USF Athletics

Bulls Close February Sunday at No. 10 Houston

February 27, 2021

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• Game Notes

Matchup: USF (8-9, 4-7) vs. Houston (19-3, 12-3)
Date: Sunday, Feb. 28
Time: 4 p.m.
Location: Houston, Texas | Fertitta Center
TV: ESPNU (Matt Schick, Robbie Hummel)
Radio: Bulls Unlimited (Jim Lighthall, Joey Johnston)
Follow: Listen | Watch | Live Stats | Twitter

TAMPA, FLA., FEB. 27, 2021 – The USF men's basketball team puts the finishing touches on the month of February Sunday at 4 p.m. when the Bulls travel to Houston, Texas, to face the 10th-ranked Cougars at the Fertitta Center.

USF enters the weekend coming off a 65-47 setback on Temple on Wednesday at the Yuengling Center. Senior Justin Brown (Atlanta, Ga.) scored a team-high 16 points to go along with six rebounds and a career-high three steals.

David Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) added 13 points and moved into seventh place on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,481 career points. Collins leads USF and ranks 14th in The American with 12.6 points per game.

USF AND HOUSTON
USF and Houston will meet on the hardwood for the 34th time in school history when the two teams battle on Sunday. The Cougars own an 21-12 lead and have won eight straight in the all-time series that dates back to the 1976-77 season. USF has not defeated the Cougars since winning 71-62 on Jan. 23, 2016 in Houston. In the most recent match-up, Houston won 82-65 in Feb. 10 in Tampa behind 29 points and four rebounds from Quentin Grimes. USF senior David Collins led the Bulls with 18 points, five rebounds and four assists.

PULLING RANK
USF enters play Sunday against No. 10 Houston in search of its first win over a team ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 in the last nine seasons. USF has not defeated an AP ranked team since the Bulls took down No. 19 Louisville 58-51 on Feb. 29, 2012 at the KFC Yum! Center. In addition, USF has not defeated a top 10 ranked team since winning 72-64 at No. 7 Georgetown in 2010. Overall, USF has lost 31 straight games against ranked opponents following its 82-65 setback to then-No. 7 Houston earlier this season.

TWO OF THE TOP THREE
Sunday's game between Houston and USF will feature two of the top three rebounding teams in the American Athletic Conference. In fact, Houston enters play with the top rebounding margin in the league, as the Cougars average 9.4 more rebounds per game than their opponents. USF stands third in the conference in rebounding margin, averaging 5.3 more rebounds per game than its opponents.

PERFECTING HIS CRAFT
USF junior center Michael Durr made both of his free throw attempts on Wednesday against Temple and is now shooting 77.1 percent from the charity stripe. Durr has consistently improved his free throw percentage each year and his turned himself into one of the Bulls' most reliable free throw shooters. Durr shot 53.6 percent from the stripe as a freshman, 63.3 percent as a junior and now ranks third on the team as a junior with his current percentage of 77.1 percent.

JUSTIN BROWN FROM DOWN TOWN
USF senior guard Justin Brown his four of his eight three-pointers on Wednesday against Temple and enters play Sunday against Houston on fire from beyond the arc. In fact, Brown is shooting 46.2 percent (6-for-13) from down town over his last three games. Overall, Brown shoots 38.4 percent from three-point range and ranks ninth in The American.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
USF senior guard Justin Brown played in his 118th career game for the Bulls on Wednesday against Temple. Brown enters play Sunday against Houston ranked sixth all-time at USF in games played and will move into a tie for fourth place should he appear in the game. Should Brown play in every game remaining in the regular season and at least one conference tournament game, he will finish his career with 122 career games played and will rank third all-time at USF. Fellow senior David Collins has played in 111 career games and needs three more to move into the top 10.

ONE MORE TO GO
USF picked up its third league road win of the year last Sunday when the Bulls turned in an 83-76 victory at Temple. The Bulls enter play Sunday at Houston needing one more road win to register the most road wins in conference play since joining The American prior to the 2013-14 season. The Bulls have now won three AAC road games in four different seasons.

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. 

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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.