In Game The TBP Official In Game Thread: Bulls vs #1 Houston Cougars

[MikeG]

Game 17

South Florida Bulls

(7-9, 0-3 AAC)

 

vs.

 

#1 Houston Cougars

(16-1, 4-0 AAC)

 

       vs.  

Wednesday, January 11   8:00 PM EST

Houston, TX       Fertitta Center
TV: ESPN+

Radio: USF Bulls Unlimited

Link to prediction contest

 

Edited January 9, 2023 by MikeG

[MikeG]

woof! ONE PERCENT

so you're telling me there is a chance!

[MikeG]

• Box Score

70

Wichita St. 8-8,1-3 AAC

66

South Fla. 7-9,0-3 AAC

Score By Periods

Team	1	2	F
Wichita St.	28	42	70
South Fla.	34	32	66

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | January 08, 2023

Bulls fall to Shockers, 70-66

Sam Hines Jr. recorded his third career double-double on Sunday.

Story Links

• Head Coach Brian Gregory Postgame Press Conference

Next Game:

at Houston

1/11/2023 | 8:00 P.M.

ESPN+

102.5 HD-2 & Bulls Unlimited (TuneIn)

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TAMPA (January 8, 2023) – Sam Hines Jr. and Russel Tchewa both turned in double-doubles on Sunday afternoon at the Yuengling Center, but it wasn't enough as the University of South Florida Bulls fell to the Wichita State Shockers, 70-66.

South Florida drops to 7-9 (0-3 AAC) with the loss, while Wichita State improves to 8-8 (1-3 AAC) with its first conference win.

Coming off a career-best 20 points on Wednesday, Tchewa tallied a game-high 19 points with 10 rebounds for his sixth career double-double, second in as many games and third in the last four outings. Hines Jr. turned in his first double-double since playing at Denver in 2020-21 with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Sunday was USF's fifth loss this season by four or fewer points.

"It's frustrating," said head coach Brian Gregory. "To be right there again, and we couldn't finish it. It was a slow and physical start to the game, but we really picked it up and did a lot of good things late in the first and early on in the second. But, we got out of sorts for a long stretch on offense, and we stopped defending with discipline, and started fouling. The fouls in the second half are concerning as it's been an issue in all three of these close conference losses. We have to fix that and find a way to finish."

After a plotting start to the contest, the Bulls picked things up over the final six minutes of the opening half. Tyler Harris knocked down a three-pointer to give USF its first lead at the 5:42 mark, 25-23, since the opening possession.

That sparked a 7-0 USF run, which included another highlight reel windmill dunk by Keyshawn Bryant, after he went coast-to-coast with a steal, and ultimately saw the Bulls go on a 14-5 run to close out the half and carry a 34-28 lead into the break.

Eight-unanswered points by the Bulls extended the USF lead to 42-28, its largest of the game, coming out of halftime with 17:41 on the clock.

The Bulls carried a double-digit lead into the midway point of the second half, but the Shockers refused to go away. A seven-point WSU run made it a 54-49 affair with 7:49 left to play and the visiting team was in the bonus from there out which allowed them to continue to chip away.

Back-to-back three-pointers by Wichita State's Melvion Flanagan gave the Shockers the lead for good with 3:47 left to play.

A late basket by Hines Jr. cut the WSU lead to 68-66 with 17 seconds remaining, and after the Shockers went 1-for-2 from the free throw line, the Bulls had a chance to tie the game with 16 seconds left on the clock, but were unable to knock down their attempt.

Notable

 

• After putting together a four-game home winning streak, the Bulls have dropped two straight in Tampa.
• USF's nine losses are by an average of 5.6 points per game this season.
• Bryant and Selton Miguel were each in the starting lineup after coming off the bench in their past seven games, respectively.
• Jake Boggs returned to action for the first time since an injury on December 12th at Northern Iowa.
• WSU shot 47 percent from the field in the second half (4-7 from downtown), compared to a 37 percent mark (1-9 from downtown) by USF.
• The Bulls out-rebounded the Shockers, 47-37, including 18 offensive boards – matching their second-high output of the season.

 

Up Next

The Bulls open a two-game road trip at No. 2 Houston on Wednesday, January 11 at 8 p.m. ET. USF will then travel to ECU on Sunday, January 15.      

[MikeG]

USF travels to No. 1 Houston for program's sixth meeting with a top-ranked foe

Wednesday will be the Bulls' first meeting with the NCAA's No. 1-ranked team since 2015.

