Matchup: USF (6-4, 2-2) vs. Tulsa (6-3, 3-1)
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 6
Time: 4 p.m.
Location: Tampa, Fla. | Yuengling Center
TV: ESPN+ (Jim Louk, Neil Solodnz)
Radio: Bulls Unlimited (Jim Lighthall, Joey Johnston)
TAMPA, FLA., JAN. 5, 2021 – The USF men’s basketball team looks for its second straight win Wednesday at 4 p.m. when the Bulls welcome Tulsa to the Yuengling Center.
USF (6-4, 2-2 opened 2021 in style with a 68-61 victory over UCF Saturday in the first round of the War on I-4. Senior guard David Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) scored 19 points and added eight rebounds, seven assists and two steals and became the AAC all-time leader in career free throws made with 459. Collins leads the USF offense with 13.1 points per game and ranks eighth all-time at USF with 1,397 career points.
Junior forward Alexis Yetna (Paris) added 10 points and six rebounds against the Knights and averages 11.3 points and 7.8 rebounds a game. Michael Durr (Atlanta) grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds on Saturday and leads USF with 8.0 boards per game.
USF AND TULSA
USF and Tulsa will meet on the hardwood for the 10th time in school history when the two teams battle on Wednesday. The Golden Hurricane own a 9-0 lead in the all-time series that dates back to the 2014-15 season. In the only meeting of last season, Tulsa posted a 56-48 victory at the Yuengling Center behind 18 points and six rebounds from Brandon Rachal. David Collins led USF with 14 points and four rebounds, while both Laquincy Rideau and Justin Brown finished with 10 points.
BACK-TO-BACK
USF guard Caleb Murphy earned AAC Freshman of the Week honors for the second consecutive week, the league office announced on Monday. Murphy averaged 13.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game in games against Memphis and UCF. Murphy erupted for a career-high 20 points and added four rebounds, three assists and two steals Tuesday at Memphis. Murphy joins Alexis Yetna and Chris Perry as the only three Bulls to win AAC Freshman of the Week honors in back-to-back weeks.
NO SECOND SHOT FOR YOU
USF allowed UCF to grab just seven offensive rebounds Saturday in its win over the Knights to continue a trend of limiting opponents to just one shot per possession. The Bulls enter play Wednesday against Tulsa having held six of their 10 opponents to seven or fewer offensive rebounds thus far this season. In addition, the Bulls have finished with more second chance points in eight of 10 games and have scored 30 more second chance points than their opponents.
FREE THROW FRENZY
USF senior guard David Collins attempted a season-high 15 free throws Saturday in a victory over USF. Collins, who has attempted the most career free throws in USF and AAC history, has gotten to the free throw line at a very high rate over the last three games. In fact, Collins is attempting 10.3 free throws per game during that stretch. In the previous four games before that, Collins only attempted a total of four free throws and an average of 1.0 per game.
IT’S BEEN AWHILE
USF junior center Michael Durr pulled down 11 rebounds Saturday in a victory over UCF and enters Wednesday against Tulsa in search of his fifth consecutive game with double digit rebounds. Should Durr register at least 10 rebounds against the Golden Hurricane, he would become the first Bull since Kentrell Gransberry to have five straight double-digit rebound games. Gransberry accomplished the feat from Dec. 22, 2007-Jan. 9, 2008 in games against St. Francis, Winston-Salem State, Rutgers, Syracuse and Pitt.
X-FACTOR
USF junior guard Xavier Castaneda hit all three of his 3-pointers Saturday against UCF and enters play Wednesday against Tulsa scorching hot from down town. Castaneda is shooting 66.7 percent (8-for-12) from three-point range over his last four games. Overall, Castaneda is shooting 47.6 percent from three-point range and ranks fourth in The American.
DOWN TOWN DOMINANT
USF shot 36.8 percent from three-point range Saturday in a win over UCF and is shooting 39.7 percent from down town over the last four games. Overall, USF shoots 37.0 percent from beyond the arc and ranks first in The American in three-point field goal percentage. In addition, the .370 clip would rank as the fourth-highest output in a single season in school history if the season ended today.
FREE THROW KING
USF senior guard David Collins made seven free throws Saturday against UCF and became the all-time leader in both AAC and USF history with 459. Collins surpassed former UCF guard B.J. Taylor for the most makes in conference history and leapfrogged Dominique Jones and tied Charlie Bradley for the most in USF history.
ON FIRE
USF senior guard Justin Brown hit one three pointer Saturday against UCF to continue a stretch that has seen him make nearly everything from down town. In fact, Brown enters play Wednesday against Tulsa shooting 56.0 percent (14-for-25) from three-point range over the last seven games. Overall, Brown ranks seventh in The American in three-point field goal percentage by making 44.7 percent of his treys.
HE NEVER MISSES
USF senior guard Justin Brown made one three-pointer Saturday against UCF and enters the Wednesday shooting 44.7 percent from down town. If the season ended today, that would rank as the best single season three-point percentage in school history, surpassing the 43.1 percent shot by Reggie Kohn during the 2001-02 season. In addition, Brown is attempting to become the first Bull to shoot 40.0 percent or better from three-point range since Toarlyn Fitzpatrick finish the 2011-12 season at 41.2 percent.
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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 over 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.
For tickets, contact the USF Ticket Office at 1-800-Go-Bulls or by going online to USFBullsTix.com.
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