Tampa, Fla. (March 5, 2024) – The No. 24-ranked Bulls extended the NCAA's longest, active winning streak to 15 games after an 85-72 victory against Tulane on Tuesday.
Chris Youngblood recorded a career-high 29 points in front of the third-straight sellout crowd of 10,354 in the Yuengling Center.
With the win, USF moved to 23-5 overall and 16-1 in AAC play, while Tulane moved to 13-16 overall and 4-13 in conference games.
The Bulls extended their winning streak to 14 conference games, extending the longest streak in program history. The 16 wins in conference play are the most in program history. The 15-game winning streak is the longest winning streak in program history. The 15-game winning streak is the longest active in the NCAA. It is the first time the Bulls have gone undefeated at home in conference play.
Prior to the game, the Bulls honored
Jose Placer,
Sam Hines Jr., and
Selton Miguel for senior day.
Tulane opened the game on a 7-3 run as the game reached the first media timeout. The Bulls picked up the intensity and outscored the Green Wave 15-10 over the next 4:30 of play. USF took an 18-17 lead with 11:12.
Jayden Reid knocked down a 3-pointer before the media timeout.
Selton Miguel and
Chris Youngblood drained back-to-back 3-points and forced a Tulane timeout. South Florida held a 29-24 lead with 7:04 left in the opening stanza.
Jaylen Forbes recorded three-straight 3-pointers for the Green Wave a 33-29 lead. Reid knocked down another 3-pointer for USF and cut the deficit to 33-32 with just under four minutes left until the break.
The Bulls closed out the half by outscoring the Green Wave 12-10. Miguel scored the final five points for South Florida, as USF took a 44-43 lead into the half.
Kobe Knox recorded back-to-back 3-pointers to start the second half for USF.
The Green Wave scored six unanswered and tied the game at 50-50 with 15:25 left in regulation.
The Bulls took a 61-60 lead with 11:21 left in the second half. Youngblood accounted for seven points and Miguel added four points to account for all 11 of the USF points during the previous stretch.
South Florida went on an 8-2 run and extended its lead to 69-62. During the run, Youngblood scored six of the eight points. Tulane answered with three unanswered points and cut the USF lead to 69-65 with 7:30 left in regulation.
The Bulls went on a 9-2 run to extend their lead to 78-67 with 3:33 left on the clock. South Florida held Tulane to no field goals for three minutes.
Jose Placer produced a highlight play after he spun away from a defender and drained a 3-pointer.
Kasean Pryor added a layup with 34 seconds left to play. Tulane added two free throws before time expired. The Bulls won their 15th-consecutive game with an 85-72 victory.
Youngblood led all scorers with a career-high 29 points. it was his 23rd game of the season in double digits and his seventh with 20 or more. He added five assists, three rebounds, and two steals. Pryor posted a 13-point performance to go along with a team-high five rebounds, two assists, and two steals. It was his 15th game in double digits. Miguel tallied his 24th game of the season in double figures with 12 points. He added two rebounds, two blocks, two steals, and one assist. Reid finished the night a perfect 3-for-3 from the field, all three were 3-pointers and added two free throws to round out the double-digit scorers with 11 points. He tied for a game-high six assists with four rebounds and one steal.
As a team, the Bulls shot a perfect 1.000 percent, 12-for-12, from the free-throw line. It was the 10th time in program history that USF was perfect from the free-throw line. The Bulls dominated the bench points 49-4. South Florida dished out 25 assists. The Bulls recorded 26 fastbreak points and 25 points off 17 Green Wave turnovers.
Forbes led Tulane with 24 points. He brought down four rebounds with two steals. Sion James added a 14-point performance with five rebounds, three assists, and one steal. Collin Holloway and Kevin Cross both finished with 14 points. Cross produced a game-high eight rebounds and tied for a game-high with six assists.
Notables
· South Florida played in front of its third-straight sellout crowd, with an attendance of 10,354.
·The Bulls extended their winning streak to 14 conference games, extending the longest streak in program history.
· It is the first time the Bulls have gone undefeated at home in conference play.
· The 16 wins in conference play are the most in program history.
· The 15-game winning streak is the longest winning streak in program history.
· The 15-game winning streak is the longest active streak in the NCAA.
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Chris Youngblood led all scorers with a career-high 29 points. it was his 23rd game of the season in double digits and his seventh with 20 or more. He added five assists, three rebounds, and two steals.
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Kasean Pryor posted a 13-point performance to go along with a team-high five rebounds, two assists, and two steals. It was his 15th game in double digits.
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Selton Miguel tallied his 24th game of the season in double figures with 12 points. He added two rebounds, two blocks, two steals, and one assist.
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Jayden Reid finished the night with a perfect 3-for-3 from the field, all three were 3-pointers and added two free throws to round out the double-digit scorers with 11 points. He tied for a game-high six assists with four rebounds and one steal.
Next Up
The Bulls close out the regular season on the road on Saturday, March 9. South Florida takes on Tulsa at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
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About USF Men's Basketball
The South Florida men's basketball team is led by Amir Abdur-Rahim, who was named the 11th head coach in program history on March 29, 2023. Abdur-Rahim was named the 2023 Mid-Major Coach of the Year (Hugh Durham Award) after leading Kennesaw State to its first-ever Division I NCAA Tournament berth in 2022-23. Abdur-Rahim's Kennesaw State team set an NCAA record as the fastest team to ever reach the NCAA Tournament after a one-win campaign, accomplishing the feat in a span of just three seasons. He was also named the 2022-23 NABC District 3 and ASUN Coach of the Year after leading Kennesaw State to both the regular season and tournament titles, and a school-record 26 wins.
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.
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