Bulls Travel to ECU for Saturday Matinee Matchup
Matchup: USF (13-6, 3-4) vs. ECU (8-10, 1-5)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 26
Time: 4 p.m.
Location: Greenville, N.C. | Minges Coliseum
TV: ESPNU (Kevin Brown, Rob Kennedy)
Radio: AM 820 | USF Bulls Unlimited (
Jim Lighthall)
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TAMPA, JAN. 25, 2019 – The USF men's basketball team puts the finishing touches on the month of January Saturday at 8 p.m. when the Bulls travel to Greenville, N.C., to face ECU at Minges Coliseum for a matchup broadcast live on ESPNU.
USF (13-6, 3-4) enters the weekend coming off a 54-41 victory over Wichita State on Tuesday to improve to 11-2 at home. Sophomore guard
David Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) scored a game-high 13 points and added six rebounds to help USF register its ninth game this season with at least 40 rebounds. Individually, Collins leads the USF offense with 14.7 points per game and ranks third in the conference and 18th in the NCAA with 2.4 steals per game. Â Â
Redshirt junior
Laquincy Rideau (West Palm Beach, Fla.) added 11 points, nine rebounds, five assists and four steals Tuesday against the Shockers and is now just seven steals shy of setting a USF single-season record with 69. Rideau has seven games this season with at least four steals and ranks second in the NCAA with 3.3 thefts per game. Rideau also pours in 14.1 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. Â Â Â
Redshirt freshman
Alexis Yetna (Paris) averages 12.4 points and 9.9 rebounds per game and leads The American with nine double-doubles. In fact, Yetna ranks 21st in the NCAA in double-doubles and has more double-doubles than 10 teams in The American. Yetna also paces the conference and ranks 19th in the country in rebounds.
As a team, USF shot 24 free throws Tuesday against Wichita State and has attempted the most free throws of any team in the NCAA with 551. The Bulls have taken 114 more free throws than their opponents and need to average 20.4 free throw attempts per game for the rest of the season to break the single-season record of 796 set during the 2009-10 season. Collins leads USF with 136 free throw attempts and has taken the 20th-most in the NCAA this season.
THE OPPONENT
ECU (8-10, 1-5) has lost four straight games after falling 94-50 on Wednesday at Houston. The Pirates have not won since defeating Cincinnati 73-71 on Jan. 5. As a team, the Pirates average 68.9 points per game and rank 10th in The American in scoring offense.
Freshman forward Jayden Gardner leads The American in scoring with 19.2 points per game and ranks second in the league in rebounding with 9.1 per game. In addition, Gardner is second in the conference behind Yetna with seven double-doubles. Sophomore guard Shawn Williams adds 11.9 points per game and junior forward also scores in doubles figures with 11.7 points per game.
NOTABLE
• USF and ECU have both won eight games in the all-time series between the two schools that dates back to 2003.
• USF is looking for its 14th win of the season, which would be the most since the 2011-12 season.
• USF's six losses are by an average of 4.7 points per game. Four of the six losses have been by three points or less.
• USF is the only school in the NCAA to have its conference leader in rebounds, assists and steals.
• USF redshirt junior
Laquincy Rideau is only 73 points shy of 1,000 for his collegiate career.
• USF redshirt freshman
Alexis Yetna has more double-doubles (9) than 10 teams in The American.
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Alexis Yetna is first in the American Athletic Conference and 21st in the NCAA with nine double-doubles.
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Laquincy Rideau ranks second in the NCAA and first in The American with 3.3 steals per game.Â
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Alexis Yetna leads The American and ranks 19th in the NCAA with 9.9 rebounds per game.
• USF has taken the most free throw attempts in the NCAA with 551.
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Laquincy Rideau is seven steals shy of setting a new USF single-season school record.
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.Â
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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