The USF Bulls were back home Tuesday night to face the Coppin State Eagles, who were looking for their first win of the season.
The Bulls came out of the locker room on fire. They jumped to an early 2-0 lead, and quickly were up 15-5 at the 15:44 mark of the first half as USF cruised to a 100-50 win over Coppin Sate.
Coppin State would never threaten the Bulls at any point during the game as the Bulls hit the century mark for the second time this season.
The 50-point win over Coppin State is the second-largest margin of victory in program history.
Coach Brian Hodgson wanted Joe Pinion to get going early in the game as Pinion struggled in the first two games of the season, shooting just 2-of-21 on three point attempts. Pinion did not disappoint as he had 14 points early on, including 2-of-4 from three-point range. He would finish the half with 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting, including 5-of-12 on three-point attempts as the Bulls built a 49-23 halftime lead.
One USF player who has raised some eyebrows early on with his overall play is senior Josh Omojofo. He scored 30 points against George Washington, the first USF basketball player to score 30 in a game since 2023. Omojofo led the team in scoring at 25.0 points per game coming into the Coppin State game. He is also pulling down 6.0 rebounds a game and averaging 4.0 assists. He scored seven points in the first half and would end his evening with nine points, six rebounds, and six assists.
It’s not all about offense for Omojafo either. He is excellent on the defensive end as well, leading the Bulls in steals at 2.5 per game. He will continue to get better and will be an integral part of this Bulls team as the season moves along.
This was the best defensive effort by the Bulls so far this season, as they held Coppin State to 32 percent shooting, and 2-of-10 on three point attempts. The Bulls also had 10 ten steals and two blocked shots in the victory. The Bulls have forced at least 18 turnovers and recorded 10 or more steals in each game this season.
Pinion would end up leading the Bulls in scoring with 24 points and Izaiyah Nelson would have his second double-double of the season with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Wes Enis added 11 points on three three point shots, and Caleb Sanders would chip in 12 points off the bench.
The Bulls had a 19 point advantage on the glass, and Nelson said that rebounding was a point of emphasis for this USF team this week. “We really harped on rebounding. Last game, we lost by four points. So that’s two positions right there that we could, have, crashed harder on the rebounds.”
Another point of emphasis for the Bulls has been playing fast and creating fast-break points. The Bulls created 26 fast-break points. Hodgson also talked about the importance of taking good shots and making those shots.
“We didn’t make shots (against GW). I went back, we watched the film over and over. We took clean, good looks at GW that we didn’t make. With that being said, we still could have won that basketball game.”
The Bulls will head to Georgia next for a Sunday afternoon matchup with the Kennesaw State Owls in the first annual “Love Wins Classic” to honor the late USF basketball coach Amir Abdur-Rahim.
Coach Hodgson discussed the emotions that will arise from playing that game. “Kennesaw is gonna be a phenomenal atmosphere on Sunday, honoring Coach Amir. It’s gonna be a good game. Going to be a war. So we’re looking forward to that opportunity.”
This will be the first of four games away from Tampa for the Bulls. After Kennesaw State, the Bulls will then play at Oklahoma State, and play Virginia Commonwealth and another yet to be determined in the Bahamas before returning home to take on Utah State on December 4th.