In front of a sold-out Yuengling Center and a National TV audience on ESPN2, the USF Bulls were back home Sunday afternoon for a big conference matchup with the SMU Mustangs.
Every game becomes essential for USF from this point forward, as it’s looking like the only path to the NCAA Tournament for the Bulls will be to win the AAC post-season tournament and get the automatic bid.
With USF football coach Alex Golesh in attendance and getting the crowd pumped up, the Bulls showed again why you cannot sleep on this team.
Solid three-point shooting and a tremendous defensive effort paved the way for USF to get a hard-earned 79-68 win over SMU.
The win was the 13th in a row for the Bulls, a new program record. The Bulls, now 21-5 overall and 14-1 in conference play, now hold a two-game lead over second-place FAU and a three-game lead over third-place Charlotte.
This win locks up the number one seed in the AAC tournament with three conference games remaining.
The 13 wins in a row is the second best in the country behind St. Marys.
Bulls Start Fast Once Again
Once again, it was a quick start for USF as Kobe Knox, Chris Youngblood, and Kasean Pryor all hit from three-point range to put the Bulls up early, 11-5, a lead they would never relinquish.
Not only were the Bulls hot from three-point range, but they were also solid defensively, holding the Mustangs to 33 percent shooting for the game.
Kasean Pryor was a force with his defensive play early on and led the Bulls in scoring with 19 points. He also added eight rebounds.
USF went cold from the floor after building that 11-5 lead, missing their next eight shots. But the defensive intensity held SMU to 23 percent shooting during that stretch, and the Bulls led 15-13 with 7:30 to go in the half.
Then, the reigning AAC Player of the Week, Selton Miguel, took over as he hit two three-pointers to end the scoreless streak for the Bulls. Miguel would add another basket later in the half to put USF up 25-23 with 2:45 to go in the half.
The Bulls would stretch the lead to 34-26 at the half, led by Miguel with 11 points and Kasean Pryor with nine.
Bulls Defensive Effort Smother The SMU Offense
This was one of the stronger halves of basketball defensively for USF this season, as they held SMU to 9/36 shooting and 3/13 from three-point range.
The Bulls turned the ball over ten times in the half, which contributed to their scoring deficit.
USF built the lead to ten with just over two minutes gone in the second half as Chris Youngblood led the way with six points to get the Bulls off and running in the second half.
USF would trade baskets with SMU for the next ten minutes, maintaining the lead at 58-51 with 8:24 to go in the game.
SMU would win the battle of the boards 45-32 and out-rebounded the Bulls 27-4 on the offensive end.
Free Throw Shooting A Difference Maker For USF
Another key to this game was the foul shooting. USF made 27/30 for 90 percent. Meanwhile, SMU was just 15/31 from the free throw stripe for 48 percent.
Kasean Pryor led the Bulls with 19 points, while Selton Miguel added 18.
After watching this Bulls run over the last two months, it’s easy to see why this team will be a problem for opposing teams should they get an NCAA Tourney bid.
USF is off until next Saturday when they visit Charlotte, followed by the home season finale against Tulane and a road trip to Tulsa to wrap up the regular season.