TAMPA, FLA., DEC. 16, 2019 – The USF men’s basketball team takes to the road for the first time in the month of December when the Bulls travel to Houston, Texas, to take on Utah State Wednesday at 7:45 p.m. (EST) in the second game of the Battleground 2k19 at the Toyota Center.
USF (6-4) won its third straight game after turning in an 81-61 victory over Drexel on Sunday at the Yuengling Center. Junior guard David Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) scored a game-high 23 points and became the 20th player in school history with 1,000 career points. Collins, who has 17 career games of at least 20 points, leads USF and ranks fifth in The American with 15.3 points per game.
Senior guard Laquincy Rideau (West Palm Beach, Fla.) added 19 points, six assists and three steals in the win over Drexel and stands second on the team and 16th in the league with 13.2 points per game. Rideau is also second in the conference with 2.8 steals per game and fourth with 3.8 assists per game.
Junior Justin Brown (Atlanta) has made a team-high 19 three-pointers and ranks third on the team in scoring (8.8 ppg) and second in rebounding (5.1 rpg.) Sophomore forward Michael Durr (Atlanta) paces the team with 6.2 rebounds per game.
THE OPPONENT
Utah State (10-2) saw its three-game winning streak come to an end on Saturday with a 68-64 loss at BYU. Despite the setback, Utah State averages 79.8 points per game and ranks seventh in the NCAA in scoring margin with an average margin of victory of 18.8 points per game.
Senior guard Sam Merrill paces the Utah State offense and ranks fifth in the Mountain West with 17.1 points per game, while sophomore forward Justin Bean adds a double-double with 14.2 points and 11.8 rebounds per game.
QUOTABLE
“Utah State is really good and they don’t beat themselves. They’re huge. It’s really hard to score around the basket against them. Offensively, they can play over the top of you, and Merrill is just such a dynamic scorer for them. We scheduled this game with the idea that we’d be playing a top 25 team at a neutral site, and I know they lost a tough one on Saturday, but at the end of the year they are gonna be there ranked in the top 25.” – Head Coach Brian Gregory
NOTABLE
• USF and Utah State will meet for only the second time in history when the two battle on Wednesday.
• USF is 1-6 all-time against schools currently in the Mountain West Conference.
• USF ranks 37th in the NCAA with 9.1 steals per game and has at least nine in seven of 10 games this season.
• David Collins has made 328 career free throws and ranks fourth all-time in school history.
• USF ranks 23rd in the NCAA in turnovers forced with 17.9 per game.
• Laquincy Rideau ranks ninth in the NCAA with 2.8 steals per game.
• USF is 15-4 since the start of last season when Justin Brown scores in double figures.
• USF ranks 24th in the NCAA in scoring defense by allowing just 59.4 points per game.
• USF has won seven straight games in the month of December and has won by an average of 15.7 points per game.
• Antun Maricevic has made seven consecutive field goals and leads USF with a .650 field goal percentage.
• David Collins is shooting 63.0 percent (17-for-27) from the field over his last three games.
• USF has held nine of its 10 opponents under their season scoring average.
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.
– #GoBulls –
