Match-up set for December 18 at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Fla.
New Bulls now at eight with addition of South Carolina transfer forward Jalyn McCreary
TAMPA, FLA., MAY 20, 2021 –Brian Gregory’s USF basketball team will return to the AutoNation Orange Bowl Basketball Classic for the third time in program history in the 2021-22 season presented by Tampa General Hospital.
This time the Bulls will face the University of Florida in the 27th annual edition of the event set for Saturday, Dec. 18 at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Fla. The doubleheader Orange Bowl Classic event is played in Broward County and will also feature Florida State taking on Central Florida. Game times and broadcast information will be announced at a later date.
To purchase tickets, please contact the Orange Bowl ticket sales office at (305) 341-4701 or email [email protected].
“We are thrilled with the invitation to again play in the Orange Bowl Classic,” Gregory said. “Playing the University of Florida only adds to our excitement. I have an incredible amount of respect for Coach White and the success of their program. This will be a great test for us in another first-class event.”
Gregory has welcomed eight new Bulls to the program – including six Division I transfers, one junior college transfer and a two-time Florida Class 7A All-State selection – to join five returners.
In the Bulls’ last appearance at the Classic, USF took on No. 19 Florida State in the 2019 event, falling 66-60 in a game the Bulls led by as much as 10 points in the second half.
Florida will be making their 22nd appearance in the Classic and is fresh off a fourth-straight NCAA Tournament bid in which they became one of just six teams (along with Florida State, Gonzaga, Kansas, Michigan and Villanova) in the country with at least one win in every NCAA Tournament since 2017. Florida led the SEC last season in field goal percentage (.464), 3-point field goal percentage (.357) and free throw percentage (.755) and look to return its fourth-leading scorer in senior guard Tyree Appleby (11.3 ppg) while welcoming a number of transfers, including Penn State’s top scorer Myreon Jones (15.3 ppg).
USF returns All-AAC Freshman Team guard Caleb Murphy (G, 6-4, 185), Jamir Chaplin (G, 6-5, 196), Prince Oduro (F, 6-8, 255), Russel Tchewa (C, 7-0, 260) and Mark Calleja (G, 6-2, 185) from last year’s squad. Murphy is the Bulls’ top returning scorer posting 8.3 points and 2.8 assists per game last season.
They are joined by new additions Jalyn McCreary (F, 6-8, 215), Trey Moss (G, 6-3, 175), Sam Hines Jr. (F, 6-6, 200), Javon Greene (G, 6-4, 190), Jake Boggs (F, 6-8, 190), Serrel Smith Jr. (G, 6-4, 175) and Bayron Matos (F, 6-9, 245) and DJ Patrick (F, 6-6, 200).
McCreary, a transfer from the University of South Carolina, is the latest Bulls addition. The 6-8 forward played in 44 games for the Gamecocks in two seasons and averaged 4.5 points and 2.5 rebounds per game while posting 30 career blocks.
One of the top recruits in the state of Florida, Moss posted 17.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game for Windermere High School last season and finished his career as the school’s all-time leader in points (1,443), rebounds (678), assists (542), steals (155) and three-point field goals (201). Hines averaged 10.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists and logged 11 double-digit scoring games in his freshman season at Denver University. Greene comes to Tampa from George Mason University where the left-hander played in 119 games with 75 starts for the Patriots and scored 1,139 points (9.6 ppg) while grabbing 535 rebounds (4.5 rpg) and making 156 threes on his career.
Boggs played in 49 games with 23 starts in two seasons at UNC-Wilmington, averaging 10.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game while shooting 47.2 percent from the floor and 43.9 percent (25-57) from three last season. Smith, the 2018 Florida Class 8A Player of the Year at St. Petersburg High School, played two seasons at Maryland and one at East Tennessee State, averaging 7.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game last year for the Buccaneers.
Matos played in 20 games and made 15 starts in his freshman season for New Mexico, averaging 6.0 points and 4.1 rebounds per game while shooting 52.6 percent from the field. Patrick started 18 games in his freshman season for Triton College, scoring in double-digits in 14 games, while averaging 14.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game and shooting 47.4 percent from the floor, 43.9 percent from three and 80.0 percent from the line.
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, who enters his fourth season in 2021-22. Gregory was introduced as the 10th head coach in program history in March of 2017 after previously leading 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 with Dayton. 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 48-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.
– #GoBulls –
