TAMPA, Fla., (Dec. 19, 2022) – South Florida aims for its first fourth-game winning streak since the 2020 when it hosts Hofstra Monday night at the Yuengling Center.
USF held off Dartmouth 59-55 Friday for its third straight victory and fifth of its last six overall.
Hofstra, who hasn’t played since Dec. 11 due to final exams, last tasted victory on Nov. 17 against Quinnipiac.
BullsInsider.com has your quick facts and what to watch for against Hofstra:
Quick Facts
Matchup: USF (5-6) vs. Hofstra (6-5)
Date: Mon. Dec. 19
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Location: Tampa, Fla. | Yuengling Center
Watch: ESPN+
Radio: 102.5 The Strike HD-2 & Bulls Unlimited (TuneIn)
History: This will be the third all-time meeting between South Florida and Hofstra with the Bulls taking the first two. The most recent meeting was a one-point game (71-70) on Nov. 25, 2014 in Tampa.
The Opponent: Hofstra is coming off a solid 21-11 season in 2021-22 as the Speedy Claxton era got off to a strong start. The Pride was picked second in the preseason CAA Coaches Poll and redshirt senior Aaron Estrada was chosen as the preseason CAA Player of the Year.
Estrada missed the Pride’s last two games. Still, Estrada has attempted 19 more shots than any other Hofstra player. The lefty combo guard can score on all three levels. Is best driving to his left. Uses spin moves. He gets threes off the bounce, off ball screens and off ball actions.
Tyler Thomas is an aggressive 6-foot-3, 200-pound guard. He is wired to score and hunts shots. Half of his attempts are threes. Thomas will run to spots in transition. Hofstra runs him off pin downs and stagger screens. Watch for his straight line drive into a hesitation and spin.
I really liked Darlinstone Dunbar. The 6-foot-8, 211-pounder is a space 4-man with good size. He is an aggressive scorer and a physical driver. Dunbar can push it in transition, uses ball screens well, will go through your chest to score and is a good rebounder. He was 4-of-8 beyond the arc in the two games we watched.
Nelson Boachie-Yiadom is an experienced post player who scores off of put-backs, dump-offs and screen-and-rolls. Be physical with him, he doesn’t want to bang inside but he can score over either shoulder.
Keep an eye on Amaré Marshall off the Pride’s bench. A 6-foot-4, 207 pound wing, Marshall has a strong frame and is a good shooter with his feet set (40% 3FG). He is dangerous scorer off of drives-and-kicks but he’ll also come off pin downs to get open. Love his toughness, Marshall will finish through contact at the rim. He also uses a spin move if cut off.
Hofstra has aggressive drivers and they use a ball screen on just about every possession. The Pride played unselfishly in their two most recent games without Estrada. They pushed pace, spaced the floor in a ‘4-Out’ offense, shared the ball and used back cuts and threes to score. They can also be more of a one-on-one team that seldom makes more than three passes. In its six wins, Hofstra averaged 31.5 points on three-pointers. They will test your closeout.
Defensively, Hofstra is mostly man (87.3 percent) but will change defenses to keep you off balance. We saw them use a matchup 2-3 zone and a 1-1-3 zone.
KEYS TO A WIN
USF must defend the three-point line, stay disciplined on defense because Hofstra runs a lot of quick hitting sets with different players, don’t allow paint touches because that sets up their drive-and-kicks. Play with pace, Hofstra’s transition defense is bad. They allow teams to shoot an EFG% of 67.8 in transition. Dominate the glass.
