Bulls Host UCF Wednesday in White Out Game
Matchup: USF (18-9, 7-7) vs. UCF (20-6, 10-4)
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 27
Time: 7 p.m. EST
Location: Tampa | Yuengling Center
TV: ESPN3 (Drew Fellios, Mike O'Donnell)
Radio: AM 820 | USF Bulls Unlimited (
Jim Lighthall, Joey Johnston)
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TAMPA, FEB. 26, 2019 – The USF men's basketball team puts the finishing touches on the month of February Wednesday at 7 p.m. when the Bulls welcome rival UCF to the Yuengling Center for the second installment of the War on I-4.
All fans are encouraged to wear white and the first 1,000 USF students in attendance will be given a rally towel and a pair of sunglasses. In addition, one lucky USF student will win a spring break getaway that includes a two-night stay at the Baha Mar resort in Nassau, Bahamas along with a $500 gift card courtesy of CenterState Bank toward travel accommodations. Free pizza courtesy of Papa John's will be provided in the Coca-Cola Student Lounge while supplies last.
USF (18-9, 7-7) has won four of its last five home games and owns a 14-3 record at the Yuengling Center. Sophomore guard
David Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) leads the Bulls' offensive attack with 15.3 points per game and has featured nine games this season with at least 20 points. Collins has also made a team-high 139 free throws and already has the fifth-most in a single season in school history.
Redshirt junior
Laquincy Rideau (West Palm Beach, Fla.) adds 13.3 points per game and is tops in The American in both steals per game (2.9 spg) and assists (5.5 apg), which rank seventh and 36th in the NCAA, respectively. Rideau has collected 75 steals this season and has the most single-season steals in school history.
Redshirt freshman
Alexis Yetna (Paris) pours in 12.0 points per game and leads the conference with 9.7 rebounds per game. Yetna has also registered a league-high 10 double-doubles and ranks 17th in the NCAA with 3.4 offensive rebounds per game.
THE OPPONENT
UCF (20-6, 10-4) has won four of its last five games and is coming off a 95-48 victory over SMU on Sunday to maintain its spot in third place in the conference standings. Earlier this year, UCF posted a 78-65 win over USF in Orlando behind 21 points and nine rebounds from senior forward Tacko Fall.
Senior guard B.J. Taylor paces the UCF offense with 16.6 points per game to along with 3.4 assists per game. Junior guard Aubrey Dawkins stands second on the team with 15.3 points per game, while Fall adds a team-best 7.3 rebounds and 10.9 points per game. Â
QUOTABLE
Head coach Brian Gregory on the matchup with UCF:
"We've got to do a better job this time around in taking some of their stuff away. You can't give up threes, you can't give up deep post-ups and you can't give up penetration. If they are able to get you in all three of those areas, then it puts you in a tough spot defensively. The one thing you have to do against them is, when you get a good shot, you have to be aggressive and take it. We're playing one of the best defenses in the country, so when we get open shots we have to be really, really efficient and finish those plays."
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NOTABLE
• USF is 22-16 against UCF in the all-time series that dates back to the 1971-72 season.
• USF is four victories away from tying the single-season school record for wins (22).
• USF is the only school in the NCAA to have its conference leader in rebounds, assists and steals.
• USF redshirt freshman
Alexis Yetna has more double-doubles (10) than six teams in The American.
•
Laquincy Rideau ranks seventh in the NCAA and first in The American with 2.9 steals per game.Â
•
Alexis Yetna leads The American and ranks 24th in the NCAA with 9.7 rebounds per game.
• USF is ranked 10th in the NCAA and second in The American with a +7.5 rebounding margin.
• USF has taken the most free throw attempts in the NCAA with 762 and has made the 13th-most in the NCAA (486).
•
Laquincy Rideau looks to become the first player in AAC history to lead in assists and steals in the same season.
• USF is 25-3 all-time under
Brian Gregory when leading by 10 points at any time during a game.
• Five of USF's nine losses are by three points or less and the Bulls nine losses are by an average of 6.0 points.
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.
To stay up-to-date on the latest USF men's' basketball news, follow the Bulls on social media (Twitter | Facebook | Instagram).
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