TAMPA, FEB. 13, 2021 -- A pair of teams fresh off losses are set to meet Sunday as South Florida hosts Tulane.
In its first game in 32-days USF ran out of gas in the second half in an 82-65 loss to No. 8/7 Houston on Wednesday.
Tulane, who will be playing its third consecutive road game in five days when takes the court in Tampa, caught a cold spell down the stretch and fell short at UCF 53-49.
BullsInsider.com has your quick facts and what to watch for against Tulane:
Quick Facts
Matchup: USF (7-6, 3-4 AAC) vs. Tulane (8-8, 3-8-2 AAC)
Date: Sunday, Feb. 14
Time: 2 p.m. EST
Location: Tampa, Fla. | Yuengling Center
TV: ESPNU
Radio: USF Bulls Unlimited (Jim Lighthall, Joey Johnston)
History: This will be the 39th all-time meeting between the two programs. USF trails in the series 17-21. The Bulls have won three in a row including at Tulane last season 66-52.
The Opponent: Second year Tulane head coach Ron Hunter only has one returning starter from last season’s team – point guard Jordan Walker – that finished in last place in the AAC.
Walker, Tulane’s leading scorer, is one of the quickest players in the conference which allows him to create scoring opportunities for his teammates or get to the paint to score. He is tough to defend in ball screen action. In his last four games Walker is averaging 13.7 points and 5.0 assists. The down side of those four games, for Tulane at least, is that he is also averaging four turnovers.
Jaylen Forbes leads the AAC in minutes per game. The 6-foot-5, 185-pounder is Tulane’s second leading scorer (15.3 ppg) and leading rebounder (5.2 rpg). He is excellent in ball screen action but seldom is featured in that play type. The Bulls cannot lose him in transition because he will pull up for a three-pointer. In fact, 58 percent of Forbes’ FGA are threes.
Tylan Pope is an improving redshirt freshman. At 6-foot-6 with a 6-foot-11 wingspan, Pope is Tulane’s second leading rebounder (5.1 rpg) and is the best offensive rebounder on the team. Pope is built like a linebacker and knows how to carve out position in the lane for rebounds. He scores mostly on dump-offs in the paint and cuts along the baseline.
Keep an eye on freshman shooting guard Jadan Coleman. His minutes are inconsistent but he is a very good shooter coming off screens. He is not shy about letting it fly from deep. He is streaky, but if he hits his first shot he could become a problem.
Offensively Tulane doesn’t light up the scoreboard. No team has scored fewer points in the AAC than the Green Wave. They want to get downhill to score or draw fouls. Tulane is one of the best free throw shooting teams in the nation.
Defensively, Tulane is in a matchup zone about 88 percent of the time. Opponents are shooting 38.4 percent against their zone. Tulane wants you to throw long passes over the zone. USF needs to look inside as well as look to get the ball to the corner or short corner to flatten out the zone.
Prediction
USF 64 Tulane 59
To win USF must take care of the ball – Tulane forces 15.1 turnovers per game and own a +3.69 turnover margin which ranks 22nd nationally and No. 1 in the AAC. Keep Walker and Forbes under control. Attack the match-up zone aggressively. Dominate the glass, especially on offense.
