Next game: December 31, 3 p.m. vs. East Carolina
TV: ESPN+ Audio: Bulls Unlimited
There was no post-holiday hangover for the USF men’s basketball team when the Bulls met the NAIA Webber International Warriors on Saturday afternoon at the Yuengling Center.
Well … maybe there was a little hangover, not that it mattered in USF’s 106-49 blowout victory. It was the largest victory margin in program history, and the Bulls outscored the visitors 36-0 on turnovers.
USF had 28 assists and only two turnovers.
To quibble just a bit, Webber led 9-4 about five minutes into the game, but the Bulls answered with a 50-17 run over the rest of the half, and, well, that was that.
“I think our guys thought the game started at 3:30 instead of 3,” interim coach Ben Fletcher quipped to the TV sideline reporter as the teams went to their dressing rooms at halftime.
The Bulls topped the 100-point mark with 3:35 remaining on a putback by Quincy Ademokoya. Fletcher cleared the bench, with everyone in uniform seeing at least eight minutes of court time. They had five players in double figures.
“I wanted to see discipline no matter what the score was. I wanted to see us play the right way, and I thought we did a really good job of doing that tonight,” Fletcher said. “Every guy that stepped in on the floor, I thought they did a really good job.”
USF finished the non-conference portion of its season with a 7-6 record. Next up for the Bulls is the start of the American Athletic Conference season on Tuesday afternoon at home against East Carolina.
Repeat: 3 p.m., not 3:30.
We can chuckle a bit after watching the Bulls romp in their two games against admittedly outclassed opposition. Of course, Bethune-Cookman was supposed to be outclassed, too, but lost 77-69. That was a wake-up call for the Bulls, as they have looked crisper and more focused in their last two games.
USF was picked to finish third in the AAC preseason media poll, but that was before the sudden death of head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim rocked the program.
Understandably, adjusting to the new reality took time, but having Fletcher – Abdur-Rahim’s top assistant – take over as the interim head coach kept things from falling apart.
Now, with the start of conference play, it gets real.
“Just watching a bunch of games over the break, it's going to be very similar to last year. It's going to be a wide-open league.
“Obviously, Memphis is Memphis, but you're gonna have to bring your hard hat every night because it's a tough league. You’ve got to take advantage of opportunities when you have them. And man, we have to be prepared for that this week.”