Bulls Welcome Memphis to Tampa for Saturday Bout
Matchup: USF (14-6, 4-4) vs. Memphis (13-8, 5-3)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 2
Time: 12 p.m.
Location: Tampa, Fla. | Yuengling Center
TV: ESPNU (Jay Alter, John Thompson III)
Radio: AM 820 | USF Bulls Unlimited (
Jim Lighthall, Joey Johnston)
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TAMPA, FEB. 1, 2019 – The USF men's basketball team looks for its third consecutive win Saturday at noon when the Bulls welcome Memphis to the Yuengling Center for a matchup broadcast live on ESPNU.
Saturday's game will feature a special promotion for families affected by the government shutdown. Families who were impacted including federal employees without pay may receive free admission byÂ
following this link and using the promo code GOV. In addition, all children 12 and under receive free admission.
USF (14-6, 4-4) earned its first road win in league play last Saturday with a 77-57 victory at ECU behind a career-high 28 points and 13 rebounds from redshirt freshman
Alexis Yetna (Paris) en route to his league-leading 10th double-double of the season and fourth AAC Freshman of the Week recognition. Yetna pours in 13.2 points and 10.1 rebounds per game, ranks 16th in the NCAA in rebounding and ninth in offensive rebounds, and is the only player in The American to average a double-double. Additionally, Yetna enters play Saturday with 202 rebounds and needs just two more to set a new school record for the most single-season rebounds by a freshman. Â Â Â
Redshirt junior
Laquincy Rideau (West Palm Beach, Fla.) added 10 points, 10 assists and four steals in the victory over ECU to collect his second double-double of the season. Rideau ranks second on the team with 13.9 points per game and leads The American in both assists (5.8 apg) and steals (3.3 spg). In addition, Rideau leads the NCAA in steals and is three away from breaking the USF single-season record that has stood for the last 44 years. USF great Leon Smith currently holds the record with 68 steals during the 1973-74 season.
Sophomore
David Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) averages 14.3 points per game to lead USF and rank 14th in The American in scoring. In three career games against Memphis, Collins is averaging 18.3 points and 4.0 assists while shooting 61.5 percent from the field. In the last meeting between USF and Memphis, Collins scored a career-high 30 points on 11-for-13 shooting last season in the opening round of the AAC Tournament in Orlando. Â
As a team, USF shot 19 free throws last Saturday against ECU and has attempted the third-most free throws of any team in the NCAA with 570. The Bulls have taken 117 more free throws than their opponents and need to average 20.5 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 142 free throw attempts and has taken the 32nd-most in the NCAA this season.
THE OPPONENT
Memphis (13-8, 5-3) has lost two of its last three games after dropping a 95-79 decision Wednesday at Tulsa to fall to 1-4 on the road this season. Despite the setback, Memphis paces The American in scoring offense by averaging 83.0 points per game. The Tigers, however, ranks last in the league in scoring defense by surrendering an average of 77.0 points per game.
Senior guard Jeremiah Martin leads Memphis and ranks 11th in the league in scoring (15.1 ppg) and sixth in the conference in assists (4.3 apg). Forward Kyvon Davenport adds 14.5 points per game and a team-best 7.7 rebounds per game, while freshman guard Tyler Harris scores in double figures with 13.0 points per game. Â
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Brian Gregory on the matchup with Memphis…
"They are great at driving the ball and they have high-level guards that are dynamic, and people forget that Martin was the league-leader in scoring last year before he got hurt. Davenport can score from the three and is really good at putting the ball on the deck. Thornton is big and strong, and plays multiple positions, and Brewton is having a great year. They know what it takes to win, they are well-coached and they are starting to get a better feel for what Penny wants from them offensively. They score great in transition and they do a pretty good job of sharing the ball. Offensively, they are as tough a cover as there is in this league."
NOTABLE
• USF is tied with Bryant and Pittsburgh for the second-best turnaround in the NCAA from last season.
• USF is in search of its first three-game winning streak in league play 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 63 points shy of 1,000 for his collegiate career.
• USF redshirt freshman
Alexis Yetna has more double-doubles (10) than 10 teams in The American.
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Alexis Yetna is first in the American Athletic Conference and 18th in the NCAA with 10 double-doubles.
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Laquincy Rideau ranks first 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 16th in the NCAA with 10.1 rebounds per game.
• USF has taken the third-most free throw attempts in the NCAA with 570.
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Laquincy Rideau is three 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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