TAMPA, Fla., (Jan. 10, 2023) – South Florida starts a two-game road trip in Texas against No.1 ranked Houston Wednesday night. The game marks the final time the two teams will face each other during the regular season as members of the American Athletic Conference. Houston is scheduled to leave the AAC for the Big 12 on July 1.

The Bulls aim for their first win in AAC play after suffering two home defeats despite holding second half leads in each game.

The Cougars won at Cincinnati on Sunday, 72-59, it was their seventh consecutive victory.

BullsInsider.com has your quick facts and how to watch the game against Houston:

Quick Facts

Matchup: USF (7-9, 0-3 AAC) at Houston (16-1, 4-0 AAC)

Date: Wed., Jan.11

Time: 8 p.m. ET

Location: Houston, TX | Fertitta Center

Watch: ESPN+

Radio: 102.5 The Strike HD-2 & Bulls Unlimited (TuneIn)

History: USF is 12-24 all-time versus Houston with the Cougars winning 11-straight. The last Bulls win in the series came on Jan. 23, 2016 in Houston. Head Coach Kelvin Sampson is 13-2 against South Florida during his Houston career.

The Opponent: Houston is healthy and loaded with talent, including The American Preseason Player of the Year Marcus Sasser and current Freshman of the Week Jarace Walker.

Sasser is one of the five most efficient players in the country. He is making just over 50 percent of his twos, 33 percent of his threes and 82.5 percent from the free throw line. He is always moving and will shoot behind ball screens or hand-offs. Sasser uses a shot fake to set up his drives. He prefers to pull-up or shoot a floater.

Tramon Mark might be my favorite Cougar to watch. He is a long, athletic lefty who is very good off the bounce. He is just as likely to reject a ball screen as he is to use it. Mark cannot be given any space to operate. He is deadly going to his left.

Freshman Emanuel Sharp has not been shooting well from the perimeter of late but he is making 40 percent of his threes and hasn’t missed a free throw in 11-attempts.

USF has a tall task in front of it. The Bulls are 1-2 in true road games and held the upper hand for a while in both losses. At the risk of being Captain Obvious, USF must play its best game of the season to leave Houston with a victory. It is a great opportunity for the Bulls.

On offense Houston likes to play inside-out, running when it is available and the Cougars play offense with great intensity.

Defensively, Houston plays almost exclusively man (98.8 percent). The Cougars’ man defense is limiting opponents to a paltry 30.9 percent shooting. Overall, Cougars opponents shoot 33.2 percent which ranks No. 2 in field goal percentage defense. Houston is the No. 1 scoring defense in the country holding teams to 51.5 points per game.

This will be the sixth time in program history that USF has faced a No. 1 ranked team. The last time coming on Nov. 25, 2015 against Kentucky in Miami. A victory in Houston would be the Bulls first win over a No. 1 ranked opponent.

KEYS TO A WIN

To win USF needs to take care of the ball, make shots, guard the ball and rebound.