The USF Bulls did not get the result they were looking for in their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2012. Still, a very strong foundation has been laid for the program, setting the stage for more conference championships and NCAA appearances.
FL Teams asked head coach Bryan Hodgson earlier in the season whether this was a team that would live and die by the three-point shot. He refuted that and said that this team could win games in a number of ways.
In Buffalo, they died by the three-point shot, as they had their worst shooting performance of the season from the three-point line, making just five of 33 three-point attempts in falling to the Louisville Cardinals 83-79.
It’s just a shame that a couple of those three-point attempts did not find the bottom of the net.
Wes Enis, who was solid all year from beyond the arc, went 0/11 in the game. In fact, Joe Pinion was the only player to make a three-point shot—he was 5/14 from beyond the arc while the rest of the team shot 0/19.
Louisville, on the other hand, was on fire from three-point land, hitting 13/25 for 52%.
A defensive stop on a Louisville three-point attempt, and just a couple more three-pointers by the Bulls, and this USF team would be playing on Saturday.
USF did a lot of things well in this game, except for the three-point shooting. They forced 22 Louisville turnovers, which they converted into 24 points. Although they lost the overall battle on the boards to Louisville 41-37, they hammered the Cardinals on the offensive boards 18-11, creating 18 additional possessions. South Florida also had 15 steals, which they converted into 18 fast-break points.
Everyone was talking about how physical Louisville was and how they would dominate in the paint. Well, these South Florida Bulls outscored Louisville in the paint 44-30.
This USF team has nothing to hang their heads about. Disappointment? Yes. But all season long, these players represented the university and the city of Tampa with class and professionalism.
They won 25 games, tying a school record. They won the American Conference Championship in the regular season and conference tournament. They set scoring records and were one of the most entertaining teams to watch in years.
They made the season a joy to be part of by covering it. Those memories can never be taken away.
Now the questions begin about the future of the basketball program. The biggest question concerns the status of head coach Bryan Hodgson. He turned down the Syracuse job earlier this week, and rumor has it that Providence is hot and heavy after Hodgson.
Does he stay or go?
Allow me to be objective for a moment. It’s cold and nasty nine months out of the year in Providence. Tampa is a much more “sexy” city than Providence, and the head basketball coach at South Florida is one of the top jobs in the country, according to Hodgson.
“USF is a phenomenal place,” he said. “Very appreciative to the administration for believing in me. It was a very, very sought-after job. I mean, they had guys that had been coaching for 25, 30 years that wanted that job.”
“I had never been to an NCAA tournament before as a head coach. And so they took a chance on me, and I’ll forever be grateful for that. It’s a phenomenal, phenomenal university community and athletic department.”
“They treat their people with the utmost respect, and I’ll say, the University of South Florida is just scratching the surface. There’s so much momentum going on on that campus and in that community. And it’s really just getting started.”
At the end of the day, Hodgson will have to do what he feels is best for him and his family.
If this was the swan song for Bryan Hodgson at USF, a huge “Thank You” to the coach for taking us along on an amazing ride this season.
The future is very bright for basketball at USF. Not only the basketball program, but the entire athletic department is poised for explosive growth in the years ahead.