Good, Bad, Ugly vs Bradley

[outrunner]

Good

- A win.

- Getting lots of minutes for everyone on the team.

- Working on offensive flow and locking up on defense.

- Crashed the boards a little better tonight.

- Free throw shooting has improved every game.

Bad

- Bradley is a bad team with not much depth.

- Brock rolling his ankle.

- The lax play after about the 7 minute mark in the 2nd half. Yes, I get we were up by 35, but even Heath wasn't happy that they started slacking.

Ugly

- Student section. Once again, most sitting down being silent.

[hm101]

Was following greg's live blog. Glad to hear about the cohesiveness. I dont think we are "there" yet but i think better days are ahead

[outrunner]

Was following greg's live blog. Glad to hear about the cohesiveness. I dont think we are "there" yet but i think better days are ahead

By no means are we there. This team will be competitive but will not be as successful as last years. I don't see us going dancing again, but the NIT is likely.

The next 5 weeks are all about growth and chemistry in preparation for conference play.

[DELdaBull]

Bad

Our offense. It is literally pick and pop all day with an occasional back cut lob.

[Brad]

USF MEN'S BASKETBALL

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DATE: Nov. 20, 2012

Bulls Show Potential in Blowout Win Over Bradley

Fitzpatrick leads four Bulls in double figures with 16 points as USF does "a little bit of everything" in an 82-63 win Tuesday night at the Sun Dome.

By TOM ZEBOLD

USF Senior Writer

TAMPA - Things are starting to click for the Bulls and it definitely showed in an 82-63 win over Bradley on Tuesday night.

Toaryln Fitzpatrick led four USF players in double figures with 16 points before a crowd of 4,768 at the Sun Dome that witnessed the home team's best showing of the season so far. USF (3-2) shot 51 percent from the field, outrebounded Bradley, 42-32, and held the Braves to 22 field goals in 62 attempts.

"We did a little bit of everything," head coach Stan Heath said. "We defended, we rebounded, we shot the ball well from (3-point range) and we defended most of the game."

Fitzpatrick made half of USF's eight 3-pointers and Shaun Noriega added two more on the way to a 14-point night. Victor Rudd had the game's lone double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Kore White recorded his second double-digit scoring game as a Bull with 11 points.

"It seemed like we were more comfortable with each other," said Fitzpatrick, who noted USF used more of a motion offense than in past games.

Heath stressed getting off to a fast start and being aggressive on the boards following Sunday's 58-53 loss to Western Michigan and the Bulls delivered in big way in the first half. USF went on a 13-4 run to begin the game and USF opened with three 3-pointers from Noriega, Fitzpatrick and White.

"We really have to establish our home court and that's the way to do it. We have to set the tone early," Heath said.

The Bulls led 43-26 at halftime and had a 21-17 edge on the boards with six coming from Rudd, who led all scorers with 11 points at the break. Noriega also was in double figures with 10 points during the impressive start.

"Coach was harping on us in practice about how we got outrebounded, and that led to the result of us losing on Sunday," Fitzpatrick said. "We had to get back to beating teams on the glass."

Collins posted a career-high 12 assists on Sunday and followed that up with six assists and four steals in the first half alone. The sophomore guard finished with 10 assists and has posted at least six in every game this season.

Bradley (3-1) had only three field goals in the second half before its deficit went into the 20s and USF showed no signs of slowing down from there. A 3-pointer by Fitzpatrick put USF ahead, 54-32, and the Bulls' pumped their advantage up to the 30-point mark with a layup by JaVontae Hawkins with 12:29 to play.

USF's blowout win allowed Heath to use 11 players and the team's biggest reserve made the most of extended time. Jordan Omogbehin's basket in the paint got USF to the 70-point mark with 9:28 to play and the 7-foot-3 redshirt freshman wound up with six points and four rebounds in 14 minutes.

"It's important for him to continue to improve, and the more we get him out there the better," Heath said. "We know down there road there are going to be some big guys we have to face where he'll be one of the best matchups we have."

The Bulls are back on the court Monday, Nov. 26 at Stetson and return to the Sun Dome on Friday, Nov. 30 to host Georgia in the Big East-SEC Challenge.

[IHuckItDeep]

I was shocked at how quiet the students were....outrunner and like three other dudes were the only ones screaming, jumping up and down etc....I hope that changes....as been said before, they were there, but only in body....

I would def take an NIT appearance this year

[Breedwell]

I was in the student section, doing my thing with the rest of the pocket of kids at the bottom right of the section. I'll agree, it was sorta quiet at times, but, we all cheered and got excited at the big plays.

I'd argue the game was never "close enough" to cheer the team to a victory. If that makes sense.

Matter of fact, there was a few kids next to my girlfriend and I who were being obnoxious. They kept yelling at the Bradley coach and telling him how bad he was and stuff.

[Hem]

I was in the student section, doing my thing with the rest of the pocket of kids at the bottom right of the section. I'll agree, it was sorta quiet at times, but, we all cheered and got excited at the big plays.

I'd argue the game was never "close enough" to cheer the team to a victory. If that makes sense.

Matter of fact, there was a few kids next to my girlfriend and I who were being obnoxious. They kept yelling at the Bradley coach and telling him how bad he was and stuff.

Just keep cheering, everyone will catch on eventually! If you get one more person to cheer each game, it's worth it.

[79 Bull]

There was a Doc sighting at the game - felt like old times.

[&rew Bull]

I was in the student section, doing my thing with the rest of the pocket of kids at the bottom right of the section. I'll agree, it was sorta quiet at times, but, we all cheered and got excited at the big plays.

I'd argue the game was never "close enough" to cheer the team to a victory. If that makes sense.

Matter of fact, there was a few kids next to my girlfriend and I who were being obnoxious. They kept yelling at the Bradley coach and telling him how bad he was and stuff.

Just keep cheering, everyone will catch on eventually! If you get one more person to cheer each game, it's worth it.

Not true...

The Goalmouths spent an entire season trying to get the students cheering. At the end of the season, they were still only getting loud a couple times a game.