Matchup: USF (11-12, 4-6) vs. Houston (19-5, 9-2)
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 12
Time: 9 p.m. (EST)
Location: Tampa, Fla. | Yuengling Center
TV: ESPNU (Kevin Brown, Mark Adams)
Radio: Bulls Unlimited (Jim Lighthall, Joey Johnston)
TAMPA, FLA., FEB. 11, 2020 – The USF men’s basketball team puts its three-game winning streak on the line Wednesday at 9 p.m. when the Bulls host No. 19 Houston at the Yuengling Center. Fans are encouraged to being recyclable items to Gate A or C to receive a special general admission ticket for $9. All season ticket members who bring a recyclable item will receive 15 percent off at the team store.
USF (11-12, 4-6) sits in seventh place in The American after turning in a 75-73 victory at Memphis on Saturday, giving the Bulls consecutive wins at FedEx Forum for the first time in school history. Junior guard David Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) scored a game-high 21 points to go along with four assists and two steals. Collins, who ranks ninth all-time in school history with 19 games of at least 20 points, leads the USF offense with 14.0 points per game.
Laquincy Rideau (West Palm Beach, Fla.) also scored 21 points against the Tigers and ranks second on the team with 12.4 points per game. In addition, Rideau is 10th in the NCAA and first in The American with 2.4 steals per game and has collected the fourth-most career thefts in league history with 157. He also stands fifth in the conference with 4.0 assists per game and is 14 helpers away from moving into the top 10 in league history.
Junior forward Justin Brown (Atlanta) added 14 points and a career-high 16 rebounds against Memphis for his second career double-double. His performance against the Tigers landed him on a spot on the league’s honor roll to give the Bulls a member of the honor roll in back-to-back weeks. Overall, Brown is fourth on the team with 7.9 points per game and second on the team with 5.2 rebounds per game.
THE OPPONENT
Houston (19-5, 9-2) has won seven of its last eight games and sits atop the league standings with a one game lead over Cincinnati. The Cougars rank third in the league in scoring offense (73.7 ppg), second in scoring defense (62.6 ppg) and are first in the NCAA in rebounding margin with 10.0 more rebounds than their opponents. Houston has only been out-rebounded five times thus far this season.
Freshman guard Caleb Mills leads Houston with 13.0 points per game to go along with a team-best 40 three-pointers made. Sophomore guard Quentin Grimes adds 12.3 points per game, while forward Nate Hinton scores 10.7 points per game and grabs a team-best 9.4 rebounds per game.
QUOTABLE
USF Head Coach Brian Gregory on the matchup with Houston:
“We’re playing pretty good basketball now, and hopefully we can continue to build on that momentum. Our defense has picked it up a notch and we’ve done a great job on the glass over the last couple of weeks. Our offense, at times, is much improved. We’re moving the ball better, making better decisions with the ball and getting a lot of good basketball with a lot of different guys. We had a big road win on Saturday afternoon against Memphis, and you hope to continue that against the best team in the league in Houston. They have a tremendous coach and they are so well balanced. You can’t key on one guy and you can’t key on one specific area of the game. You have to have a well-balanced attack both offensively and defensively to put yourself in position to get a big win.”
NOTABLE
• USF is 12-19 against Houston in the all-time series that dates back to the 1976-77 season.
• USF head coach Brian Gregory is seven wins away from 300 career victories.
• USF ranks 45th in the NCAA with 8.0 steals per game and has at least eight in 14 of 23 games this season.
• David Collins has made 385 career free throws and ranks third all-time in school history.
• USF ranks 41st in the NCAA in turnovers forced with 16.0 per game.
• Laquincy Rideau ranks 10th in the NCAA with 2.4 steals per game.
• USF is 17-4 since the start of last season when Justin Brown scores in double figures.
• USF ranks 19th in the NCAA in scoring defense by allowing just 61.7 points per game.
• USF has held 21 of its 23 opponents under their season scoring average.
• David Collins ranks 15th all-time at USF in scoring with 1,164 career points.
• Justin Brown has made the ninth-most career three-pointers in school history with 137.
• Ezacuras Dawson III ranks fourth in The American with a .420 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.
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For tickets, contact the USF Ticket Office at 1-800-Go-Bulls or by going online to USFBullsTix.com.
– #GoBulls –
