BULLS DEFEAT NO. 9/10 DUKE
The South Florida Bulls earned a dominant win over No. 9/10 Duke on Saturday, defeating the Blue Devils 65-56. It marked the first Top 10 win for the Bulls since 2021 (No. 7/7 Stanford) and the first ranked win for South Florida since 2022 (No. 17/19 Arkansas). It also marks head coach Jose Fernandez’s 20th ranked win.
PUISIS NAMED ONE OF USBWA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK; HONORABLE MENTION AP PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Following her impressive performance in the win over No. 9/10 Duke, South Florida graduate guard Sammie Puisis was named one of the five USBWA Player of the Week. Puisis scored 23 points in the win, going 3-for-3 from behind the arc and 8-for-8 from the charity stripe. She is the third American player to earn the honor this season. She also earned honorable mention honors for the AP Player of the Week.
CONFERENCE PLAY COMMENCES
With non-conference play officially wrapped up, American Athletic Conference action will begin on Sunday, December 29 with six games on the slate. South Florida will travel to Rice to kick things off at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Other games include UTSA at Charlotte (2 p.m. ET), Tulane at Florida Atlantic (2 p.m. ET), North Texas at Wichita State (2 p.m. ET), East Carolina at Tulsa (3 p.m. ET) and Temple at UAB (3 p.m. ET)
NON-CONFERENCE RECORDS
As teams enter conference play, it appears the battle for the top will be no different from the past as nine of the 13 teams in the conference end non-conference play with a winning record. UAB, East Carolina and UTSA all enter conference play undefeated at home with a combined 15-0 record on their home court.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 29
South Florida at Rice (ESPN2)_______________________ 1 p.m.
UTSA at Charlotte (ESPN+)__________________________ 2 p.m.
Tulane at Florida Atlantic (ESPN+)___________________ 2 p.m.
North Texas at Wichita State (ESPN+)________________ 2 p.m.
East Carolina at Tulsa (ESPN+)______________________ 3 p.m.
Temple at UAB (ESPN+)_____________________________ 3 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 1
Rice at Tulane (ESPN+)______________________________ 3 p.m.
East Carolina at Temple (ESPN+)_____________________ 4 p.m.
Wichita State at Memphis (ESPN+)__________________ 4 p.m.
Tulsa at North Texas (ESPN+)________________________ 5 p.m.
Charlotte at South Florida (ESPN+)__________________ 7 p.m.
UAB at UTSA (ESPN+)_______________________________ 7:30 p.m.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 4
Florida Atlantic at East Carolina (ESPN+)_____________ 1 p.m.
North Texas at Memphis (ESPN+)____________________ 3 p.m.
UTSA at Tulsa (ESPN+)______________________________ 3 p.m.
Tulane at Charlotte (ESPN+)_________________________ 4 p.m.
Wichita State at UAB (ESPN+)_______________________ 6 p.m.
Temple at South Florida (ESPN+)_____________________ 7 p.m.
All times Eastern and subject to change
