USF Athletics

Bulls Host Memphis Tuesday on Senior Night

March 01, 2021

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• Game Notes

Matchup: USF (8-10, 4-8) vs. Memphis (14-6, 10-3)
Date: Tuesday, March 2
Time: 9 p.m.
Location: Tampa, Fla. | Yuengling Center
TV: ESPNU (John Schriffen, Brooke Weisbrod)
Radio: Bulls Unlimited (Jim Lighthall, Joey Johnston)
Follow: Listen | Watch | Live Stats | Twitter

TAMPA, FLA., MARCH 2, 2021 – The USF men's basketball team plays its final home game of the season Tuesday at 9 p.m. when the Bulls welcome Memphis to the Yuengling Center on Senior Night.

The game will serve as the second act of a doubleheader with the USF women's team, which hosts UCF at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN+. The women's squad can win the American Athletic Conference championship with a victory over the Knights.

USF enters the week coming off a setback at No. 10 Houston that saw junior guard Xavier Castaneda (Chicago, Ill.) score a team-high 11 points to go along with a career-high seven rebounds. Castaneda also made a pair of treys and stands third in the league with a .432 three-point field goal percentage.

USF AND MEMPHIS
USF and Memphis will meet on the hardwood for the 36th time in school history when the two teams battle on Tuesday. The Tigers own an 28-7 lead in the all-time series that dates back to the 1972-73 season. In the most recent match-up, Memphis responded from 12 down midway through the second half to register a 58-57 earlier this season at the FedEx Forum. Freshman Caleb Murphy scored a career-high 20 points for USF and Justin Brown added 11 points. Lester Quinones paced Memphis with 13 points. 

TWO OF THE TOP THREE
Tuesday's game between Memphis and USF will feature two of the top three rebounding teams in the American Athletic Conference. In fact, Memphis enters play with the second-best rebounding margin in the league, as the Tigers average 7.4 more rebounds per game than their opponents. USF stands third in the conference in rebounding margin, averaging 4.7 more rebounds per game than its opponents.

PERFECTING HIS CRAFT
USF junior center Michael Durr made both of his free throw attempts on Feb. 24 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 made two of his six three-pointers on Sunday against Houston and enters play Tuesday against Memphis on fire from beyond the arc. In fact, Brown is shooting 42.1 percent (8-for-19) from down town over his last four games. Overall, Brown shoots 38.0 percent from three-point range and ranks 12th in The American.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
USF senior guard Justin Brown played in his 119th career game for the Bulls on Sunday against Houston. Brown enters play Tuesday against Memphis tied for fourth all-time at USF in games played and will move into sole possession of 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 112 career games and needs two more to move into the top 10.

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. 

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.