USF to Face No. 1 Kentucky Friday

[Brad]

USF ATHLETICS GoUSFBulls.com

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Web Release:http://www.gousfbulls.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=7700&ATCLID=210533489

John Calipari on Orlando Antigua:http://www.coachcal.com/36394/2015/11/coach-cals-post-boston-presser/

 

Matchup: USF (1-4) vs. Kentucky (5-0)

Date: Friday, Nov. 27, 2015

Time: 5 p.m. ET

Location: Miami, Fla | American Airlines Arena (19,600)

TV: ESPN (Ryan Ruocco, Kara Lawson) |WatchESPN

Radio: 820 AM (Jim Lighthall, Todd Kalas) | BullsCast

Game Notes: USF | Kentucky

Follow: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

 

USF to Face No. 1 Kentucky Friday

Bulls’ game with Wildcats is the first of a doubleheader at the Miami Hoophall Invitational

 

TAMPA, NOV. 25, 2015 – Coming off its first win of the season, the USF men’s basketball team hits the road for the first time to face No. 1 Kentucky on Friday at 5 p.m. in the Miami Hoophall Invitational at American Airlines Arena.

 

The Bulls (1-4) got a dramatic win last time out against Albany. After trailing by eight points with less than nine minutes to play in the game, USF stormed back and took the lead for good after Chris Perry’s dunk with nine seconds left to play. The game was a big step in the right direction for USF, which had lost its first four games of the season. Senior center Jaleel Cousins posted his second consecutive double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds in a career-best 35 minutes of action. 

 

Cousins has been a major factor for the Bulls so far this season. His minutes have increased dramatically, from 11.8 per game last season to 23.6 so far this season. Conditioning can be attributed to his increased production as the 6-11 center has dropped 10 pounds from last season. Cousins leads the Bulls with 8.6 rebounds per game and is also averaging 8.2 points.

 

USF’s game with Kentucky is the first of a doubleheader at American Airlines Arena as Memphis plays Ohio State at 7:30 p.m.

 

QUICK NOTES

> It is the first-ever meeting between the two schools and the fifth time USF will play a team ranked No. 1.

> USF’s turnovers since committing 21 vs. NJIT: 16 vs. GW, 12 vs. BU, 11 vs. Albany

> After missing the final 12 games of last season, Chris Perry is averaging 8.8 pts. and 7.6 rebs. per game.

> Roddy Peters (back) is getting healthier by the day. He had 8 pts., 5 rebs. and 5 assists against Albany.

> USF’s top three scorers are newcomers: Jahmal McMurray, 13.4, Angel Nunez, 11.4, Roddy Peters, 11.2.

> Chris Perry ranks fifth in The American with 8.6 rebounds per game.

> USF has outrebounded its opponents in four of five games this season and holds a 5.6 RPG advantage overall.

 

USF vs. No. 1

> USF is 0-4 against AP No. 1 ranked teams.

> The last No. 1 team USF played was UConn on Feb. 21, 2009, a 64-50 Huskies’ win in Hartford.

> USF’s has lost 16-straight games to ranked opponents. Its last win against a ranked foe was on Feb. 29, 2012, a 58-51 win over No. 19 Louisville. 

> The last time USF played a ranked team was on Feb. 18, 2014, an 80-54 loss at No. 11 Louisville. USF did not play a ranked team last season for the first time in 18 seasons.

 

USF-UK CONNECTIONS

For two teams that have never met, there sure are many connections between USF and Kentucky.

> USF head coach Orlando Antigua spent five seasons (2009-14) as an assistant coach at Kentucky under current UK head coach, 2015 Naismith Hall of Fame inductee John Calipari. Antigua also spent one season under Calipari at Memphis (2008-09).

> USF assistant coach Rod Strickland spent five seasons at Kentucky as its special assistant to the head coach. He was also on Calipari’s staff at Memphis from 2006-09. He was the director of student-athlete development/manager for two seasons and in 2008 was named director of basketball operations.

> USF’s video coordinator Dominic Lombardi spent two seasons (2012-14) as the assistant video coordinator at Kentucky.

> USF’s strength and conditioning coach Mike Malone spent two seasons (2012-14) as the assistant strength and conditioning coach at Kentucky.

> USF senior center Jaleel Cousins is the younger brother of former Kentucky center DeMarcus Cousins, the fifth overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft and current member of the Sacramento Kings.

