SOUTH FLORIDA MAKES FIRST BIG EAST TOURNEY APPEARANCE

March 10, 2009


Another recent rematch from two weeks ago takes place in the nightcap of the opening round of the 2009 Big East Tournament when Seton Hall faces South Florida.

Seton Hall earned the 11th seed in the conference tournament when they rallied in the second half and ended up beating Cincinnati in overtime on the road Saturday. Bobby Gonzalez's team has continued to play hard all season with just seven eligible scholarship players and will look to earn a Big East Tourney win at the Bulls' expense.


Tonight is a first for the USF program as they are competing in their very first conference tournament game since joining the Big East. Previously, the Big East only invited the top 12 finishers to Madison Square Garden for the annual 'Garden Party', but with the expansion of the conference tourament to all 16 teams, the Bulls have been welcomed in.


Here are some pregame stories and previews from around the internet:

At Last, USF Bulls Feels they Belong in Big East (St. Pete Times)
Bulls Back at Garden (Tampa Tribune)
Seton Hall Enters Postseason with chip on their Shoulder (Star-Ledger)
Bulls Arrive in 'Garden' in Good Spirits (Tampa Tribune)

The Bulls are coming off a pitiful performance on Saturday afternoon when they lost at Rutgers 45-42. USF shot just 29.8% from the field as they fell to 4-14 in the Big East. While the four wins represented the most in a single Big East season for USF, they still have a long ways to go to become a challenger in this conference.

On February 25th, USF saw Seton Hall pull away from a two-point halftime lead to beat the Bulls 75-60 at the Prudential Center, just across the river from NYC in Newark (NJ). In that game, Dominique Jones (20), Augustus Gilchrist (20) and Alex Rivas-Sanchez (18) combined for 58 of the USF 60 points. Only Eladio Espinosa added another two points to the total.

The Bulls will need similar games from that trip as well as some production from Chris Howard and senior Jesus Verdejo, who has missed much of the last three weeks because of injury. Verdejo gave it a go against SHU the first time, but the Bulls second leading scorer was held scoreless in 21 minutes.

Jerem Hazell led SHU in the first meeting, scoring 20, and he also had help from Robert Mitchell (17) and Eugene Harvey (15) in the win. While the Pirates are not deep, neither are the Bulls, and the top five or six that Seton Hall will use is more talented, especially offensively.

The NCAA Basketball Odds have Seton Hall favored by 5 1/2-points tonight. This should be a relatively easy win for Bobby Gonzalez's team.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Seton Hall 78
South Florida 68

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SOUTH FLORIDA LOOKS TO EXTEND RUTGERS' SEASON OF MISERY

March 7, 2009


JR Inman, Anthony Farmer and Jaron Griffin were supposed to represent a new direction for Rutgers basketball as the three local Jersey recruits were wooed into staying home by Gary Waters. However, Waters did not make it past their freshman seasons and now, with a 1-16 Big East record in their final season, the three seniors look to end their final home game in the RAC on a positive note.

South Florida stunned NCAA hopeful Cincinnati earlier this week, and in doing so, the Bulls set a Big East season-best in their history with four conference wins. Dominique Jones once again led the way with a 30-point performance in the win.

Luckily for both teams this is not their last game as the 2009 Big East Tournament has expanded to include all 16 conference teams. So, they will both get to lace them up at least one more time this year. It will be USF’s first trip to the Big East tournament, same for RU coach Fred Hill, Jr.

Here are some pregame stories and previews on the game:

Rutgers Men’s Basketball Seniors Know Expectations Were Not Met, Are at Peace (Star-Ledger)
For RU Seniors, A Day of Reckoning (mycentraljersey.com)
Trio Takes Away Bond of Friendship (Asbury Park Press)

A week ago, USF looked absolutely gassed as their short-handed team was running on empty in a home loss to West Virginia. This week, however, UC rebounded and showed life with a strong second-half in a win over Cincinnati, a team playing for their NCAA Tournament lives.

Now they hit the road for the regular season finale with Rutgers. A team that will look to salvage a little something in their season gone wrong. At 1-16 in Big East play, RU has little left to play for except for a chance to send their three seniors out as winners. Distractions foreshadowing a possible rocky offseason have begun with the Corey Chandler transfer possibilities becoming public after Tuesday’s blowout loss to Syracuse.

The lone conference win for RU this season was a home beatdown of winless DePaul earlier this year. This should be their second conference win…if not…well, there really is not much lower they can go at this point.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Rutgers 66
South Florida 60

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BULL POP BEARCAT BUBBLE WITH WIN

March 4, 2009



This one is going to hurt Mick Cronin and his Cincinnati squad as the Bubble Bursts for the Bearcats (Cincinnati Enquirer) in an inexcuseable 70-59 loss at South Florida Tuesday night.

