USF Athletics

Bulls Head to UCF for Pivotal War on I-4 Matchup

February 12, 2019

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• Game Notes

Matchup: USF (17-6, 7-4) vs. UCF (17-5, 7-3)
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 13
Time: 7 p.m. EST
Location: Orlando, Fla. | CFE Arena
TV: ESPNEWS (John Brickley, Mark Adams)
Radio: AM 820 | USF Bulls Unlimited (Jim Lighthall)
Follow: Listen | Watch | Live Stats | Twitter

TAMPA, FEB. 12, 2019 – The USF men's basketball team plays its first of two matchups in the War on I-4 rivalry Wednesday at 7 p.m. when the Bulls make the short trip to Orlando to face UCF on ESPNEWS at CFE Arena.

USF (17-6, 7-4) sits tied for fourth place in The American standings and is just a half-game behind UCF for third place. The Bulls and Knights will meet for a second time later this month on Wednesday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. at the Yuengling Center.

USF secured its fifth straight win Sunday after outlasting ECU, 72-68, in overtime to complete the season sweep of the Pirates. Sophomore guard David Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) scored a game-high 21 points and added a career-best nine rebounds, five assists and one steal. Collins, who has scored at least 20 points in three straight games, leads USF and ranks 13th in the league with 15.2 points per game. Collins is also one of the top defenders in the nation and stands 22nd in the NCAA with 2.3 steals per game.

Redshirt junior Laquincy Rideau (West Palm Beach, Fla.) added 12 points and ranks second on the team with 13.9 points per game and is only 22 points shy of 1,000 for his career. Rideau also paces The American with 3.0 steals and 5.8 assists per game, and ranks third in the NCAA in steals and 27th in assists.

Redshirt freshman Alexis Yetna (Paris) has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury, but still leads The American in rebounding (9.8 rpg) and double-doubles (10). Yetna also ranks third on USF with 13.0 points per game. Sophomore guard Justin Brown (Birmingham, Ala.) has made a team-high 42 three-pointers and ranks fifth in the conference with a .412 three-point field goal percentage.
 
THE OPPONENT
UCF (17-5, 7-3) has won four of its last six games after registering a 71-65 victory Sunday at SMU. The Knights, who lead The American with a .468 field goal percentage, shot 52.0 percent from the field and used a season-high 26 points from junior Aubrey Dawkins en route to their third road win in league play.

Senior guard B.J. Taylor leads UCF and ranks seventh in the conference with 16.7 points per game, while Dawkins is second on the team and 11th in the league with 15.5 points per game. Senior post Tacko Fall adds 9.9 points and a team-high 6.9 rebounds per game.

QUOTABLE
Head coach Brian Gregory on the War on I-4 rivalry:
"It's an important game for us. I know it's an important game for them. You look at football, where it's been the last few years, and it's been tremendous. That game is great to be at, great excitement, and it's kind of created a national brand. It's great for both universities and it's great for our conference. I think this basketball rivalry is going to get there. Out of anybody in the profession, there's no one I respect more than Johnny Dawkins and what he's all about and how he builds programs, and the type of guys he has, and the way he does his business. I think it's going to be two really program programs that are going to bang heads on the recruiting trail and twice a year, maybe three times a year."
 
Gregory on the challenges UCF presents on the court:
"They are physically mature, very disciplined team. They're great defensively. They can really score on offense. Then you add Coach Dawkins' son to it, who is an elite scorer. He was a great player in the Big Ten. They got all the bases covered. Defensively, we're going to be really, really challenged and we've got to do a great job on the glass."
 
NOTABLE
• USF leads UCF 22-15 in the all-time series that dates back to the 1971-72 season.
• USF aims for its first six-game winning streak in league play since the 1991-92 season in the Metro Conference.
• USF has not had two six-game winning streaks in the same season in its history (48 seasons).
• 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 sophomore Justin Brown is shooting 58.6 percent (13-for-23) from three-point range over the last four games.
• USF redshirt junior Laquincy Rideau is only 22 points shy of 1,000 for his collegiate career.
• USF redshirt freshman Alexis Yetna has more double-doubles (10) than seven teams in The American.
• Laquincy Rideau ranks fourth in the NCAA and first in The American with 3.0 steals per game. 
• Alexis Yetna leads The American and ranks 24th in the NCAA with 9.8 rebounds per game.
• USF has taken the most free throw attempts in the NCAA with 652 and has made the 14th-most in the NCAA (418).
 
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.

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