TAMPA, Fla., (Dec. 22, 2022) – South Florida looks to do something it hasn’t done since the 2018-19 men’s basketball season – win five games in a row – when it hosts NJIT in its non-conference finale Thursday at Yuengling Center.
USF topped Hofstra 77-70 on Monday. The win marked the Bulls fourth straight and sixth in its last seven games.
NJIT snapped a five game losing skid by defeating Niagara 62-53 on Sunday.
BullsInsider.com has your quick facts and what to watch for against NJIT:
Quick Facts
Matchup: USF (6-6) vs. N.J.I.T. (2-9)
Date: Thur. Dec. 22
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Location: Tampa, Fla. | Yuengling Center
Watch: ESPN+
Radio: 102.5 The Strike HD-2 & Bulls Unlimited (TuneIn)
History: This is the second all-time matchup between the Highlanders and Bulls, with NJIT winning the previous game on Nov. 16, 2015. That game is the only time NJIT has defeated an opponent from the American Athletic Conference.
The Opponent: NJIT returns seven players from its 2021-22 squad. The Highlanders added seven newcomers, including four graduate transfers. So they are an experienced bunch but, like many teams, have quite a few new faces.
Senior wing Miles Coleman is the only returner among the America East's top 10 scorers from a season ago. The senior averaged 15.6 ppg last season, which ranked fifth in the league. Coleman also averaged 5.7 rpg in 2021-22, the seventh-best mark in the league. At 6-foot-5, 210-pounds he has good size and strength. Coleman is not a good decision maker with the ball in his hands. Keep chest in front.
Guard Adam Hess Spent last season at Eastern New Mexico State. He is averaging 10.8 ppg in his last five games, all starts, including a 13 point four rebound performance at Cincinnati. Hess wants to shoot threes – 72 percent of his shot attempts have been three-pointers – and he has deep range on his jumper so defenders need to be there on the catch with a high hand. He scores off catch-and-release threes off kick-outs. Make him dribble it, he doesn’t want to. Hess has made 41.7 percent of his threes this season.
Souleymane Diakite is an experienced post player with 71 starts, in five seasons at NJIT. The 6-foot-9, 230-pounder is mobile, active and does a lot of work on post ups. He can score over either shoulder on either block but on the right block he prefers to dribble, drop step and spin to the basket to score. He seldom dunks (4).
Junior Mekhi Gray is an experienced guard who has played well of late averaging 11.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists in his last four games. At 6-foot-4, 190-pounds Gray has very good size and length. He does most of his scoring inside the arc and is a good facilitator within the NJIT offense. Where he primarily impressed me was with his defense. Gray’s length and footwork allows him to really guards the ball well.
Offensively, the Highlanders use a lot of ‘4-Out’ motion and share the ball well. Their assist rate is 58.0 percent, which ranks in the top-50 nationally. NJIT is also ranked in the top-50 in free throw rate (37.8 percent).
Defensively, NJIT is almost exclusively man (99.1 percent), in fact, Synergy Sports Technology only lists six possessions all season that NJIT used a zone defense.
KEYS TO A WIN
USF needs to run the floor, play with pace and dominate the glass. Handle the Highlanders' zone defense. Play without fouling, don't bail them out.
