On alumni day in front of 4,544 fans, the USF Bulls had their four-game winning streak snapped, dropping an 86-85 decision to Wichita State in overtime.
Wes Enis hit a three-point shot to give USF a quick 3-0 lead, and things began to unravel quickly for USF. The Shockers built a 17-8 lead after a 15-2 run to put the Bulls in a big hole early. Wichita State shot 64% from the field early on, while the Bulls made just 3-of-9 shots to help propel Wichita State to the early lead.
After the first timeout, things did not get any better for the Bulls as the shots would not fall and the Shockers built a 23-10 lead. Wichita State was the most aggressive and physical team for the first 10 minutes. Not only did they outshoot the Bulls, but they also held a 14-8 advantage on the boards. The Shockers would extend the lead to 30-15 on red-hot 52% shooting and 7-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc.
USF head coach Brian Hodgson talked about the Bulls’ slow start: “I gotta do a better job preparing us to come out and not put ourselves in a hole down 15 points. I don’t have an answer to why that happened, but it’s my job to make sure that doesn’t happen. Ultimately, this is on me.”
Then, the Bulls went to work. They would outscore Wichita State 21-7 the rest of the half and trail the Shockers by one, 37-36, at the half. Enis and Joe Pinion paced the Bulls in the first half with eight points, while Izaiyah Nelson hit his third three-point shot of the season to help the Bulls cut into the Wichita State lead.
The first 15 minutes of the half were, without a doubt, the worst 15-minute stretch of basketball USF has played this season. But like all good teams, they were able to cut what was once a 15 point deficit to trail by one at the break.
USF would build a 10 point lead in the first two minutes of the second half, 48-38, on some good three-point shooting from Enis. But Wichita State would battle back and make it a seven-point game, 53-46 in favor of USF, with 13:13 to play in the first half. The Shockers cut the lead to five at 66-61 with 7:43 to play.
USF and Wichita State continued to exchange baskets, and the Shockers cut the lead to four with 3:46 to play in the game. Reminiscent of the UAB game, USF had a six-point lead with 3:47 to go and could not close the deal, as Wichita State kept coming back and refused to go away. The Shockers would tie it at 77-77 with just 28 seconds left, sending the game into overtime.
In overtime, the largest lead was two points by the Bulls at 79-77, but Wichita State made more plays down the stretch to close out the 86-85 win.
Hodgson took much of the responsibility for his team not being prepared to close out those close games. “I’m doing these guys a disservice, I just gotta put us in a better situation to win basketball games against good teams. Get through some adversity, make better decisions down the stretch.”
The Bulls were out-rebounded and outshot by Wichita State – it’s as simple as that. Joe Pinion led USF with 21 points, and Kenyon Giles had 22 to lead the Shockers. With the loss, USF is 11-7 overall and 4-2 in conference play.
Coach Hodgson assessed his team 18 games into the season and through five conference games: “We’re gonna be fine. We’re gonna compete to win in this league and then to play in the NCAA tournament. At the end of the day, we’ve got to learn from these mistakes and get better, but this group’s gonna be fine.”
It will not get any easier for the Bulls as they will travel to Alabama this week for a matchup with UAB on Thursday night. USF lost to UAB in the conference opener in double overtime, 109-108, and this game offers a chance for the Bulls to get an impressive win on the road.
The Bulls will then close out the week Sunday afternoon with one of the biggest games so far this season: their first matchup with in-state rival FAU next Sunday at 1 p.m.