January 10, 2023

Joey Johnston Athletics Senior Writer

Story Links

GAMEDAY INFORMATION

University of South Florida (7-9, 0-3 AAC) at No. 1 Houston (16-1, 4-0 AAC)

Wednesday, January 11 | 8 p.m. ET

VENUE: Fertitta Center | Houston, Texas

SERIES: Houston leads, 24-12

TV: ESPN+

RADIO: 102.5 HD-2 The Strike

LIVE STATS: Here

TWITTER UPDATES: @USFMBB

GAME NOTES: View (PDF)

HOUSTON — It's just a number. But this particular number — No. 1 — casts a formidable shadow over the other men's basketball teams in the American Athletic Conference.

The USF Bulls (7-9, 0-3) will step into a Texas-sized challenge on Wednesday night when they face the top-ranked Houston Cougars (16-1, 4-0) at the Fertitta Center.

Coach Kelvin Sampson's Cougars have lost only against Alabama (71-65), while registering a 69-61 road victory at then-No. 2 Virginia on Dec. 17. The Cougars have roared to a solid start in the AAC, defeating Tulsa (89-50), UCF (71-65), SMU (87-53) and Cincinnati (72-59).

Meanwhile, Coach Brian Gregory's Bulls, who won seven of eight games after an 0-5 start, have stumbled in early AAC play. The Bulls were beaten against Memphis (93-86), Temple (68-64) and Wichita State (70-66) after leading with three minutes to play in each game and having a double-digit second-half lead in two of them.

"It's still early in the season, but we've got to do better at closing out games,'' USF senior Keyshawn Bryant said. "We have a good team, better than our record, but we need to show that.''

"I think we have the kind of team that can beat anybody in our conference,'' said USF center Russel Tchewa, who has back-to-back double-doubles (20 points and 12 rebounds against Temple, 19 points and 10 rebounds against Wichita State).

But Houston is not your typical AAC team.

Sampson has restored a moribund Houston program into championship form, going 215-71 in nine seasons with four straight NCAA Tournament appearances (including the 2021 Final Four). The veteran Cougar lineup, led by guards Marcus Sasser (15.8 points per game) and Jamal Shead (7.5 points, 5.2 assists), has been complemented by 6-foot-8, 240-pound freshman Jarace Walker (10.4 points, 6.1 rebounds).

"Kelvin has been successful wherever he has been,'' Gregory said. "One trait he has is getting (great) players, then coaching them hard. Those guys know who they are and they play very disciplined to that style.

"Playing in our league, just because you win doesn't mean you're going to win the next time. And just because you lose doesn't mean you can't beat the next team. It's a war every time out. We've got to go on the road and lay it all out there. We have to do the things we do well, stick to it and play hard for 40 minutes. We have nothing to lose.''

It's the sixth time for USF men's basketball to face a No. 1-ranked team.

On Dec. 12, 1981, the Bulls fell 75-39 at No. 1 North Carolina, when the Tar Heels (featuring a freshman named Michael Jordan) were en route to Dean Smith's first national championship.

On Jan. 29, 2000, the Bulls were beaten 89-72 at No. 1 Cincinnati, when the Bearcats' Final Four aspirations were eventually derailed by a broken leg to star Kenyon Martin. While playing in the Big East Conference, the Bulls had a pair of meetings against No. 1-ranked opponents just five weeks apart — a 75-62 defeat  No. 1 Pittsburgh on Jan. 14, 2009, then a 64-50 loss at No. 1 UConn on Feb. 21, 2009.

On Nov. 25, 2015, USF fell 84-63 against No. 1 Kentucky in a special event at Miami.

"I don't know that it's that big of a deal to play the No. 1 team,'' Gregory said. "I don't think our guys are thinking extra about that. Certainly, it's big and historic if you can win. But Houston was good (last week) as the No. 2-ranked team.

"Every part of this season is a process and a different challenge. We're looking to make progress every time out. We haven't liked how we finished (recent games), so we have to get better there. Nobody has to remind us that Houston is a big-time team. We have to keep it simple, do what we do, play hard and compete.''

[bullstampede9922]

I think pain might be in the forecast....

[Cmr3]

For some reason I think we’ll keep it close and mess it up.

If at least one player each half catch fire and we shoot good free throw. The game will be close. I guess the chances of that happening is 1%, like ESPN says. 

[Brad]

Let’s go baby!!!

[Brad]

Houston is a paper cougar. 

[thekidnapper]

There is a banshee woman in the crowd which is nice for the ambiance 

[olafberserker]