Bulls Look to Extend Winning Streak Sunday Against ECU
Matchup: USF (16-6, 6-4) vs. ECU (9-13, 2-8)
Date: Sunday, Feb. 10
Time: 5:30 p.m. EST
Location: Tampa, Fla. | 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. 9, 2019 – The USF men's basketball team puts its four-game winning streak on the line Sunday at 5:30 p.m. when the Bulls welcome ECU to the Yuengling Center for a matchup broadcast live on ESPN3. Â
USF (16-6, 6-4) turned in its second straight road when Thursday at SMU with a thrilling 67-66 victory over the Mustangs. Sophomore
David Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) scored 23 points and hit the game-winning three-pointer with 6.2 seconds left to give USF its first win in Dallas since 2009. Collins continues to serve as the offensive catalyst for the Bulls and leads the team and ranks 13th in The American with 15.0 points per game. Collins has also proven to be one of the top defenders in the league and ranks 19th in the NCAA with 2.3 steals per game.
Redshirt junior
Laquincy Rideau (West Palm Beach, Fla.) finished with 14 points, six rebounds and nine assists at SMU and stands second on the team with 14.0 points per game. Rideau also paces The American in both assists (5.9apg) and steals (3.1 spg) and ranks 26th in the nation in assists and third in steals.
Redshirt freshman
Alexis Yetna (Paris) missed Thursday's game at SMU with an 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 40 three-pointers and ranks fifth in the conference with a .412 three-point field goal percentage.
THE OPPONENT
ECU (9-13, 2-8) has lost two in a row and seven of its last eight after falling 65-49 at home to Wichita State on Wednesday. USF posted a 77-57 victory at ECU last month behind a career-high 28 points and 13 rebounds from Yetna. The Pirates arrive in Tampa in search of their first win of the season, as ECU is 0-8 on the road this season and has lost six of those games by at least nine points.
Freshman forward Jayden Gardner leads ECU with 18.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per game, while sophomore guard Shawn Williams adds 10.9 points per game to go along with a team-high 37 three-pointers made. Seth LeDay also scores in double figures with 10.8 points per game.
NOTABLE
• USF leads ECU 9-8 in the all-time series that dates back to the 2002-03 season.
• USF aims for its first five-game winning streak in league play since the 1991-92 season in the Metro Conference.
• USF has not had two five-game winning streaks in the same season since the 1990-91 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 sophomore
Justin Brown is shooting 61.1 percent (11-for-18) from three-point range over the last three games.
• USF redshirt junior
Laquincy Rideau is only 34 points shy of 1,000 for his collegiate career.
• USF redshirt freshman
Alexis Yetna has more double-doubles (10) than nine teams in the AAC and is 27th in the NCAA.
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Laquincy Rideau ranks third in the NCAA and first in The American with 3.1 steals per game.Â
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Alexis Yetna leads The American and ranks 24th in the NCAA with 9.8 rebounds per game.
• USF has taken the second-most free throw attempts in the NCAA with 619 and has made the 21st-most in the NCAA (395).
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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