TAMPA, Fla., (Jan. 24, 2022) -- The South Florida men’s basketball team looks to return to the court on Wednesday to host SMU in an American Athletic Conference contest.
The Bulls, who had their Jan.22 game against Temple postponed, will play their first game since a 74-55 loss at No. 10 Houston on Jan. 18.
SMU, who is 4-1 in its last five road games, won at Memphis 70-62 on Thursday night.
RunningTheBulls.com has your quick facts and what to watch for against SMU.
Quick Facts
Matchup: USF (6-11, 1-4 AAC) vs. SMU (14-4, 5-1 AAC)
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 26
Time: 7 p.m. EST
Location: Tampa, Fla. | Yuengling Center
Watch: ESPN+
Radio: USF Bulls Unlimited
History: This will be the 19th meeting between USF and SMU. USF trails in the series 6-12 and lost 77-65 at SMU two-weeks ago.
The Opponent: The Mustangs have won three straight games and 11 of their last 12. They sit alone in second place in the AAC. Senior forward Isiah Jasey, 6-foot-10, 260-pounds is out for the rest of the season with a torn Achilles. He started in all 15 games he played this season.
Kendrick Davis makes SMU go. Davis, a potential all-conference player of the year point guard is leading scorer in The American (21.0 ppg) and is ranked fourth in the conference in assists. Davis uses shot fakes to set up his drives. He has a very nice hesitation move and a good stop and pop game. He prefers to drive right. When driving left, he will spin back right to score.
Senior guard Emmanuel Bandoumel (BAN-doe-mel) is tough to guard. He drives either direction and can finish with either hand. He likes the hesitation move. More than half of Bandoumel’s shots are threes and he is making 37.3 percent of them. Will use a shot fake to set up his drive. Likes the hesitation move. USF must find him in transition.
As we saw two weeks ago, Duquesne grad transfer Marcus Weathers plays bigger than his 6-foot-5, 215-pound frame. Weathers has long arms and is the Mustangs’ best rebounder (7.1 rpg) and has twice as many OREB as any of his teammates. USF must cut him out. Weathers does not shoot many threes but he is a capable shooter when he has space and time. You cannot lose him on defense or he will cut to the basket for a pass to score.
Michael Weathers, a 6-foot-3 guard, leads the Mustangs with 16 blocks. He is susceptible to shot fakes because he tries to block every jump shot his man takes. A very good on-ball defender Weathers is second on the team in steals. He doesn’t get into guys as much as he harasses them. Do not give him open threes.
Senior wing Zach Nutall lives to shoot threes and he’s making 33 percent of his attempts. He doesn’t want to drive and wants no contact. A good defender with length, Nutall can defend one thru three and will often guard the opponent’s best three-point shooter.
SMU plays almost exclusively man defense (91.6 percent) and is limiting opponents to 39 percent shooting in that defense. SMU also uses some 1-3-1 zone and 2-3 zone. Sometimes the 1-3-1 will morph into a 2-3 zone on the first pass below the free throw line extended. The Mustangs have a zone press and man press.
The Mustangs are playing more four-out motion this season but Tim Jankovich still calls plenty of set plays. SMU leads The American in three-pointers made (9.2) and three-point percentage (37.1%).
Keys To A Win
The Bulls must adapt to the changing defenses, limit turnovers, make shots, control the glass, cut off lobs and backdoor cuts and defend the three-point line. USF must also make things difficult for Davis.
