USF Athletics

Bulls Return Home Wednesday to Host Tulane

January 08, 2019

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• Game Notes

Matchup: USF (11-3, 1-1) vs. Tulane (4-10, 0-2)
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 9
Time: 7 p.m. EST
Location: Tampa, Fla. | Yuengling Center
TV: ESPN3 (Drew Fellios, Mike O'Donnell)
Radio: AM 820 | USF Bulls Unlimited (Jim Lighthall, Jim Louk)
Follow: Listen | Watch | Live Stats | Twitter

TAMPA, JAN. 8, 2019 – The USF men's basketball team looks to return to its winning ways Wednesday at 7 p.m. when the Bulls return home to host Tulane at the Yuengling Center for a matchup broadcast live on ESPN3.   

USF (11-3, 1-1) has won six straight games at the Yuengling Center and will be in search of its longest home winning streak since the 2011-12 team won seven consecutive games. The Bulls saw their overall seven-game winning streak snapped on Saturday with a heartbreaking 78-75 loss at Tulsa. After trailing by nine points with 1:12 remaining, USF rallied to tie the game 75-75 on a three-pointer by David Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) with 4.4 seconds left. Tulsa answered with a three-pointer at the buzzer from Curran Scott to hand USF its first loss since Nov. 24.

Collins finished with 16 points, four rebounds and three steals and tops USF in scoring with 14.3 points per game. The sophomore guard also stands third in The American and 14th in the NCAA with 2.5 steals per game.

Redshirt junior guard Laquincy Rideau (West Palm Beach, Fla.) scored a team-high 19 points on Saturday to go along with six rebounds, seven assists and five steals. Rideau is second on the team with 14.2 points per game and tops the conference in both assists (5.6 apg) and steals (2.9 spg), which also ranks 40th and fifth in the NCAA, respectively.

Redshirt freshman Alexis Yetna (Paris) finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds against the Golden Hurricane and paces The American with seven double-doubles, which is more than Houston (0), UConn (3) and Wichita State (3) combined. Yetna is also ninth in the NCAA in rebounds (10.9 rpg) and fifth in offensive rebounds per game (4.0 orpg). In addition, Yetna pours in 11.9 points per game and is the only player in The American to average a double-double.

THE OPPONENT
Tulane (4-10, 0-2) suffered its fourth straight loss when it dropped a 74-65 home game to SMU on Friday. The Green Wave has not won since defeating Texas Southern, 77-70, on Dec. 17 and is 0-2 on the road thus far this season.   

Sophomore guard Caleb Daniels leads the Green Wave with 15.7 points per game and is second on the team in both rebounds (5.1 rpg) and assists (2.9 apg). Senior guard Jordan Cornish stands second on the team with 12.5 points per game and Samir Sehic averages a team-high 7.8 rebounds per game to go along with 11.6 points per game.

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Brian Gregory on the matchup with Tulane…
"They are so aggressive, big and strong and they can score in the post, off the dribble and they shoot well from three-point range. We have to do a great job on them by keeping our chest in front of them at all times and not giving them any easy baskets. If we don't play our style on defense, they are going to be able to take advantage of it."

NOTABLE
• USF is 14-21 against Tulane in the all-time series that dates back to the 1991-92 season.
• USF is looking for its 12th win of the season, which would be the most since the 2013-14 season.
• USF's three losses are by a combined nine points. All three losses this season are by three points. 
• USF is one of only two schools in the NCAA to have its league leader in rebounds, assists and steals.
• USF redshirt junior Laquincy Rideau is only 142 points shy of 1,000 for his collegiate career.
• Forward Alexis Yetna has more double-doubles (7) than Houston, UConn and Wichita State combined.
• USF is ranked 20th in the NCAA and second in The American with 41.1 rebounds per game.
• Alexis Yetna is first in The American and 18th in the NCAA with seven 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.
 
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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.