No. 11 seeded USF begins its run in the American Athletic Conference Championships with an 8 p.m. game against No. 6 seeded UConn on Thursday.
The Bulls (9-22, 3-15 The American) are coming off a 67-63 loss to Tulane on Saturday in the final regular season game of the season. USF will be looking for its first American Athletic Conference Championships win since the newly-formed conference began last season. In order to pick up that first win, the Bulls will have to beat the defending national champions for the first time this season.
In the first meeting on Jan. 6, USF led for 14 minutes of the 20-minute first half before UConn (17-13, 10-8 The American) took a 28-24 lead into the break. However, the Huskies shot 57.1 percent in the second half and went on to a 58-44 win in the Sun Dome. The Bulls put together a solid second half in Hartford two weeks later outscoring the Huskies 35-33, but a first half deficit of 30-20 was too much to overcome in a 66-53 loss. Nehemias Morillo (Dominican Republic) shined in the loss with 18 points, which still stands as his career high.
Troy Holston Jr. (Queens, N.Y.) will enter the game as the reigning conference rookie of the week after averaging 20.0 points and 7.0 rebounds over the last two games. Holston Jr. has been the standout of the freshman class, which has contributed 58.9 percent of the Bulls’ scoring over the last seven games. Over the last five games, Holston Jr. has averaged 18.6 points per game. Morillo has played well as of late, scoring in double-figures in each of the last three games to increase his scoring average to 10.0 points per game this season.
The Huskies, who are coming off a 75-63 loss at Temple on Saturday, will be playing in a familiar environment on Thursday. UConn has amassed a 6-1 record this season in the XL Center, a short drive from its Storrs campus. Guard Ryan Boatright leads the conference with 17.8 points per game. The last time he faced USF, Boatright scored 28 points, 19 in the second half.
SERIES INFORMATION
UConn leads the all-time series, 14-2, including a 6-0 lead in either Hartford or Storrs. The Huskies have won the last four meetings.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
The game can be viewed on ESPNews or the WatchESPN app with Mike Patrick and Len Elmore on the call. Listen to the radio broadcast on 1010 AM, online at GoUSFBulls.com or the Tune-In radio app.
BLOCKING BULLS
-USF’s 151 block ranks as the second most in a season for the Bulls. The 2005-06 team set the school record with 164.
-USF ranks 35th in the country in blocks per game with 4.9.
-For the first time in school history, USF has four players with at least 20 blocks in a season. The four players are Guerrero (42), Zeigler (35), Perry (24) and Cousins (22).
-Ruben Guerrero is fourth in the conference with 33 blocks in conference games, and the highest-ranked freshman.
-Ruben Guerrero is first among freshmen in the conference with 1.6 blocks per game.
-Ruben Guerrero is 10th among freshmen in the country when it comes to blocks per game (1.6).
KENTUCKY’S ONLY LOSS
-No. 1 ranked Kentucky has not lost this season and some experts say they never will. However, the only blemish for the Wildcats came in August when Orlando Antigua’s Dominican Republic national team defeated UK 63-62.
-Antigua was an assistant with Kentucky the previous five seasons and has helped recruit much of the Wildcats’ current roster.
EARLY SIGNING DAY
USF was busy during the early signing period, grabbing three to national letters of intent including two four-star prospects.
-Tulio Da Silva is a 6-8, 200-pound forward from Brazil and is currently playing at Arlington Country Day High School in Jacksonville, Fla. Da Silva is one of the most unknown players in the country, but was given a four-star rating by ESPN.com.
-Louis Santos is a 6-8, 245-pound forward from Bronx, N.Y., and is currently playing at Sunrise Christian High School in Wichita, Kan. Santos was given a four-star rating by ESPN.com. He attended St. Raymond High School in Bronx, N.Y., the same school as head coach Orlando Antigua and assistant coach Oliver Antigua.
-Jahmal McMurray is a 6-0, 175-pound guard from Topeka, Kan. and is currently playing at Sunrise Christian Prep in Wichita, Kan. McMurray was given a three-star rating by Rivals.com. He was a three-time all-state selection at Highland Park High School in Topeka.
USF VS. KENTUCKY IN NOVEMBER
It was announced that USF will play Kentucky, the winningest program in college basketball history, on Nov. 27, 2015 at the first-ever Hoophall Miami Invitational at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Fla.
-It will be the first meeting between the two programs. It will be the first time that USF head coach Orlando Antigua will go against his former employer Kentucky after spending the past five seasons as an assistant for the Wildcats. Memphis and Ohio State is the other game of the doubleheader which is a Naismith Hall of Fame event.
UP NEXT
If USF wins, it will play No. 3 seeded Cincinnati on Friday at 9 p.m. on ESPNU. If USF loses, its season will be over.
Information written and provided by USF Athletics