TAMPA –
The University of South Florida Bulls defeated the Tulane University Green wave by a score of 66-48 on Wednesday night. The Bulls were in the driver’s seat from the opening tip-off to the final buzzer, leading every minute of the game.
LaQuincy Rideau put USF on the scoreboard with a layup just seven seconds into the first half. About a minute later, Shakwon Barrett would make a free throw to make the score 2-1. That would be the closest to a lead that the Green Wave would get in the half, as the Bulls began to pull away early on. They built a double-digit lead with seven minutes to go before halftime, 23-12, and would lead by as much as 14 before going to the locker room with a 34-26 advantage.
The second half did go any better for Tulane. Seven minutes into the period, USF had built up an 18 point lead, 48-30. They would go on to maintain a double-digit lead throughout the game, winning easily, 66-48.
Despite getting outrebounded 36-30, the Bulls were strong in the paint, outscoring Tulane, 34-12. Also key for USF was points off of turnovers, which they dominated, 35-9. The Green Wave was held to just 39% scoring from the field, while the Bulls made 43%.
Just two Tulane players, Kevin Zhang and Samir Sehic, scored in double-digits, with 11 and 14 points, respectively. Sehic complimented his team-leading scoring with 12 rebounds.
USF had three players break into double-digits. David Collins was the scoring hero for the team, knocking down 17 points with five rebounds and a team-leading five assists. He also led the team in steals, taking five possessions from Tulane. Alexis Yetna scored 15, while also grabbing the lead in rebound with 11. T.J. Lang rounds out the top three, scoring 11 points, all of which were made in the first half of the game. In all, nine Bulls saw playing time of 12 minutes or more
After the game, head basketball coach, Brian Gregory, met with the press.
“We’re making progress,” said Gregory. “There’s some things, obviously, that we need to improve in. I thought our defensive effort, in particular the second half, was very good. Sharing the ball, with 15 assists on 20 baskets. Did a good job In terms of making the plays that needed to be made.
While pleased with some aspects of the game, Gregory saw things he wasn’t happy with, also.
“There’s some things, obviously, as I’ve said, that we’ve got to keep getting better at,” he said. “But, I think we did a great job on Cornish, I think we did a great job on Sehic. And, so now you have to get back to work tomorrow and continue to get better.
“It’s a good win for us. I thought some guys made some strides today in terms of playing a little better and some guys stepped up that we needed to step up. So, that was good to see.”
Gregory was asked about problems the Bulls may have had with Tulane’s interior size. To that, he replied, “I thought offensively, we didn’t play as strong as we needed to play. Six offensive rebounds kind of signals that for us. 21 threes is not really how we play. We didn’t attack the basket enough. We didn’t finish plays around the basket.
“Now, as you said, to their credit, they’re big and strong in there. They got great length around the basket. They got great strength at the guard spot with Cornish. But, we need to do a better job of being more physical and finishing plays. We tried to play around them, and that’s not who we are. We’re more of a, go-right-at-you type of team.”
Gregory was also asked about the play of Yetna, who posted his eight double-double of the season. Gregory said, “Well, you guys know I love Lex. I didn’t think he played well tonight. I love him, but I don’t think he played as well as he’s capable of playing. And, he gets a double-double. So, I guess that’s the good news.
“The other thing is, he’s working on his game. You can see the skill development. He’s shooting better from the three. Two offensive rebounds for Lex is unacceptable. He’s a good enough kid and works hard enough that he’ll take that the right way. You know, because we need even more from him.
“That double-double, now you’d be ticked off if he didn’t get one. So, be careful of the expectations that you create, because now you start, we demand it every single day.”
Tulane drops to 4-11 (0-3) on the season. They’ll host Memphis on Sunday, January 13th for a 5:00 PM CST tip-off.
The Bulls are 12-3, which is the best win total since the 2013-14 season and the best start since their 1982-83 NIT team. The win is also their seventh straight win at home this season, the longest home win-streak since 2011-12.
Next up for USF is a two-game road trip to Temple and Cincinnati. They will visit Temple on Saturday, January 12th at 2:00 PM EST before heading to Philadelphia to face Temple on Tuesday, January 15th for a 7:00 PM EST tip-off. Temple has an identical win record to USF and are coming off a big win over #17/15 Houston on Wednesday night, the first loss of Houston’s season. The Bearcats are also 12-3, suffering their third loss of the season against ECU on Saturday. The Temple game will be broadcast on ESPNU and the Cincinnati game can be viewed on ESPNNews.
