Next game: UTSA (17-2, 8-0) vs. USF (13-8, 6-2)
When: January 29, 7 p.m., at the Yuengling Center
Media: ESPN+ and Bulls Unlimited
The USF women’s basketball team is about to embark on the most important stretch of its season, beginning Wednesday night at home against American Athletic Conference leader UTSA.
After UTSA, the Bulls face North Texas at home, followed by a trip to Temple.
It’s real simple: the Bulls are in fourth place in the AAC and the three teams ahead of them are the ones they’ll face over the next 11 days. Throw in a game against Rice, also at home, that follows this stretch, and the opportunity is there to make a move.
It’s a big task but not an impossible one.
At 6-2 in the conference, the Bulls are still within striking distance of the regular-season AAC title they were projected to win. Given that USF’s NET ranking is first among conference teams despite its fourth-place standing, winning the regular-season title would provide a cushion if the Bulls don’t win the AAC tournament.
First things first, though.
The Bulls face a team that has plowed through eight AAC opponents in as many opportunities.
“We're gonna have to do a great job internally. They got two really good post players and I think their guard play is very good. There's a reason why they've won the amount of games that they've won,” USF coach Jose Fernandez said.
“They are very well coached. (Head coach) Karen (Aston) has a lot of experience and all the places that she's been. So, yeah, it's an opportunity where we have them at home.”
UTSA has won 10 straight since losing 62-57 at Stanford in mid-December. Included in that streak are two wins over UAB, which upset the Bulls 62-61 on January 14.
“UAB came in here, and I told our kids all the time, we're going to get everybody's best punch, right? We didn't shoot the ball particularly well, and we got beat at home,” Fernandez said.
The Bulls have won their last two games, including a literal last-second victory last Saturday at East Carolina.
The formula against UTSA and beyond?
“Got to make shots and we’ve got to be consistent. I think the more that we have balanced scoring and a lot more people in double figures, we're a much better team,” he said.
You may ask how USF, sitting fourth in the AAC, can be tops among conference teams in the NET rankings, which helps determine NCAA tournament invitations and seedings.
“I think when you play the fifth-strongest non-conference schedule in the country, you're going to have a really good strength of schedule and a really high NET. We did that to position ourselves. We got a good quality win – a Quad 1 win over Duke, here at home.
“I think everything that we talked about at the beginning of the year is still ahead of us in these next four games will determine what we do.”