USF rallied from a five-point halftime deficit to outscore UC 46-30 in the second half. This offensive explosion came from a Bulls squad that looked gassed in Sunday's home loss to West Virginia. In that game South Florida managed just 50 points in the full game, only four points more than their second half output in a game the Bearcats HAD to have.

Dominique Jones led the Bulls with 30 points as USF used a 17-2 run over seven minutes to turn a 50-46 deficit into a 63-52 lead with just 1:08 left in the game. Jones also added a team-high 8 rebounds and dished out 5 assists in a dominating performance. Augustus Gilchrist added 13 and point guard Chris Howard was credited with 10 assists without committing a single turnover in the game.

The loss snapped a six-game losing streak and the South Florida Bulls Win a Record Fourth Big East Conference Game (St. Pete Times), improving to 4-13 in the Big East ahead of their regular season finale at Rutgers this weekend. The Bulls also get their first taste of the Big East Tournament next weekend when they head to New York City with the other 15 conference teams.

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USF LOOKS TO DIM NCAA HOPES OF CINCINNATI

March 3, 2009



Here it is for Cincinnati. The Bearcats are 8-8 in the Big East and 18-11 overall. They have a pair of 'winnable' games to close out the Big East regular season before heading to NYC next week for the 2009 Big East Tournament with a road game against South Florida and a home date with Seton Hall on Saturday. Is 10-8 and 20-11 good enough? Well, probably not. However, UC could benefit by playing the #9-#16 game in the Big East Tournament and then get a shot at fellow bubble mate Providence in an 8-9 contest.

The Bearcats could have helped themselves a great deal on Saturday, but they failed to even complete against Syracuse in the Dome. Coming off an important win over West Virginia on Thursday, UC was run out of the Dome from the start against Syracuse as Mick Cronin's squad did not come ready to play. The Bearcats are Running out of Excuses (Cincinnati Enquirer) because their next loss could very well be fatal to their slim NCAA Tournament chances, especially if that loss comes anytime prior to next Wednesday in NYC.

Tonight UC takes on a USF team that might barely have enough gas in the tank to suit up tonight in the Sun Dome. The Beleaguered Bulls Limp into the Big East Tournament (Tampa Tribune) and the final week of the regular season as a team ready to shut things down. Injuries and preseason acadmic casualties and a mass exodus of players from last year has left this team taped at the sides to stay together. The end is near and, while USF has shown grit in competing, there is simply not enough bullets left in the gun to snag a win down the stretch.

With all to play for, Cincinnati looks to be the team that will be ready to go and as a 3 1/2-point road favorite according to the college basketball lines today, they should be able to keep their name in the NCAA Tournament mix.


NBE Blogger Prediction:

Cincinnati 68
South Florida 59

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BIG EAST RECRUITING UPDATE: SOUTH FLORIDA

March 3, 2009


Verbal Commitment Alert: Mike Burwell, 6'6 SG at South Kent (CT) Prep, originally from East Brunswick (NJ)


Projected 2009-2010 Roster:


Seniors: Chris Howard (PG), Alejando Rivas-Sanchez (C)

Juniors: Dominique Jones (SG)

Sophomores: Eladio Espinosa (F), Juston Leemow (G), Augustus Gilchrist (C), Gaby Belardo (G), *Anthony Crater (PG)

Freshmen: Shaun Noriega (G), Jordan Dumars (F), Mike Burwell (SG)

* Anthony Crater is a mid-year transfer and will be eligible in December of 2009.

One of the key areas in major need of improvement for South Florida is their outside shooting ability. Stan Heath and staff made finding a shooter with range a priority for the spring signing period and they look to have found their man in Mike Burwell, a shooting guard playing this season at South Kent Prep. Burwell Decided to Take Game to South Florida (mycentraljersey.com) after spending time on the USF campus while on an official visit last weekend.

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Mike Burwell came to South Kent Prep in hopes of increasing his recruiting profile. The year of prep school certainly helped the East Brunswick (NJ) native, who won player of the year honors as a high school senior in 2007-2008 while leading Cardinal McCarrick to the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament Championship, reach his goal of being a high major conference recruit. Burwell completed the process by giving a verbal commitment to Stan Heath and his South Florida program while on an official visit there this weekend where he saw everything he needed to see.

Burwell has the reputation of a shooter and has followed up his 27-point per game average of a year ago with a team-leading 19 points a game for the highly regarded South Kent Prep program. He had narrowed his college choices to South Florida, Evansville, Fordham, TCU and Central Florida, but the trip to USF won him over.

