The war on I-4 was back for one night only as the Bulls reignited their rivalry with the UCF Knights in the first round of the NIT.
It did not take long for the Bulls to establish their dominance as they built an early 11-8 lead and never looked back as USF led by as many as 15 in the first half.
USF Set A New Program Record Hitting 13 Three Pointers
Once again, the Bulls were dominant from the three-point line as they hit on 13/24, good for 54 percent, and they cruised to an 83-77 win over UCF in their first-round NIT matchup. The 13 three-pointers was a new program high for USF.
The Bulls have now won three in a row against UCF.
Before a partisan crowd of 4164, the Bulls beat their arch-rival and will move into the second round of the NIT to play the winner of the Villanova/VCU matchup. The Bulls will host the second-round game if Virginia Commonwealth can win that game.
Bulls coach Amir Adur-Rahim talked about the game and was happy to get out of Orlando with a win. “What a fun game to be a part of. Really cool to see two teams that compete at a high level with two passionate fan bases behind them to support them. I’m just thankful that we came out victorious.”
One of the game’s biggest plays came in the second half, with the Bulls up by four, 71-67. Chris Youngblood drained a three to put the Bulls up by seven at 74-67, and UCF would never threaten the rest of the way.
Coach Abdur-Rahim also talked about his team’s composure in a hostile environment. “To be able to respond in this environment against that team, that coach. I’m really proud of them.”
The Bulls, now 25-7, were out-rebounded on the offensive end 14-4 and were outscored in the paint by UCF 34-20. But the Bulls’ three-point shooting was the difference maker, along with the free throw shooting down the stretch, which propelled USF to the win.
Selton Miguel led the way with 19 points for the Bulls. Kasean Pryor was a force offensively and defensively, scoring 17 points and grabbing eight rebounds.
Bulls Mindset Changed After NCAA Tourney Snub
The Bulls felt they should have had an NCAA Tournament bid, but as Orlando native Jose Placer talked after the game, it was all about the opportunity to continue to play basketball. “I think the biggest thing for us was, yeah, we feel like we should’ve been in, but this is still a great opportunity for us. I think that’s the just the biggest thing, staying focused, being in the moment. We’ve still got a lot more games to go win.”
This USF team is on a mission to prove all the doubters wrong. “When you work as hard as we work and did the things that we did, and you don’t get the invite to the tournament that you wanted, it stung a little bit,” Abdur-Rahim said. “The way we deal with it is, we get back to work. And they came into practice man, we didn’t have to fight them on their energy, their effort, their enthusiasm. They were ready to roll.”
With that mindset and energy, there is no reason this Bulls team can’t make a run in this NIT Tournament and be one of the final teams playing in Indianapolis later this month.