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Bulls' Confidence On The Rise


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Bulls' Confidence On The Rise

By BRETT McMURPHY bmcmurphy@tampatrib.com

Published: Jan 8, 2005

 

TAMPA - In last year's forgettable 7-20 season, there was no way to forget which opponent handed South Florida its most devastating losses.

UAB blitzed the Bulls 86-47, USF's fourth-worst loss ever, in Birmingham, Ala., on Jan. 20. After humiliating the Bulls, UAB then ripped their hearts out in the March 3 rematch in Tampa. The Bulls rallied from a 12-point deficit only to lose 61-59 on Sidney Ball's 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds remaining.

When the Bulls (8-4, 1-0 Conference USA) host the Blazers (11-3, 1-0) in a surprising matchup of first-place teams today, UAB coach Mike Anderson expects another tough time in Tampa.

``Everyone knows when you get into league play, things tend to shift,'' Anderson said. ``Games get more intense, people know each other a lot more. Players are more familiar with each other.''

The Bulls enter with a newfound confidence coming off Wednesday's one-point win at East Carolina.

``We didn't shoot well, didn't take care of the ball, but we found a way to win,'' USF coach Robert McCullum said. ``You grow from wins like this. We needed this, a close win so we can draw from this experience.

``That's the difference in a year growing up. One thing we stressed constantly is most games, especially in conference play, will be decided by six points or less.''

Last year, the Bulls were 0-5 in C-USA games decided by six points or less. Then again, the Bulls have already exceeded last year's seven-win total.

``We know this is a start,'' USF senior point guard Brian Swift said. ``We go into every game expecting to win. We go into games confident. We've won before. It gives us confidence and momentum for UAB. We couldn't get too excited about [defeating East Carolina], because we know we have UAB coming up.''

The Bulls continue to be led by seniors Terrence Leather (18.8 points, 8.8 rebounds) and Swift (15.2 points, 5.7 assists), but freshman guard Collin Dennis has put together strong back-to-back games.

After scoring a career-high 21 against Texas-Arlington, Dennis had 15 at East Carolina, including a 6-for-6 effort at the free-throw line in the final 1:37.

``He's a cool kid,'' McCullum said. ``He plays with so much confidence.''

Dennis has 36 points in his past two games, compared with 42 points in USF's first 10 games.

http://sports.tbo.com/sports/MGB29GF5P3E.html

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Time to slay the dragon...

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it is our time

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