In the early signing period, the Bulls inked 6'6, 230 lb forward Jordan Dumars, again using coach Heath's Michigan ties. Dumars is the son of former NBA star and current Piston executive Joe Dumars. Jordan Dumars attends Detroit Country Day School and had formed a close relationship with Stan Heath that began with the relationship between Heath and his father.

On paper, Dumars fills a position of need on the USF roster (small forward) and leaves Stan Heath and staff with two scholarships remaining for the class of 2009 as the Bulls have even scored for the class of 2009 earlier with North Port shooting guard Shaun Noriega. Of course, with how busy it has been with players coming and going from their program, that could very well change.


The Bulls were needing immediate help in the class of 2008 with transfers of five players since the 2007-2008 season began. Guards Dante Curry, Aaron Holmes and Solomon Bozeman, along with forwards Ade Saaka and Orane Chin have all left the Bulls program to look for opportunities elsewhere. Also, recruits Teeng Akol, Dwan McMillan and Eugene Teague were not admitted to school because of academic difficulties, leaving the Bulls scrambling for the 2008-2009 season.


Stan Heath reached back to his Michigan roots once again and added Ohio State transfer Anthony Crater to the Bulls roster earlier this season. Crater lasted only a few months with the Buckeyes, playing in 10 games in his first semester as a freshman. In 13 minutes of action a game, Crater averaged 1.3 points a game and was unhappy with his playing time, so he has moved on.

After a weekend visit to South Florida, where he saw the Bulls take on Syracuse, Crater felt USF offered the best situation for his future. As a highly rated recruit out of Flint (MI), Crater was a highly targeted recruit by many top programs before he settled on OSU. The addition of JUCO guard Jeremie Simmons did not sit well with the Crater camp and as Simmons got more and more time early on, Crater took a look at his options and will join the USF program, following in the footsteps of other recent mid-year transfers such as Jesus Verdejo, Kentrell Gransberry, Augustus Gilchrist and Mike Mercer (since dismissed from the program) that have joined the Bulls in recent seasons.

USF now has two scholarships left open, on paper, and they very well could be targeting frontcourt players for the spring signing period. Florida JUCO players such as Quincy Hankins (Polk Community College) and Gary Flowers (Chipola), as well as 6-foot-9 San Jacinto College power forward Maurice McNeil, have long been linked to USF recruiting efforts. Princeton Country Day big man Wavery Austin told the NBE Basketball Report that USF has been one of the schools showing interest in him as a spring prospect in the high school class of 2009.

One of the better uncomitted forwards in the class of 2009, Glenn Bryant of Oak Hill Academy, is also seriously considering USF. Bryant indicated to NBE at the 2009 Primetime Shootout that the Bulls, Marquette and Alabama were the three offers he was looking the closest at currently.

One of the best uncomitted point guards in the nation, Eric Bledsoe, is also considering the Bulls. USF is Still in the Hunt for Bledsoe (St. Pete Times), along with UAB (his hometown school), Florida, Tennessee and Cincinnati.


USF is still struggling in attracting top high school talent and academic difficulties with recruits seem to have the roster in constant flux. The transfer route is tricky, but relying on it so much rarely works, and to this point, it has not helped the college basketball odds for the Bulls in the Big East.

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SOUTH FLORDA FALLS AT HOME TO WVU

March 2, 2009


West Virginia seems to have all but assured themselves of an NCAA Tournament bid and they rebounded from their previous loss to Cincinnati by taking care of business on the road in a 64-50 win at South Florida on Sunday.

The win pushes WVU to 9-7 in the Big East and 20-9 overall. The Mountaineers close the regular season with DePaul on Wednesday and then a primetime showdown with Louisville on Saturday night in the Coliseum.

On Sunday, Alex Ruoff's Second Homecoming Off the Week was a Better One (Daily Mail) as the senior guard had a team-high 16 points in the win. Freshman Truck Bryant was also Efficient and Effective in the Victory (Daily Mail), scoring 13 points and not committing a turnover in 25 minutes.

Injuries and, once again, mounting losses have taken their toll on the USF as the Bulls are Running on Empty (Tampa Tribune) as the season winds down. South Florida was playing without Jesus Verdejo once again as he is out with an injury. Dominique Jones scored a game-high 18 for USF.

Freshman guard Justin Leemow was pressed into action once again, logging 26 minutes. He was 0-5 from the field and 0-4 from three-point range. On the season, Leemow is 10-59 (16%) from the field this season
and 8-43 from beyond the arc.

At least the new rule will give the Bulls their first look at the Big East Tournament.

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