What To Watch For: USF vs. SMU
South Florida returns to the Yuengling Center one final time this season to host Southern Methodist for senior day, where players T.J. Lang, Ron Lubin and Nikola Scekic will be honored.
SMU has lost nine of its last 10 games and has struggled with injuries to key players all season.
The Bulls have the potential to be either the 6-seed, 7-seed or 8-seed in next week’s American Athletic Conference Tournament depending on Sunday’s outcome and a few other games around the conference.
RunningTheBulls.com has your quick facts and what to watch for against SMU.
RunningTheBulls.com has your quick facts and what to watch for against SMU.
Quick Facts
Matchup: USF (19-11, 8-9 AAC) vs. SMU (13-16, 5-12 AAC)
Date: Sunday, Mar. 10
Time: 4 p.m. EST
Location: Tampa, Fla. | Yuengling Center
Watch: ESPNU (Drew Fellios, Mark Plansky)
Radio: AM 820 | USF Bulls Unlimited (Jim Lighthall, Joey Johnston)
History: This will be the 14th meeting between USF and SMU. Officially, The Bulls trail in the series 5-8 (one SMU win from the 2013-14 season was later vacated) but have won the last two games against the Mustangs.
The Opponent: SMU is led by senior guard Jahmal McMurray, sophomore big man Ethan Chargois and junior guard Jimmy Whitt Jr. The latter of which injured his shoulder and is not expected to suit up against USF. Senior forward Jarrey Foster was named preseason All-AAC Second Team but has only played in 13 games this season due to a knee injury. Sunday will be just his third game since January 16.
Hopefully this is the last time USF fans have to watch McMurray. He is the fourth leading scorer in the AAC and is averaging 24 points in his last six games. He is a streaky shooter who will shoot from almost anywhere on the court. McMurray is creative and unorthodox. He can get shots off quickly even at odd angles. USF MUST close out on him with a hand high.
Chargois is not a high flyer, rather he is a skilled, agile and mobile big who can dribble, pass and shoot. He is SMU’s second leading scorer (12.3 ppg) and leading rebounder (185). He is a good pick-and-pop big, connecting on 34.2 percent of his three-point attempts. Look for Chargois to score off of plays when he slips a screen and the defense doesn’t rotate properly.
Foster is a positionless player who can defend. He has lost some athleticism due to his knee injury, but he is active at both ends of the court. Last season Foster was SMU’s best offensive rebounder. SMU has limited his minutes to 22 per game since his return.
Watch sophomore forward Isiaha Mike. He scored 18 points (6-11 FG), grabbed five rebounds, dished three assists and swatted two shots against USF in Dallas. Mike has not been shooting well from the perimeter lately but what he has been very good at is grabbing rebounds.
Offensively SMU runs about 20 set plays, very little motion offense, and they look to throw lobs to their athletic wings. Against zone they rely on dribble penetration and lobs to wings who get behind the zone. Having just eight available scholarship players has forced them into a slower tempo to save energy for defense. Watch for SMU to run McMurray off of Iverson screens to get him open for a catch-and-shoot.
SMU is a below average defensive team allowing opponents to shoot 43.3 percent from the field. They play mostly man, but they are playing zone twice as much during games now (20.5 percent) as they did when they met USF in February. They have been using a 2-3 matchup zone quite frequently of late. They also use a 1-3-1 with a power forward up top.
Prediction
USF 69 SMU 64
Defending the three-point line – including ball screen coverage and transition defense where they set drag screens to set up a three-point attempt – and rebounding are keys to this game for USF to get a win. USF must keep SMU off the glass. Laquincy Rideau’s status (foot) for the game was unknown at the time of publication.