USF Athletics

Bulls Face Road Test Saturday at Temple

January 11, 2019

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• Game Notes

Matchup: USF (12-3, 2-1) vs. Temple (12-3, 2-1)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 12
Time: 2 p.m. EST
Location: Philadelphia, Pa. | Liacouras Center
TV: ESPNU (Kevin Brown, Julianna Viani)
Radio: AM 820 | USF Bulls Unlimited (Jim Lighthall)
Follow: Listen | Watch | Live Stats | Twitter

TAMPA, JAN. 11, 2019 – The USF men's basketball team hits the road for the second time this season in league play when the Bulls travel to Philadelphia, Pa., for a matchup with Temple Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. at the Liacouras Center.    

USF (12-3, 2-1) has posted its most victories since the 2013-14 season and is seeking its first 3-1 start to league play since joining The American in 2013.

USF won its seventh straight game at the Yuengling Center with a 66-48 victory over Tulane on Wednesday. Sophomore David Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) scored a game-high 17 points to go along with five rebounds, five assists and a career-best five steals. Collins is averaging 16.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game since the start of league play and leads USF with 14.5 points per game. Collins also ranks 11th in the NCAA in steals with 2.7 per game.  

Redshirt freshman Alexis Yetna (Paris) posted his league-leading eighth double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds against the Green Wave. Yetna averages 12.1 points and 10.9 rebounds per game, is the only player in The American to average a double-double and ranks ninth in the NCAA in rebounding and 14th in double-doubles.

Redshirt junior guard Laquincy Rideau (West Palm Beach, Fla.) ranks second on the team with 13.7 points per game and paces The American in both assists (5.5 apg) and steals (2.9 spg.). Rideau also ranks fifth in the NCAA in steals and is only 25 more steals away from setting a new single-season record, which would break the current record of 68 set by Leon Smith during the 1973-74 season.    

THE OPPONENT
Temple (12-3, 2-1) has won five of its last six games and on Wednesday snapped Houston's 15-game winning streak with a 73-69 victory over the Cougars. The Owls own a perfect 6-0 record at home this season and lead The American in free throw percentage at 73.2 percent.

Senior guard Alston Shizz Jr. leads the Temple offense and ranks second in the league with 18.9 points per game. Shizz is also third in the conference with 45 three-pointers made and shoots 35.7 percent from beyond the arc. Both Quinton Rose (16.8 ppg) and Nate Pierre-Louis (13.5 ppg) score in double figures for the Owls, while Ernest Aflakpui leads the team with 6.9 rebounds per game.

NOTABLE
• USF is 2-9 against Temple in the all-time series that dates back to the 2011-12 season.
• USF is looking for its 13th win of the season, which would be the most since tying a school record with 22 victories in the 2011-12 season.
• USF's three losses are by a combined nine points. All three losses this season are by three points. 
• USF redshirt junior Laquincy Rideau needs 25 more steals to set a new single-season school record.
• USF is one of only two schools in the NCAA to have its conference leader in rebounds, assists and steals.
• USF redshirt junior Laquincy Rideau is only 136 points shy of 1,000 for his collegiate career.
• USF redshirt freshman Alexis Yetna has more double-doubles (8) than Houston, UConn and Wichita State combined.
• Alexis Yetna is first in The American and 14th in the NCAA with eight double-doubles.
• Laquincy Rideau ranks fifth in the NCAA and first in The American with 2.9 steals per game. 
• Alexis Yetna leads The American and ranks ninth in the NCAA with 10.9 rebounds per game.
• USF has taken the fifth-most free throw attempts in the NCAA with 435.
 
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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 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. 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.