 

OPPONENT INFORMATION
> Kentucky is the winningest team in NCAA history with 2,183 wins.

> UK has won each of its first five games by at least 11 points.

> Alex Poythress is coming off his second consecutive double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds in UK’s 82-62 win over Boston University.

> Kentucky was ranked No. 1 in the AP and USA Today Coaches’ poll on Monday. The Wildcats are 216-28 all-time as the nation’s top-ranked team.

 

BROADCAST INFORMATION

The game can be viewed ESPN and the WatchESPN app with Ryan Ruocco and Kara Lawson on the call. Listen to the radio broadcast and the voices of Jim Lighthall and Todd Kalas on 820 AM, online at GoUSFBulls.com or the Tune-In radio app.

 

SEASON INFORMATION
> This is the 45th season of USF basketball which began in the fall of 1971.

> USF is celebrating its 50th anniversary of athletic competition, which began with men's soccer in 1965.

> USF was picked 10th in the 11-team American Athletic Conference preseason poll.

> Orlando Antigua is in his second season as the USF’s head coach with seven returners from last season. A big difference from coach’s first season when he inherited three players who logged minutes.

> Counted among USF’s seven returners is Troy Holston Jr., who suffered a torn ACL in July.

> USF returns five players who started at least eight games last season including all three post players - Jaleel Cousins, Ruben Guerrero and Chris Perry.

> Overall, 74 percent of the Bulls’ rebounding and 89 percent of their blocked shots return from last season.

> Among the Bulls’ newcomers is former five-star guard Roddy Peters, who is the team’s point guard this season.

> USF’s schedule includes nine teams with an RPI of 54 or better.

 

BULLS SIGN THREE

Orlando Antigua and his staff announced the signing of three on Nov. 13, during the early signing period.

> Troy Baxter is a 6-8, 190-pound forward from Tallahassee, Fla. He was rated four stars by Rivals, ESPN and 247Sports and is currently playing for Oldsmar Christian in nearby Oldsmar, Fla. Baxter was one of the first players that Antigua targeted after accepting the USF job in 2014.

> Andres Feliz is a 6-2, 180-pound guard originally from the Dominican Republic, but currently plays for West Oaks Academy in Orlando, Fla. He was given a three-star rating by Rivals.com. Last season, Feliz helped West Oaks to a 32-4 record and a SIAA state championship. This past summer he was the starting point guard for the Dominican Republic at the U19 FIBA World Championships with USF assistant coach Oliver Antigua also on staff. He was the leading scorer on the team and in the tournament with 18.9 points averaged over seven games. Also last summer, Feliz was the youngest of the group that played wiith the Dominican Republic National Team at the Pan-American Games in Toronto.

> Malik Fitts is a 6-5, 215-pound small forward from La Verne, Calif. who is in his final season at Brewster Academy Prep in New Hampshire. He is a Rivals.com three-star recruit and is ranked No. 55 among small forwards in the 2016 class. Prior to Brewster, attended Damien High School in La Verne and helped his team win the CIF D3 State Championship.

> HoopSeen.com ranked the recruiting classes in the American Athletic Conference and placed the Bulls third behind No. 1 UConn and No. 2 Cincinnati. It also lists Andres Feliz as the best scorer in the class and Troy Baxter as the best athlete. Website writer Justin Young went on to say this: Troy Baxter is a highlight reel with unique size. Andres Feliz has league-leading scoring potential while Malik Fitts is a top 300 level talent.

 

UP NEXT

USF will face Savannah State at 2 p.m. on Sunday in the Sun Dome. For ticket information, visit www.USFBullsTix.com. 

 

 

- #GoBulls -

[lotsofbull99]

We've got them right where we want them 

[The Great 8]

This is gonna be ugly

[Roaming Bull]

I always support my Bulls, but this may get ugly. Hope for the best, but we may lose by a lot. I hope I'm wrong. Go Bulls! 

[USFBulls12]

I predict we lose by 37

[NCBull]

"Face" is a curious verb choice.

[Brad]

Cal won't embarass the Ant.  

[Sellular1]

The score will be the same as the UCF football score, except we will be the lower number in hoops

[raptorcj]

My first thought when reading the title: "Oh, no..."

yeah, we aren't ready for this yet, but I hope they keep fighting.

[Bull Matrix]

Cal won't embarass the Ant.  

we shall see! There could be a friendly wager on this one