Matchup: USF (8-10, 1-4) vs. Wichita State (15-3, 3-2)
Date: Tuesday, Jan. 21
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Tampa, Fla. | Yuengling Center
TV: ESPNEWS (Mike Corey, Sean Harrington)
Radio: Bulls Unlimited (Jim Lighthall, Joey Johnston)
TAMPA, FLA., JAN. 20, 2020 – The USF men’s basketball team plays its final home game in month of January on Tuesday at 7 p.m. when the Bulls welcome Wichita State to the Yuengling Center for a matchup broadcast live on ESPNEWS.
The Coaches vs. Cancer program is a nationwide collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches. This initiative leverages the personal experiences, community leadership and professional excellence of coaches nationwide to increase cancer awareness and promote healthy living through year-round awareness efforts, fundraising activities and advocacy programs. Since 1993, coaches have raised over $100 million for the American Cancer Society.
Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Week is a nationwide event when basketball coaches across the country unite for a common cause – saving lives from cancer! Coaches and their staff across the nation wear sneakers with their suits during games to raise awareness and help save lives from cancer by raising funds and encouraging people to educate themselves about cancer prevention, screening, and early detection.
Fans are also encouraged to bring a teddy bear to the game and participate in a teddy bear toss at halftime to win great prizes. Teddy bears can also be purchased for $5 at gate A prior to the start of the game. All teddy bears collected will go to the USF Health Pediatric Center at Tampa General Hospital.
USF (8-10, 1-4) suffered a heartbreaking 55-54 loss Saturday at UCF in the first round of the War On I-4. USF led by five points with just over two minutes remaining after a three-pointer from junior guard Justin Brown, but UCF closed on a 6-0 run on used three free throws from Dazon Ingram to rally for the victory.
Sophomore guard Michael Durr (Atlanta) scored a game-high 11 points, grabbed five rebounds and was 5-for-6 from the field. Durr leads USF with 6.3 rebounds per game and is shooting 66.7 percent from the field over his last four games.
Junior David Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) scored eight points Saturday against the Knights and moved into 16th place all-time at USF with 1,106 career points. Overall, Collins leads USF and ranks seventh in The American with 14.7 points per game.
Senior guard Laquincy Rideau stands second on the team with 12.7 points per game while standing first in The American in steals (2.6 spg) and fourth in assists (4.4 apg). Rideau is looking to become only the second player in league history to lead the conference in steals in consecutive seasons.
THE OPPONENT
Wichita State (15-3, 3-2) opened the season winners of 15 of their first 16 games before losing two in a row last week in league play. The Shockers were defeated 65-53 Wednesday at Temple and 65-54 Saturday at home by Houston. Despite being held to fewer than 60 points in both games, Wichita State ranks fourth in The American with 74.9 points per game and in scoring defense by limiting teams to 64.0 points per game.
Sophomore guard Erik Stevenson paces the Wichita State offense with 12.9 points per game to go along with a team-best 32 steals, while sophomore guard Jamarius Burton adds 11.2 points per game and is shooting 43.2 percent from three-point range. Senior forward Jaime Echenique also scores in double figures with 10.8 points per game and is second on the team with 5.8 rebounds per game.
QUOTABLE
“Wichita State is coming off two tough losses, but they are still a top 25 team. They are still very, very talented and are really deep. They’ve got a good mix of some older guys and some new guys. We’ve got to do a great job defensively on them because they can score inside and outside. It’s going to by a physical battle just like the last two times that we’ve played them.” — USF Head Coach Brian Gregory
NOTABLE
• USF is 1-1 against Wichita State in the all-time series that dates back to the 2017-18 season.
• USF’s last three games have been decided by an average of 2.7 points per game.
• USF has played eight games this season decided by 10 points or less.
• USF ranks 31st in the NCAA with 8.9 steals per game and has at least eight in 13 of 18 games this season.
• David Collins has made 360 career free throws and ranks third all-time in school history.
• USF ranks 21st in the NCAA in turnovers forced with 17.1 per game.
• Laquincy Rideau ranks eighth in the NCAA with 2.6 steals per game.
• USF is 15-4 since the start of last season when Justin Brown scores in double figures.
• USF ranks 41st in the NCAA in scoring defense by allowing just 62.3 points per game.
• USF has held 16 of its 18 opponents under their season scoring average.
• David Collins ranks 16th all-time at USF in scoring with 1,106 career points.
• Justin Brown has made the 10th-most career three-pointers in school history with 132.
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 –
