Bulls Reach 21 Wins, Advance to CBI Semifinals

TAMPA, MARCH 25, 2019 – Alexis Yetna made more program history during his 13^th double-double of the season while USF advanced to the College Basketball Invitational semifinals with a 66-57 victory over Utah Valley at the Yuengling Center on Monday night.

USF (21-13) now gets to host a third CBI game that will take place Thursday at 7 p.m. inside the Yuengling Center. The Bulls will face the winner of the Loyola Marymount-Brown game that began Monday at 10 p.m. .

Yetna (Paris) helped the Bulls advance by posting a game-high 18 points and 10 rebounds on a memorable night for the star forward. USF’s freshman rebounding record-holder became the fifth Bull in school history to grab at least 300 boards in a season and now ranks fourth on USF’s all-time chart with 308. The Bulls also set the school’s new single-season rebounding record with 1,322.

Sophomore David Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) followed up his 31-point, seven-steal performance in the first round of the CBI with 17 points and five steals in Monday’s quarterfinal against Utah Valley (25-10).

Redshirt junior Laquincy Rideau (West Palm Beach, Fla.) added 14 points and four steals to help extend USF’s first postseason run since 2012.

Monday’s first-ever meeting between USF and Utah Valley was close at the break before the Bulls pulled away in the second half to set the school’s new season record for home wins with 16.

USF used a 7-0 run to grab an eight-point advantage, but Utah Valley responded with a 7-0 run of its own to cut the Bulls’ lead to 33-32 by halftime. On top of passing the 300-rebound mark, Yetna had a perfect 15-point first half by going 6-for-6 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free throw line.

Up by two after the break, Collins made two straight three-pointers and Antun Maricevic (Zagreb, Croatia) added another to spark a 16-2 run that pumped the Bulls’ lead up to 16 points with less than six minutes remaining. The Wolverines didn’t get back within single digits until the final seconds.

Quotable
Head coach Brian Gregory’s thoughts on the Bulls advancing to the CBI semifinals:
“I’m very pleased with the win. Great response by our guys and I think you can tell these guys love playing, there’s no question about that. It was fun to see because they responded extremely well. We weren’t as good defensively in the first half around the rim, but our guys responded very well in the second half. Give our big guys credit, they did a very, very good job. David and Laquincy did a great job of kind of managing the game from the guard spots. That was good to see.”

Gregory how beneficial it is for the Bulls to play at least three games in the program’s first postseason appearance since 2012:
“We’re going to try to squeeze every ounce of positives that we can get out of playing in this thing and I think our guys have done that. More practice time, more individual skill time with a purpose. There’s nothing better that I love doing than being in the gym working out with guys, but now you’re doing it with a purpose because you’re still getting ready for games. The experience of a quick turnaround, one or two days, trying to get ready. Develop a game plan and have guys execute that game plan, understand it and then execute it. Then like today, having to adjust during the game, all those things are so important in terms of our development as a program.”

Key Stats
16-2 – The Bulls went on a 16-2 run to take a 16-point lead with less than six minutes remaining.
17 of 25 – USF shared the ball well, finishing with 17 assists on 25 made field goals.
22 – USF scored 22 points off 20 Utah Valley turnovers.
33:58 – The total amount of time the Bulls had the lead in Monday’s game.

Notables

Alexis Yetna became the fifth Bull in program history to reach 300 rebounds in a season. Yetna is the first Bull to accomplish the feat since Kentrell Gransberry grabbed 325 rebounds during the 2007-08 season. Yetna now ranks fourth in school single-season history and already owns the USF freshman season rebounding record with 308.
USF set a new single-season school record for home wins with 16. The Bulls also set a new top program season mark with 1,322 total rebounds. The previous record of 1,310 boards was set by the 1972-73 team.
USF (21-13) is one win away from tying the Bulls’ season record for wins set by the 2011-12 squad.
Laquincy Rideau moved up to a tie for seventh on the program’s all-time season assists list with 170. Reggie Kohn owns the record with 220 assists in 2001-02.
David Collins is now up to second on USF’s single-season steals list with 69.
USF is competing in the CBI for the first time while making the program’s 12^th postseason appearance. The Bulls have made three NCAA tournament trips and have played in the NIT eight times.

Up Next
USF will host Monday’s Loyola Marymount-Brown winner 7 p.m. Thursday in the CBI semifinals at the Yuengling Center.

To stay up-to-date on the latest USF men’s’ basketball news, follow the Bulls on social media (Twitter | Facebook | Instagram).

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 10^th 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 brings nearly 250 career head coaching wins and six postseason appearances, including the 2010 NIT Championship, to Tampa. In his first season at the helm of the Bulls, Gregory led the team to its first 10-plus win season since 2013-14.

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 and appeared in the NIT eight times.

For tickets, contact the USF Ticket Office at 1-800-Go-Bulls or by going online to USFBullsTix.com.