Matchup: USF (11-16, 4-10) vs. East Carolina (11-17, 5-10)
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 25
Time: 7 p.m. (EST)
Location: Tampa, Fla. | Yuengling Center
TV: ESPN3 (Drew Fellios, Mike O’Donnell)
Radio: Bulls Unlimited (Jim Lighthall, Joey Johnson)
TAMPA, FLA., FEB. 25, 2020 – The USF men’s basketball team makes its return to the Yuengling Center Wednesday at 7 p.m. when the Bulls host East Carolina to close out the month of February.
USF will also celebrate black culture with new Adidas shoes and shooting shirts to celebrate and honor the Tuskegee Airmen, the first black military aviators in the United States Army Air Corps, a precursor of the United States Air Force. Trained at the Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama, the Tuskegee Airmen flew more than 15,000 individual sorties in Europe and North Africa during World War II.
USF (11-16, 4-10) received a career-high 22 points to go along with six rebounds from junior Justin Brown (Atlanta) on Sunday at UConn. Overall, Brown is averaging 8.5 points and 5.1 rebounds per game while connecting on a team-high 45 three-pointers. In addition, Brown is shooting 44.4 percent from beyond the arc over his last four games.
Junior David Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) added 18 points against the Huskies and moved into 10th place on the USF all-time scoring list with 1,220 career points. Collins leads USF and ranks 10th in The American with 14.0 points per game. Collins has also attempted the 19th-most free throws in the NCAA with 179 and has the most career attempts in AAC history with 585.
Senior guard Laquincy Rideau (West Palm Beach, Fla.) turned in another outstanding game with 12 points, four rebounds, five assists and three steals Sunday against UConn. Rideau is second on the team with 12.7 points per game and 10th in the NCAA with 2.4 steals per game. His three steals Sunday at UConn gave him 166 during his two years at USF, which ranks him third all-time in AAC history.
THE OPPONENT
East Carolina (11-17, 5-10) snapped a three-game losing streak Sunday with a 67-63 home victory against Temple. The Pirates, however, are just 1-9 on the road this season and have lost five of those contests by double figures.
Sophomore forward Jayden Gardner leads East Carolina and ranks first in The American with 20.2 points per game. Gardner also stands first on the team and third in the conference with 9.6 rebounds per game. Freshman guard Tristen Newton also scores in double figures for the Pirates with 10.2 points per game to go along with a team-best 105 assists.
NOTABLE
• USF is 10-9 against East Carolina in the all-time series that dates back to the 2002-03 season.
• USF head coach Brian Gregory is seven wins away from 300 career victories.
• Justin Brown is shooting 44.4 percent from three-point range over the last four games.
• David Collins has made 405 career free throws and ranks third all-time in school history and second in AAC history.
• Laquincy Rideau ranks 10th in the NCAA with 2.4 steals per game and has the ninth-most in the nation with 65.
• Laquincy Rideau has the third-most career steals of any player in American Athletic Conference history with 166.
• USF is 17-6 since the start of last season when Justin Brown scores in double figures.
• USF ranks 16th in the NCAA in scoring defense by allowing just 62.2 points per game.
• USF has held 24 of its 27 opponents under their season scoring average.
• David Collins ranks 10th all-time at USF in scoring with 1,220 career points.
• Justin Brown has made the ninth-most career three-pointers in school history with 145.
• Ezacuras Dawson III ranks fourth in The American with a .405 three-point percentage.
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 300 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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