HOUSTON, Texas, – Feb. 22, 2026 – Twenty victories. It has always represented a meaningful basketball milestone.
The South Florida men's basketball team (19-8, 11-3 American Conference) can get there for the seventh time in program history — on Feb. 25, no less — by defeating the Rice Owls (11-16, 5-9) on Wednesday night at Tudor Fieldhouse. But that's only part of USF's record-smashing season.
Winning at Rice would be USF's eighth road victory, tying the program record set in 2023-24 (and setting up a potential record-breaking No. 9 road victory at Memphis on March 5).
Beating the Owls means the Bulls coould clinch at least a share of the American Conference regular-season title by defeating Tulane at home on Sunday afternoon.
If the league-leading USF offense (averaging 88.7 points per game) does its thing against Rice's defense (ranked 10th in the American, allowing 74.9 points), the Bulls will continue their seemingly inevitable march toward becoming the highest-scoring team in the program's 55-season history (eclipsing the 83.8 mark set by USF's first varsity team in 1971-72).
The Bulls are shooting for their sixth consecutive victory in conference play, which would tie for the second-best streak in program history.
That's a lot of potential accomplishments in what has become a magical season. When you figure in the schedule-maker's degree of difficulty, it looks even more impressive.
South Florida, under first-year head coach Bryan Hodgson, was picked second (behind Memphis) in the American Conference's preseason poll. The league, seeking premier matchups, assigned a rigorous conference schedule to USF. The Bulls have withstood home-and-home meetings against expected contenders such as Tulsa, Wichita State, UAB, Tulane, Memphis and Florida Atlantic, while getting just one crack at each of the American's three cellar-dwellers (combined 10-33 league record).
There were also non-conference road games at Oklahoma State and Alabama, along with a trip to the Battle for Atlantis tournament.
"We wouldn't have it any other way,'' Hodgson said. "We believe in playing challenging games — both in the conference and non-conference — because that gets you ready for March. To be the best, you've got to play the best.''
Hodgson didn't hesitate in establishing his priorities — all gas, no brakes, anyone? — while building on the foundation set by Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim's 2023-24 squad (USF's only regular-season conference champion in men's basketball — so far).
Hodgson's Bulls have embraced tradition.
They have respected sentimentality.
And yet they have also embarked on an entirely new record-setting path, setting standards that once seemed unimaginable.
"Every team has its own story,'' Hodgson said.
At the same time, Hodgson said he believes that Abdur-Rahim laid a solid foundation for the Bulls to build upon. If you combine the work of the 2023-24 team and the current squad, that's an overall 44-16 mark, including 27 victories in 32 regular-season conference games (and those five league defeats by a ridiculous combined 15 points, two in overtime).
That's a universe unexplored by any other era of USF basketball.
Each day, Hodgson wears his green "Love Wins'' rubber bracelet, a tribute to the enduring philosophy of Abdur-Rahim, who died on Oct. 24, 2024. Each day, when Hodgson reads his morning devotional, he sometimes feels that "Coach Amir has given the Lord the words I need to hear that day … because he sat in this exact seat and knows exactly what I need to hear.''
"I've said multiple times that I walked into a rock-solid foundation laid by an unbelievable man,'' Hodgson said. "I honestly can tell you that I show up to this office every day with the intentions of making him proud of a program that he built.''
Hodgson and Abdur-Rahim had a cordial relationship that was forged as competitors on the recruiting trail. After Hodgson finished his first head-coaching season at Arkansas State, which coincided with Abdur-Rahim's only season at USF, he had a memorable interaction during the 2024 Final Four at Glendale, Ariz.
"I was walking down the street in downtown Phoenix and I remember feeling his hand on my shoulder,'' Hodgson said. "I remember being completely surprised when I turned around and it was him (Abdur-Rahim). We just walked together for about two blocks, stood at a red light together and waited for traffic to go by.
"The entire time, it was him telling me that he was proud of me. He told me I did a great job in my first year as a head coach. It was honestly what I needed to hear in that moment. There's a lot of pressure that came with following Coach Amir (at USF), but it's also a privilege. It truly is. I didn't want to rebuild anything. I wanted to do this in a way to honor him and I hope that we're doing that.''
With proper respect paid to Abdur-Rahim's foundation, Hodgson's Bulls are forging their own path by shooting for unprecedented accomplishments in the program's history.
Twenty victories? If the Bulls defeat Rice, it's another nice milestone.
But considering USF's ambitions, with March looming, it's probably just the start of many accomplishments that will give the 2025-26 Bulls a distinctive chapter in the program's history book.
Tickets:
Men's basketball single-game and season tickets can be purchased by calling 1-800-Go-Bulls or by visiting USFBullsTix.com.
Can't Make a Game? Don't Let Your Tickets Go Unused:
Season Ticket Members who are unable to attend a game have options to ensure their tickets are put to good use. Tickets can be easily transferred to friends or family, or donated to a fan in need. Click here for step-by-step instructions on how to transfer your tickets, or Click here for instructions on how to donate them.
Follow us:
Follow South Florida men's basketball on Facebook, X, and Instagram.
About USF Men's Basketball
South Florida men's basketball named Bryan Hodgson, 37, as the program's 12th head coach on March 24, 2025. Hodgson came to Tampa from Arkansas State, where he led the program to back-to-back 20-win seasons and its first postseason appearance since 1999 in his two seasons at the helm.
The program, entering its 55th season in 2025-26, most recently won the American Athletic Conference regular season championship in 2023-24 and has made 13 postseason appearances, including three NCAA Tournaments, nine NITs, and a CBI championship in 2019. Three former Bulls – Chucky Atkins, Charlie Bradley, and Rodenko Dobras – have had their jerseys retired and are members of the USF Athletic Hall of Fame. The Bulls play their home games at the 10,400-seat Yuengling Center on the USF Tampa campus.
– #GoBulls –
