Hattab: Champions at Last

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CHAMPIONS AT LAST

Bulls defeat DePaul in Game 3 of CBI final to capture first championship since 1990

By Brian Hattab, Assistant Sports Editor

On April 5, 2019

 

USF's victory in the CBI final marks the Bulls' first championship since the 1990 Sun Belt Tournament. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE/GOUSFBULLS

For the first time in almost 30 years, USF men’s basketball can say it is a champion.

The Bulls (24-14) cut down the nets after a 77-65 victory against DePaul (19-17) in Game 3 of the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) final Friday night in Chicago.

The CBI championship is USF’s first postseason tournament championship since the Bulls won the Sun Belt Conference Tournament in 1990. On a more contemporary note, it is the punctuation mark in a turnaround season — from winners of only 10 games last season to a postseason championship.

"Talk about the grit and the toughness of our team and our program, and what we want to build on," coach Brian Gregory said in a statement. "It's a great stepping stone for where we want to get to."

The biggest difference in Game 3 were each team’s top scorers. DePaul’s Max Strus, who scored 20 in the first half Wednesday, was effectively shut down — Strus scored 16 total points Friday.

Meanwhile, David Collins, who was held without a field goal until there were less than five minutes left in regulation Wednesday, led USF with 19 points. Collins almost collected a double-double, finishing with eight rebounds.

Collins was named ...

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