Next game: USF (13-15, 6-9) at Temple (14-14, 6-9)
When: Wednesday, February 26, 7 p.m.
TV/radio: ESPN+ and Bulls Unlimited
Sunday’s 64-57 loss to North Texas at the Yuengling Center could be a metaphor for the frustrating season the USF men’s basketball team has endured.
The Bulls were excellent at times in this game but they were also ragged. They were on the verge of being blown out by one of the top teams in the American Athletic Conference, but they came from 19 points and trailed by only two points with 1:35 left.
BACK WITHIN ☝️ AND THE YC IS BUMPIN'
— USF Men's Basketball (@USFMBB) February 23, 2025
📺: @ESPNU pic.twitter.com/10AOY4rc96
If the game had a storybook ending, the Bulls would have pulled it out. However, this season, unfortunately, has been defined more about what USF couldn’t do as opposed to what it did. When it was winning time, North Texas made the plays, and the Bulls did not.
Specifically, Jasper Floyd of North Texas made the plays. He had 18 points and was the only player on his team to score in double figures. With 1:04 left, he hit his fourth three-pointer of the game after the Bulls had pulled to within two. USF never got closer than five points after that.
“We had a quality. team coming in tonight (in North Texas), and they did a really good job of being physical with our guys,” interim USF coach Ben Fletcher said.
“I thought our guys matched that intensity in the second half, but you can't spot a good team 19 (points) and expect to come back and win at every time.”
North Texas is one of the top defensive teams in the AAC and it showed. USF was 1-of-13 on three-point shots. Even worse, the Bulls missed a combined 13 layups as the Mean Green ferociously contested everything around the basket.
“Their pressure sped us up and I thought our guys rushed wide open shots that we got. We rushed it just because they were doing such a good job of pressuring us,” Fletcher said.
“I thought we just needed to settle in and see one go in, and then, you know, we would get off to the races. But we just couldn't find it. We did a good job of driving in and they did a good job of converging and giving us those threes. Those are the ones that we really like. Tonight they just didn't fall for us.”
No, they did not. Outside of Brandon Stroud’s 20 points (along with nine rebounds and five steals), USF struggled to connect.
Kobe Knox shot 1-for-10 from the floor. Jayden Reid was 4-for-15 and only 1-of-7 on three-pointers.
The Bulls have only three games left before the AAC Tournament in Fort Worth. They sandwich the home finale against Florida Atlantic around road trips to Temple and Memphis.