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Record: 9-22, 3-15 AAC
Head Coach: Orlando Antigua
Kenpom: 281
RPI: 272
BPI: 263
South Florida has hooked up twice with the Huskies this season, losing both games by an average of 13.5 points. In the teams' first meeting in Florida, UConn erased a slow start en route to a 58-44 victory. Senior Corey Allen Jr. was the only one player to score in double figures for the Bulls as the team shot 38.3% from the field and 2-9 from behind the arc. When the teams met again 19 days later, this time at the XL Center, South Florida was only down 2 with just under 12 minutes left in the game before Ryan Boatright did what he does to help the Huskies pull away. UConn went on to win 66-53 as the Bulls shot 40.4% from the field and 5-15 from three. Junior Nehemias Morillo led the way with 18 points on 6-14 shooting.
The Bulls did not have much success against other conference opponents as they were only able to muster up three wins against AAC opponents in Orlando Antigua's first year as head coach. Those three wins came against the bottom three teams in the conference (technically teams in 8th, 9th, and 10th place since USF finished last in conference). South Florida defeated ECU 58-50, Houston 69-67, and absolutely thrashed the UCF Knights 74-45.
Statistically, South Florida is kind of weird. On the offensive end, the Bulls average 62.2 PPG which ranks 301st in the nation, but they shoot 43.7% from the field which ranks in the middle of the pack at 168th in the nation. They are allowing 68.4 PPG on the year which ranks 238th in the country but block 4.9 shots per game which ranks 35th in the nation. They are 311th in the nation (30.6%) in three-point shooting percentage. The Bulls are also bad from the free throw line, shooting 61.5% which ranks 347th. There are 351 Division 1 Basketball teams, so not good, South Florida.
To make matters worse, the Bulls will be without their top two leading scorers for the game and most likely for the AAC Tournament (if they get past Thursday). Corey Allen Jr. (15.4 PPG) is in the midst of serving a suspension handed out by the NCAA while Chis Perry (10.8 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 1.3 BPG) has been sidelined with a medical issue. Thus, Antigua will only play a seven man rotation, and just for fun we'll briefly talk about all of them!
Players
#5 Nehemias Morillo, Junior, Guard (6-5, 180): Averaging 10.0 PPG and 4.3 RPG on the season while shooting 42.5% from the field and 33.0% from behind the arc. Morillo can play a variety of positions for the Bulls, including point guard, and has the ability to shoot it well if he can get in a rhythm. He scored in double digits in the last three games of the season. Morillo averaged 11 points in the two meetings against the Huskies, going 8-18 from the field and 2-7 from three.
#25 Troy Holston Jr., Freshman, Guard (6-4, 200): The hottest player for the Bulls, Holston Jr. has scored in double figures in 7 of his last 8 games, averaging 16.4 PPG in that stretch while shooting 20-45 from three. He is averaging 7.8 PPG and 2.6 RPG on the year while shooting 34.0% from the field and 31.4% from deep. While he can heat up from behind the arc, the freshman can also finish around the rim. However, he averaged just 4 points in the two games against UConn this season, going 2-7 from the field and 2-6 from three.
#11 Anthony Collins, Junior, Guard (6-1, 175): Averaging 7.3 PPG, 5.3 APG, 2.6 RPG, and 1.5 SPG in 33.7 MPG this season. Collins is a great distributor and an excellent defender and has been known throughout his career to be a pass-first point guard. He has tried to become more of a scorer this season, shooting 45.0% from the field but just 8-28 from three. Collins averaged 5 points and 5 assists in the two meetings against the Huskies, going 4-12 from the field and 1-2 from behind the arc.
#35 Bo Zeigler, (R)Freshman, Forward (6-6, 202): Averaging 6.6 PPG, 4.5 RPG, and 1.2 BPG this season while shooting 51.2% from the field. He came into the season as one of the team's best defenders, but has emerged as somewhat of a scoring option in conference play, scoring in double figures 6 different times. He averaged 6.5 PPG in the two meetings against UConn this season, shooting 6-9 from the field.
#33 Ruben Guerrero, Freshman, Center (6-11, 225): A member of Spain's 18U team, he is averaging 5.4 PPG, 4.5 RPG, and 1.6 BPG while shooting 47.7% from the field. Guerrero has scored in double figures five different times this season. He averaged 5.5 PPG on 5-11 shooting in the two meetings against UConn this season.
#34 Dinero Mercurius, Freshman, Guard (6-3, 188): Averaging 3.3 PPG and 2.0 RPG on the season while shooting 38.6% from the field and 7-38 from three. Mercurius averaged 2.5 PPG on 2-6 shooting and 1-4 from three in the two meetings against UConn this season.
#15 Jaleel Cousins, Junior, Center (6-11, 265): Averaging 2.9 PPG and 2.6 RPG while shooting 46.3% from the field. He played a combined 10 minutes in the two games against UConn, recording 0 points and just 1 shot. He is DeMarcus Cousins' brother!
South Florida is coached by Orlando Antigua aka "Hurricane." Antigua is probably the coolest thing about the Bulls since his story is pretty awesome. At the age of 15 and living in the Bronx, he was shot in a drive-by shooting, ending up with a bullet lodged in his head. He recovered from the incident and was playing basketball just two weeks later. Antigua also experienced homelessness through his teenage years, but was able to overcome all of this by serving as student council president and becoming a McDonald's All-American in high school. He then signed with Pittsburgh where he ranks sixth in career three-point percentage.
After college, Antigua played with the Harlem Globetrotters for seven years, becoming the first Hispanic player on the roster. He earned his nickname "Hurricane" because of his dazzling moves and quickness while on the team. He then went on to become an assistant at Pitt from 2006-2008 before finding his way onto John Calipari's staff at Memphis. Antigua followed Calipari to Kentucky where he was his top assistant before eventually taking the job at South Florida.