by sophomore Quinton Rose, who averages 14.7 points per game. Senior Obi Enechionyia, who missed the Owls' last game against ECU, is the leading rebounder. He averages 6.5 boards per contest.

Fran Dunphy is in his 12^th season as head coach of the Owls and 29^th season overall. Dunphy has led Temple to a 244-146 mark and seven NCAA tournament appearances at the helm in Philadelphia.

NOTABLES

• Stephan Jiggetts has scored in double figures in seven straight games, tying the longest such streak for the Bulls this season. Payton Banks matched that mark earlier in the season. In the seven games, Jiggetts is averaging 17.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game.
• David Collins has scored in double digits in three straight games after his 11 points against UConn. Collins is averaging 14.3 points per game in the span, shooting 48.3 percent (14-for-29) from the field.
• Payton Banks sits just 47 points away from 1,000 in his career. Should he reach the milestone, he would be the second Bull this season to reach the mark after Jiggetts did it earlier.

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.