Matchup: USF (0-0) vs. Saint Leo (0-0)
Date: Tuesday, October 29
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Tampa, Fla. | Yuengling Center
TV: BullsVision (Jim Louk)
Radio: Bulls Unlimited (Jim Lighthall, Joey Johnston)
Follow: Listen | Watch | Live Stats | Twitter
TAMPA, OCT. 28, 2019 – The USF men’s basketball team makes its 2019-20 debut Tuesday at 7 p.m. when the Bulls welcome Saint Leo to the Yuengling Center for an exhibition game broadcast live on BullsVision. Admission and parking are both free.
USF returns all five starters from last year’s squad that won a school-record 24 games and captured the 2019 College Basketball Invitational (CBI) championship after defeating DePaul in the best-of-three series. Overall, USF returns 92.4 percent of its scoring, 94.6 percent of its rebounding and 90.3 percent of its minutes. Additionally, the Bulls will have the services of Oklahoma State transfer Ezacuras Dawson III (Miami) and Madut Akec (Bradenton, Fla.), both of whom sat out last season.
Leading scoring David Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) is back after a sophomore season that saw him rank 12th in The American with 15.9 points per game on his way to earning a spot on the All-AAC Third Team. Collins poured in 587 points last season to finish with the ninth-most points scored in a single season in league history. He also made 206 free throws to record the second-most in conference history. In addition, Collins was fourth in The American with 2.1 steals per game and was named the CBI MVP. Earlier this month, Collins was tabbed to the league’s preseason second team.
Redshirt senior Laquincy Rideau (West Palm Beach, Fla.) was the 2019 American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year and gives USF one of the top backcourts in the league. Rideau paced the league with 2.9 steals per game on his way to becoming the first player in school history to win a defensive player of the year award. Rideau registered 101 steals and finished the year with the fourth-most of any player in the NCAA and the most single-season steals in conference history. He also led the league with 5.4 assists per game and became the first player in league history to pace The American in both steals in assists. Additionally, Rideau was one of only three players in the NCAA with 100 assists and 100 steals. He also scored 13.4 points per game and was selected to the All-AAC Preseason First Team.
Redshirt sophomore Alexis Yetna (Paris) was tabbed the 2019 American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year after finishing the season tops in the league in rebounding with 9.6 per game and pulling down a single-season league record 346 boards. He also paced the conference with 3.3 offensive rebounds per game and featured three games with at least 16 rebounds. Yetna also added 12.3 points per game and paced the conference with 15 double-doubles. Yetna became just the second freshman of the year in school history and first since Jorge Azcoitia was named the 1979 Sun Belt Freshman of the Year. Yetna was also named to the AAC Preseason All-Conference Second Team and is one of only 20 players selected to the Karl Malone Award Watch List.
THE OPPONENT
Saint Leo featured a 13-16 overall record and a 10-10 mark in league play last season before falling to Florida Southern in the Sunshine State Conference Championship. Senior Kyran McClure paced the Lions last season with 17.1 points per game to go along with 93 assists and 35 steals. McClure also connected on a team-best 66 three-pointers and shot 39.2 percent from beyond the arc.
QUOTABLE
“We’ve had really good preseason and we’ve really grown as a team. We’re starting to get more defined in what our guy’s roles will be heading into this year. Our returning guys have taken on a little more ownership in terms of us taking the next step. We’ve just got to continue to improve and use every day as a challenge to be better than we were the day before. I think our guys are excited to play against another competitor and a team that is really, really loaded with juniors and seniors. It will be a big challenge for us Tuesday night.” — Head Coach Brian Gregory
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.
