Bulls Begin League Play Wednesday at SMU

Matchup: USF (7-6, 0-0) vs. SMU (9-2, 0-0)
Date: 
Wednesday, January 1 (EST)
Time:
 5 p.m. 
Location: 
Dallas, Texas | Moody Coliseum
TV: 
ESPN3 (Mike Corey, Sean Harrington)
Radio: 
Bulls Unlimited (Jim Lighthall, Joey Johnston)

TAMPA, FLA., DEC. 31, 2019 – The USF men’s basketball team begins American Athletic Conference play Wednesday at 5 p.m. (EST) when the Bulls travel to Dallas, Texas, to take on SMU at Moody Coliseum. 

USF (7-6, 0-0) closed 2019 in style with a thrilling 60-58 come-from-behind win over Florida Atlantic on Sunday behind a career-high 18 points from sophomore guard Ezacuras Dawson III (Miami). In addition, Dawson scored 11 straight points for USF late in the second half to erase a seven-point deficit and put the Bulls in front by three. Dawson also added two rebounds, three assists and one steal and was named to The American Honor Roll on Monday.

Freshman forward B.J. Mack (Charlotte, N.C.) poured in a career-high 10 points and made two 3-pointers off the bench Sunday against the Owls. Junior Justin Brown (Atlanta) added nine points and hit a pair of three-pointers as USF tied a season-high with 10 treys. 

Junior guard David Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) paces the USF offense and ranks fifth in The American with 15.2 points per game. Collins enters play Wednesday needing 20 points to move into 17th place all-time at USF in scoring.

Senior guard Laquincy Rideau (West Palm Beach, Fla.) stands second on the team and 15th in the league with 12.8 points per game. The reigning AAC Defensive Player of the Year also ranks first in the league in steals (2.7 spg) and third in assists (4.2 apg) in his quest to lead the conference in both categories for the second straight year.

THE OPPONENT
SMU (9-2, 0-0) finished non-conference play Dec. 23 with an 85-76 victory over Georgia State that snapped a two-game losing streak. The Mustangs opened the season with eight consecutive wins before dropping back-to-back games against Georgetown and Georgia.

Junior forward Isiaha Mike leads SMU and ranks third in The American with 16.2 points per game while also standing sixth in the league with 7.9 rebounds per game. Newcomer Tyson Jolly averages 14.2 points per game and is fourth in the league in scoring, and his 7.0 rebounds per game are good for 11th in The American. 

NOTABLE
• USF and SMU will meet for the 16th time in history when the two schools battle on Wendesday. 
• USF’s last three games have been decided by a total of 10 points and an average of 3.3 points per game. 
• USF ranks 52nd in the NCAA with 8.6 steals per game and has at least eight in nine of 12 games this season.
• David Collins has made 335 career free throws and ranks third all-time in school history.
• USF ranks 34th in the NCAA in turnovers forced with 17.2 per game.
• Laquincy Rideau ranks eighth in the NCAA with 2.7 steals per game.   
• USF is 15-4 since the start of last season when Justin Brown scores in double figures. 
• USF ranks 27th in the NCAA in scoring defense by allowing just 61.1 points per game. 
• David Collins is shooting 57.4 percent (27-for-47) from the field over his last five games. 
• USF has held 12 of its 13 opponents under their season scoring average.  
• Antun Maricevic is shooting 90.0 percent (9-for-10) and averaging 6.5 points per game over the last five games.
• David Collins ranks 18th all-time at USF in scoring with 1,038 career points.

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 10th 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 nearly 250 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.

To stay up-to-date on the latest USF men’s’ basketball news, follow the Bulls on social media (Twitter | Facebook | Instagram).

For tickets, contact the USF Ticket Office at 1-800-Go-Bulls or by going online to USFBullsTix.com.

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