USF's basketball season is at a crossroads as the Bulls head to Bartow Arena to face UAB tonight at 7 p.m. on ESPN 2. To say that the Blazers have been a tough out over the years for USF understates the way UAB has dominated the Bulls.
The Blazers lead the all-time series 44-21, including a stomach-churning 109-106 double overtime win earlier this month at the Yuengling Center.
UAB has won the last seven games against the Bulls. USF is 7-25 all-time in Birmingham and hasn't won there since 2014. The Blazers are 5-0 against the Bulls since joining the American Conference in 2023, all under head coach Andy Kennedy.
Remember USF's school-record 15-game winning streak in 2023? Do you remember the last team to beat the Bulls before that streak started?
Yep. It was UAB.
That same season, USF went to the conference tournament as the top seed, but also knew it had to win it all to get a bid to March Madness. You know who ended the Bulls' dream in the semfinals?
UAB.
All of this is saying that the Bulls have an enormous opportu nity to get their season back on track while simultaneously putting at least a temporary stop to what surely looks like a long-term hex.
The Bulls are 11-7 overall and 3-2 in the conference. They're also four points and three overtimes away from being 5-0 in the American, but close doesn't count in the standings.
If USF can defang the Blazers tonight, it would set up a high-stakes showdown on Sunday at home against Florida Atlantic. The Owls lead the conference with a 6-1 record.
In the first meeting against the Blazers, USF led by nine points with 5:43 to play and still was up by five with 1:14 to go. But as always seems to happen when these two teams play, the Blazers made enough plays to force one overtime, and then another.
Bulls head coach Bryan Hodgson was 2-0 against UAB when he was at Arkansas State. so there is that. After last Sunday's 86-85 overtime loss to Wichita State, Hodgson pointed the finger at himself and said he needed to do a better job of putting his players in positions to succeed.
I would guess the last few days of practice has been about as intense ss Hodgson could make it. He knows what's at stake in this game and his players do too.
The loss to Wichita caused the Bulls' NET ranking to nosedive from 58th to 70th. Another loss tonight would send it plummeting again, especially since UAB is 113th.
So, yeah ... the season is at a crossroads. This team can still achieve its goals this season of a conference title and a berth in the NCAA tournament. However, for now, at least, that road appears to run through Birmingham.
History suggests that's a rocky road for the Bulls to travel, but it's time to change the narrative.