USF Athletics

Bulls Go Back on Road Sunday at Temple

February 20, 2021

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• Game Notes

Matchup: USF (7-8, 3-6) vs. Temple (4-9, 3-9)
Date: Sunday, Feb. 21
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: Philadelphia, Pa. | Liacouras Center
TV: ESPN+ (Cody Chrusciel, Noah Savage)
Radio: Bulls Unlimited (Jim Lighthall, Joey Johnston)
Follow: Listen | Watch | Live Stats | Twitter

TAMPA, FLA., FEB. 20, 2021 – The USF men's basketball team plays its first of two straight games against Temple Sunday at 2 p.m. when the Bulls travel to Philadelphia, Pa., to take on the Owls at the Liacouras Center. USF and Temple will play again on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Tampa.

USF will be playing its fourth game followings a 32-day layoff due to COVID-19 protocols within the program. Most recently, the Bulls dropped an 81-65 decision to rival UCF Wednesday in the second round of the War on I-4.

Junior forward Alexis Yetna (Paris, France) scored 16 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for his third double-double of the season, while senior David Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) added 13 points to record his 80th career game in double figures.

Overall, Collins leads USF with 12.5 points per game and Yetna is second with 10.0 points and first with 7.7 rebounds per game.

USF AND TEMPLE
USF and Temple will meet on the hardwood for the 15th time in school history when the two teams battle on Sunday. The Owls own an 11-3 lead in the all-time series that dates back to the 2011-12 season. USF won the first two games in the series before Temple won the 11, but the Bulls snapped the losing streak last season with a 64-58 road victory behind 13 points and nine rebounds from Justin Brown. Michael Durr added 12 points and seven rebounds to help USF win in Philadelphia for the first time since 2014.

HAVING THEIR NUMBER
USF junior forward Alexis Yetna has enjoyed a great deal of success in his career against Temple. In fact, Yetna enters play Sunday against the Owls averaging 16.0 points and 11.0 rebounds in two career games against Temple. In his last game at the Licouras Center, Yetna poured in 24 points and 10 rebounds in 2019 during a season that saw him win AAC Freshman of the Year.

COOKING FROM DEEP
USF junior Rashun Williams has been on fire from three-point range and is shooting 45.5 percent from beyond the arc over the last four games. Williams has made five three-pointers during that stretch and if 5-for-11 from beyond the arc. Williams made only five treys in the previous 11 games and shot 23.8 percent from three-point range.

TWO MORE TO GO
USF picked up its second league road win of the year Jan. 9 when the Bulls turned in a 69-63 victory over East Carolina. The Bulls enter play Sunday at Temple needing two more road wins to register the most road wins in conference play since joining The American prior to the 2013-14 season. The Bulls have won three AAC road games in three different seasons.

SEND US TO THE STRIPE
USF shot 76.9 percent (20-for-26) from the free throw line to mark its second straight game over 75 percent from the charity stripe. The Bulls have struggles from the free throw line most of the season, but enter play Sunday at Temple shooting 73.3 percent from the free throw line over the last three games.

THIRTY TWO IS TRUE
The USF men's basketball team went 32 days in between games due to Covid-19 protocols within the program. The Bulls played their 12th game of the year Jan. 9 at East Carolina and turned in a 69-63 victory over the Pirates. It wouldn't be until Feb. 10 that USF would resume games with a matchup against No. 7 Houston at the Yuengling Center. During the layoff, the Bulls had seven consecutive games postponed and only had two full practices that included all 13 players. 

LONG RANGE LOCKDOWN
USF has proven to have one of the top perimeter defenses in the NCAA this season and enters play Sunday at Temple ranked 42nd in the NCAA and fourth in The American in three-point field goal defense by limiting opponents to just 30.5 percent from beyond the arc. The Bulls have held seven of their opponents to less than 30.0 percent from down town this season. If the season ended today, the .305 three-point field goal percentage defense would be the fourth-lowest allowed for a single season in school history. The 1994-95 squad held opponents to 24.9 percent and holds the 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 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 owns over 300 career head coaching wins and six postseason appearances, including the 2010 NIT Championship. In his second season at the helm of the Bulls, Gregory led the team to the best win turnaround in the NCAA, the most single-season wins in school history and the 2019 College Basketball Invitational championship. 

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, appeared in the NIT eight times and won the 2019 College Basketball Invitational.

For tickets, contact the USF Ticket Office at 1-800-Go-Bulls or by going online to USFBullsTix.com.