USF Athletics

Bulls Face Temple Thursday in AAC Tournament First Round

March 10, 2021

Story Links

• Game Notes

Matchup: USF (8-12, 4-10) vs. Temple (5-10, 4-10)
Date: Thursday, March 11
Time: 12 p.m. (EST)
Location: Fort Worth, Texas | Dickies Arena
TV: ESPNU (Mike Corey, Mark Adams)
Radio: Bulls Unlimited (Jim Lighthall)
Follow: Listen | Watch | Live Stats | Twitter

TAMPA, FLA., MARCH 10, 2021 – The USF men's basketball team begins its quest for an American Athletic Conference championship Thursday at noon when the eighth-seeded Bulls face No. 9 Temple in the opening round of the conference tournament at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.

The winner moves on to play top-seeded Wichita State Friday at noon in the quarterfinals.

USF ended the regular season Saturday against Wichita State and fell 80-63 to the Shockers. Junior center Michael Durr (Atlanta, Ga.) scored a career-high 18 points and added nine rebounds for the Bulls. Durr also sunk a career-best two three-pointers and was 4-for-4 from the free throw line.

Junior Prince Oduro (Toronto, Ontario) added eighth points, five rebounds and two blocks off the bench.

USF senior guard David Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) paces the offense with 12.2 points per game while shooting 42.8 percent from the field and 38.6 from three-point range. Junior Alexis Yetna (Paris, France) adds 9.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, while Durr tops USF and ranks fourth in the conference with 7.3 rebounds per game.

USF AND TEMPLE
USF and Temple will meet on the hardwood for the 17th time in school history when the two teams battle on Thursday. The Owls own a 12-4 lead in the all-time series that dates back to the 2011-12 season. USF is 0-1 all-time in the AAC Tournament against Temple, as the Owls posted a 79-62 win in 2016 in Orlando. USF and Temple met twice already this season with each team winning on the other's team home floor. In the most recent game, Temple turned in a 65-47 win in Tampa behind 22 points, six rebounds and four assists from Khalif Battle. Justin Brown led USF with 16 points and six rebounds. 

USF AND THE AAC TOURNAMENT
USF enters play Thursday against Temple with a 1-6 all-time record in games played in the American Athletic Conference Tournament. The Bulls only win in tournament play came in 2016 when USF defeated East Carolina 71-66 in the opening round in Hartford, Conn. Last season, USF was the No. 9 seed and was scheduled to play rival and eighth-seeded UCF in the first round. The Bulls and Knights arrived at the Dickies Arena for warm-ups and were informed the tournament had been canceled due to Covid-19. The last time USF played at the conference tournament, the Bulls fell, 80-73, to UConn in the first round in Memphis despite 19 points and seven assists from Laquincy Rideau. USF will open play Thursday with its highest seed ever in the AAC Tournament.

WHEN THE LIGHTS GET BRIGHT
USF senior guard David Collins has enjoyed a great deal of success when playing in the American Athletic Conference Tournament. In fact, Collins enters play Thursday against Temple averaging 22.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game in two career games in the tournament. In addition, Collins is also shooting 60.7 percent (17-for-28) from the field and 57.1 percent (4-for-7) from three-point range in tournament play.

DIAPER DANDY
USF point guard Caleb Murphy earned a spot on The American All-Freshman Team on Wednesday after a season that saw the rookie average 8.8 points and 2.8 assists per game. Murphy started 18 of the 19 games he appeared in and turned in eight games of double digits, which included scoring 20 points earlier this season at Memphis. Murphy becomes the xx player in school history named to the league's All-Freshman team, joining David Collins (2018), John Egbunu (2014), Jahmal McMurray (2016) Chris Perry (2014) and Alexis Yetna (2019). 

SIX MORE TO GO
USF senior guard David Collins enters play Thursday against Temple needing six more rebounds to reach 400 for his career. Should Collins grab six boards against the Owls, he would become the only player in school history to have at 1,500 points, 400 rebounds, 300 assists and 150 steals in a career. Collins currently has 1,510 points, 394 rebounds, 304 assists and 184 steals in his four years with the Bulls. 

PERFECTING HIS CRAFT
USF junior center Michael Durr made all four of his free throw attempts on Saturday against Wichita State and is now shooting 78.8 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 78.8 percent. In addition, Durr ranks eighth in The American in free throw percentage.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
USF senior guard Justin Brown played in his 121st career game for the Bulls on Saturday against Wichita State. Brown enters play Thursday against Temple tied fourth all-time at USF in games played. Should Brown play against the Owls, he will move in to a tie for third all-time at USF. Fellow senior David Collins has played in 114 career games and will move into ninth place should he play on Thursday against the Owls.

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.