Next game: UAB (9-7, 2-1) at USF (9-7, 2-1) on January 15 at the Yuengling Center
Game time: 7 p.m.
Media: ESPN+ Bulls Unlimited
We’ll start with the obvious: Winning a basketball game on the road is difficult in the American Athletic Conference.
That said, the USF men’s team made it harder on itself than it should have been Saturday afternoon at Tulane. No disrespect intended for the Green Wave, but this was a game the Bulls almost certainly will believe they should have won.
Instead, they watched host Tulane pull out a 73-70 victory after the Bulls led by nine points with about 10 minutes left in the game.
“I never felt comfortable, because they do a good job. They’ve got spurt ability, man. They got guys that can really get out in transition,” interim head coach Ben Fletcher said.
“I thought we had a couple of questionable shots where we wanted to play fast, but I didn't want it to be hurt or rushed. And I thought on a couple of those possessions, we got rushed.”
That wasn’t all.
Tulane came into the game tied for 187th in 3-point shooting among Division I teams in the country, so the Bulls’ defensive plan was to control the paint. That was sound reasoning, but the Green Wave spoiled that plan by hitting 14 out of 30 3-point shots.
USF also had 15 turnovers, leading to 23 points by the home team. The Bulls shot 52.9 percent from the floor, but the turnovers proved to be too much to overcome.
“I told the guys the game came down to our turnovers, which helped lead to their points,” Fletcher said. “And then, you know, we gave up too many offensive rebounds down the stretch.”
The loss stopped a four-game winning streak for USF, dropping the Bulls to 2-1 in the AAC and 9-7 overall. Fletcher said the Bulls need to put this one behind them quickly because the next game is against UAB, which beat USF twice last season.
“I want to keep I want to see those guys do the same thing that they've been doing all year long, and that's responding like I said, they're resilient bunch. I'm sure that I got a, I got a locker room full of hurt guys in there right now because they really wanted to win this game,” he said.
“But you know, we have to make sure we do what we need to do to win the game when, when the minutes are flowing. I think we will.”