TAMPA, JUNE 19, 2019 – The American Athletic Conference announced on Wednesday the home and away opponents for the 18-game men’s basketball conference slate for the 2019-20 season.
Conference teams will play seven of their 12 league foes twice and four opponents once each.
USF will play home and away games against War On I-4 rival UCF, UConn, ECU, Houston, Memphis, SMU and Wichita State. The Bulls will play Cincinnati and Tulsa only at the Yuengling Center and will only play Temple and Tulane on the road.
Game dates, tip times and broadcast information will be announced at a later date.
USF enters the 2019-20 season returning all five starters from a team that won the College Basketball Insider (CBI) championship and set a single-season school record with 24 wins. In addition, USF featured the top turnaround in the NCAA by winning 14 more games than it did over the course of the 2017-18 season. Under the direction of third-year head coach Brian Gregory, USF brings backs 92.4 percent of its scoring, 94.6 percent of its rebounding and 90.3 percent of its minutes.
Guard Laquincy Rideau (West Palm Beach, Fla.) earned AAC Defensive Player of the Year honors after pacing the league with 2.9 steals per game. 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 Third Team.
Forward 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. Yetna also added 12.3 points per game and paced the conference with 15 double-doubles.
Fellow guard David Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) was also tabbed All-AAC Third Team after leading USF and ranking 12th in The American in scoring with 15.9 points per game. 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.
Season ticket deposits are now available for the 2019-20 season. By placing a $50 deposit per seat for season tickets, fans will be able to select their seats in advance. Season tickets are available starting at less than $6 per game. Fans also have the opportunity to select their seats earlier than the general public by becoming season ticket members. Season ticket deposits may be purchased at USFBullsTix.com or by calling 1-800-GO-BULLS.
2019-20 Conference Home & Away Opponents: UCF, UConn, ECU, Houston, Memphis, SMU, Wichita State
2019-20 Conference Home Only: Cincinnati, Tulsa
2019-20 Conference Away Only: Temple, Tulane
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 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 brings nearly 250 career head coaching wins and six postseason appearances, including the 2010 NIT Championship, to Tampa. 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.
– #GoBulls –
Jay D’Abramo
Associate Director of Communications
University of South Florida Athletics
Twitter: @USFMBB | @usfjayd
