What To Watch For: USF vs. Tulane

South Florida plays its final game of the month, and just its third in ten days when they take on Tulane in the penultimate home game of the season in the Sun Dome. USF is looking to sweep the Tulane, the only American Athletic Conference team USF has defeated this season.

In the Bulls loss at Tulsa, last Sunday, Freshman David Collins scored in double figures for the sixth straight game. His 17 points led the Bulls in scoring in the loss. Collins is averaging 14.2 points during his six-game stretch of scoring in double figures.

RunningTheBulls.com has your quick facts and what to watch for against Tulane:

Quick Facts

Matchup: Tulane (13-14, 4-11 AAC) at USF (8-20, 1-14 AAC)

Date: Saturday, Feb. 24

Time: 12 p.m. EST

Location: Tampa, Fla. | USF Sun Dome

TV: ESPNU (Roy Philpott, Mark Wise)

Radio: AM 820 | USF Bulls Unlimited (Jim Lighthall, Joey Johnston)

History: This will be the 35th all-time meeting between the two programs, going back to 1992. USF trails in the series 14-20, but won the most recent meeting 80-75 last month in New Orleans.

The Opponent: Tulane has doubled their win total in Mike Dunleavy’s second season. However, they have lost eight of their last nine games.

Melvin Frazier (16.2 PPG) and Cameron Reynolds (15.7 PPG) rank as the No. 2 scoring duo in the American Athletic Conference this season. Frazier is an elite athlete with long arms which help him on defense. He ranks second in the Conference in steals (58) and steals per game (2.2), and has at least three heists in 12 contests this season. His length also allows him to be an effective scorer in traffic. Reynolds is a lefty sharp shooter who has connected on 39.5 percent of his three-point attempts this season. The 6-foot-8, 225-pound Reynolds is Tulane’s leading rebounder (6.8 rpg) to go along with his scoring.

Tulane’s third returning starter is Ray Ona Embo and like Frazier, he has improved on the offensive side of the floor. Last season Ona Embo only made 25 percent of his perimeter jumpers, however, this season he is knocking them down at a 37.8 percent clip. When he plays well, typically Tulane plays well.

Jordan Cornish is a versatile player who, at 6-foot-6, 220-pounds, Tulane can put on the block but he can also knock down the occasional three-pointer (he was 3-of-4 vs. Wichita State). He uses ball fakes effectively from the corner to get to the rim or into the midrange for a pull up if help arrives.

A newcomer to watch for is Vanderbilt transfer big man Samir Sehic. At 6-foot-9, 240-pounds, Sehic is a stretch-four with a nice stroke. He is also Tulane’s best offensive rebounder at 2.2 per game. In the loss to USF last month, Sehic scored a career-high 23 points off the bench on 8-for-11 shooting, including 4-for-5 from outside to go with seven rebounds.

Tulane has the second most efficient transition offense in the AAC at 1.122 points per possession. They have explosive athletic players and want to push the ball and get quick scores. USF must sprint back on defense because Tulane will really push the pace and they have several guys who can finish at the rim. In the half court, Tulane spaces the floor well and gets good ball movement on the perimeter in their four-out offense. They will use high-low action out of this set and try to get an ISO down low. Tulane will also run the Flex offense, which means USF needs to be prepared for pin-downs and curls, as well as actions out of a Horns set.

Defensively Tulane is in man 95.1 percent of the time. We noticed them use a basic 2-3 zone early in their some games, including midway through the first half against Wichita State.

The Green Wave’s pressure defense has been used less than five percent of the time this season. As you might have guessed, they apply full court pressure mainly late in games when they are behind, or for a ‘sudden change’ early in games. When they do this, they fall into their zone defense. They attempt to trap off of the first pass.

Outlook: Transition defense, rebounding, limiting turnovers and scoring droughts are keys for USF to win this game. The Green Wave will drive it hard and attack you off the bounce so it's important to keep Tulane players in front of you. If USF has to rely on help defense too much that will open up things for Tulane's three point shooters or dump offs in the paint.

Prediction: Tulane 73 USF 67