USF basketball crushes Charlotte to close regular season with 9th straight win

The USF men's basketball team put on a show Sunday on Senior Day in front of a delighted crowd of 6,710 at the Yuengling Center.

The Bulls spotted Charlotte an early lead, then buried the 49ers with an avalanche of 3-pointers, suffocating defense, and overall talent as they rolled to an 83-60 victory in the regular-season finale.

Then it was time to celebrate.

Green and gold confetti fell from ceiling, and, of course, the cutting down of the nets as the crowd roared its approval.

And as a final touch, CEO of Athletics Rob Higgins unveiled the league championship banner because, as he told the crowd, "Why wait until next season? At USF, it's all gas, no brakes."

What a season it has been to this point, and it's far from over.

With their ninth straight win and 12th in their last 13 games, the Bulls improved to 23-8 overall and 15-3 in the American Conference. The 23 wins matches the regular season total by the 2023-24 Bulls team coached by Amir Abdur-Rahim.

Since standing 6-5 on December 17 after a loss at Alabama, USF won 17 of its next 20 games. The three losses in that span were by. total of five points, including two in overtime. Not only did the Bulls win consistently, they did it with style.

They have the likely American Conference Player of the Year in Izayiah Nelson. They have a pair of guards -- Wes Enis and Joseph Pinion -- who each finished the regular season with 100 made 3-pointers. USF is the 12th team in NCAA history to do that.

And they have what certainly will be the conference Coach of the Year in Bryan Hodgson.

"That group, I said it before, you get to see what they do on the floor, but they're so special, such phenomenal young men off the floor," Hodgson said on his post-game radio show."

"It's gonna be emotional here down the stretch, obviously, but they're ready to continue to win some more ball games."

USF heads to the American Conference tournament in Birmingham as the top seed. The Bulls and Wichita State, which finished second, receive byes to the semifinals. Only 10 of the American's 13 teams qualify for the tournament.

The Bulls have their eye on the program's first NCAA bid since 2012. Winning the conference tournament would guarantee that, much preferable than hinging their hopes on an at-large bid.

Charlotte tried to give the Bulls a little grief by jumping ahead by seven points in the first few minutes, but USF turned it on and led by 15 at halftime.

A 20-2 blitz in the second half turned the game into a rout. At one point, USF's defense forced Charlotte into15 misses out of 16 shots

Hodgson timed it so that the seniors got their individual curtain calls to loud ovations.

Nelson left with 3:14 left, blowing kisses to the crowd as he headed to the bench. Pinion had his moment with 2:17 left. Daimion Collins, Devin Haid, and Isaiah Jones felt the appreciation as they left.

And as he spoke to the crowd after accepting the championship trophy from American Conference Commissioner Tim Pernetti, Hodgson made sure to give the late Amir Abdur-Rahim credit for proving that this one-time basketball wasteland was a place that not only win games, but could win championships and cut down nets.

Together, it all combined for something that can never be taken away.