The South Florida Bulls continued their excellent season Thursday night with a hard-earned 96-89 win in Memphis against the Tigers to clinch sole possession of the American Athletic Conference regular season crown.
With the win, the Bulls have won eight games in a row, and are 22-8 on the season and 14-3 in conference play. USF also improved its conference road record to 9-1.
USF has now secured the number one seed in the AAC Tournament, which begins next week in Birmingham.
The Bulls entered the game playing their best basketball of the season, and this game would be no different. As this team has done so many times this season, USF relied on balanced scoring, offensive rebounding, and some clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch to get the win.
The first half stayed close as both teams traded baskets and pushed the tempo offensively. Memphis tried throughout the half to get its offense going and build a big lead, but for every run Memphis made, USF countered with one of its own to keep the game close.
Both teams struggled early on with three-point shots, combining to go 2/15 at the midway point of the first half. Memphis would not make its first three-point shot until there were just under three minutes to play in the first half.
The Bulls would lead at halftime 51-46. Wes Enis led USF with 14 first-half points, Josh Omojafo added 13, and Gavin Hightower, off the bench, added 13 points.
But Memphis would not go away, keeping the game close in the second half and narrowing the margin to 64-60. USF would then go on a 10-0 run, giving the Bulls their largest lead of the night, 74-60, shifting the momentum in the Bulls’ favor and forcing the Tigers to play catch-up the rest of the way.
Memphis would cut the lead to four points with less than a minute to play, but USF was able to make some key free throws down the stretch to secure the 96-89 win.
Wes Enis had another outstanding game, leading the Bulls with 29 points. Enis shot 9/17 from the field, but was also excellent at the free throw line, making all nine of his free throw attempts. Josh Omojafo added 14 points for the Bulls, while Isiah Jones scored 11 points.
Memphis is now 12-19. The Tigers are in danger of missing the conference tournament for the first time since Penny Hardaway arrived as head coach.
USF will finish out the season at home against Charlotte on Sunday at 2 p.m. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN.
With the matchup against Charlotte USF’s only game left in the regular season, and a regular season conference championship in the bag, the Bulls can now turn their attention to postseason play with momentum on their side.
Other Notes:
-This is the first time in program history that USF has swept the season series from Memphis.
-This was the second time in three seasons that USF has clinched the AAC regular season championship.
-This was the 15th 90-point game for the Bulls this season. They have also scored 2,656 points this season, making this the highest-scoring team in USF history.