GAMEDAY INFORMATION

University of South Florida (10-13, 3-7 AAC) vs. Memphis (17-6, 7-3 AAC)

Wednesday, February 8 | 7 p.m.  

VENUE: Yuengling Center | Tampa, Fla.

SERIES: Memphis leads, 31-7

TV: ESPN+

RADIO: 102.5 HD-2 The Strike | Bulls Unlimited

LIVE STATS: Here

TWITTER UPDATES: @USFMBB

GAME NOTES: View

 

When it comes to his former team, the Memphis Tigers, USF senior point guard Tyler Harris has a laser-focused point of view.

 "I just want to win,'' Harris said. "I want to beat those guys.''

 Wednesday night at the Yuengling Center, when Memphis (17-6, 7-3 American Athletic Conference) faces the USF Bulls (10-13, 3-7), Harris gets another opportunity.

 Back on Dec. 29, at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, the Tigers rallied past the Bulls 93-86. USF led by 10 (57-47) with 11:47 remaining and seven (81-74) with 4:21 to play, but the Tigers roared to a 19-5 game-closing run.

 Harris, who transferred to the Bulls for his final season, had all 17 of his points in the second half, but also committed eight of USF's 20 turnovers.

 With three made 3-pointers, Harris can set the AAC career record for treys (265 by UConn's Christian Vital, 2016-20) and that doesn't count his 39 made 3-pointers for Iowa State during the 2020-21 season. He also needs 19 to set USF's single-season mark (88 by Derrick Sharp, 1991-92).

Since opening the season at 0-for-15 from long range, Harris has been downright trey-mendous for the Bulls.

"Tyler was very amped up the first time around against Memphis, but any time you play your hometown team, no matter where you play them, there's going to be an emotional side to it,'' USF coach Brian Gregory said. "I think he has improved as a player since that first game. I'm not one to take emotions out of the game, but they have to be directed properly and I think they will be.

"No question, Tyler means a lot to us. As he has learned our offensive system, he has gotten a greater variety of shots. When he connects (from long range), it counts as three points, but it feels like a lot more. When the first one goes through, you almost expect the second and third one to go through pretty quickly. It's tangible. You can feel it.''

No one realizes that more than Harris' former teammates at Memphis.

"We've got to make sure we're aware of where he is at all times on the floor,'' Tigers forward DeAndre Williams said. "He can get hot at any moment.''

"Tyler is a prideful guy and a really good player,'' Memphis coach Penny Hardaway said before the first Tigers-Bulls meeting.

Memphis had been on a major roll, but its five-game winning streak was halted Saturday at home in a 90-89 overtime defeat against Tulane.

USF, coming off a 71-63 home win against East Carolina, is accustomed to close games. It has six AAC defeats by a combined total of 26 points.

Wednesday night's game will also feature recognition for USF great Radenko Dobras (No. 31), one of three Bulls men's basketball players to have a retired jersey. Charlie Bradley (No. 30) will be honored at the Feb. 18 Tulane-USF game and Chucky Atkins (No. 12) will be honored at the Feb. 25 SMU-USF game.

 

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, who enters his sixth season in 2022-23. Gregory was introduced as the 10th head coach in program history in March of 2017 after previously leading 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 with Dayton. 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 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.

– #GoBulls –