For a special promotion on Sunday, USF head basketball coach Bryan Hodgson offered free 16-ounce Yuengling beers to the 500 students with proper IDs. And after the Bulls blitzed Florida Atlantic 89-75, you couldn't blame Hodgson for wanting to crack a cold one for himself.
The Owls came to the Yuengling Center alone in first place in the American Conference. They left it with the same number of conference losses -- two -- as USF and three other teams.
What’s better than cold beer and Basketball?🍻
— Bryan Hodgson (@CoachBHodgson) January 25, 2026
USF used a blistering second half, combining a stifling defense with a hot hand on offense, to overcome a shaky first half. The Bulls scored 56 points in the final 20 minutes against one of the top scoring defenses in the conference,
It was a grinding, physical 40-minute battle, with bodies flying all over the court. Early on, the Bulls were flummoxed by turnovers and missed shots, appearing tentative and out of sync
"Just goofy, goofy turnovers out of the gate," Hodgson said.
Despite that, they only trailed by three points at the half.
A very slimy win cam ✅ pic.twitter.com/eRvNcuxZaN
— USF Men's Basketball (@USFMBB) January 25, 2026
USF still trailed by that margin with 17:24 remaining, but then the blitz began.
"We had to calm down and come out and play our brand of basketball in the second half," Hodgson said.
USF guard Wes Enis had 16 of his 19 points in the second half, including four 3-pointers. Isaiyah Nelson conitinued to look like the best player in the conference. He had 15 points and 12 rebounds. Daimion Collins had 12 points in just 14 minutes of playing time.
Guard CJ Brown overcame a shaky start to finish with 17 points.
The Bulls held a staggering 49-35 rebounding edge,
Get the picture?
The Bulls, now 13-7 overall and 5-2 in the American, won't have much time to savor this one, Their next two games are at Tulane on Wednesday and at Temple on Saturday.
"it's just a really good league. I mean, you've gotta show up every single night," Hodgson said. "We've got two brutal road games coming up at Tulane and Temple, and we've got to find a way to win those ones. They're both right there in the mix at the top of that league, and we're gonna play, we have the toughest schedule in conference."