USF News

RUNNING OF THE BULLS AT SOUTH FLORIDA

Led by dynamic junior Dominique Jones, USF has won four straight and is thinking NCAA

This is the fifth season that the South Florida basketball program has competed in the Big East basketball conference. To say the first four years have been a struggle would be an understatement.

Coming into the 2009-2010 season, USF had a record of 11-57 in Big East conference games. Since joining the Big East for the 2005-2006 season they had never won back-to-back conference games and their road record in the Big East was 3-31.

Very little looked to have changed through the first three weeks of conference play this season as well. Stan Heath’s club lost five of their first six league contests and loss number six seemed to be on the way as senior Mike Mercer stepped to the line with 2:05 remaining and the Bulls trailing Providence 88-76 on the road back on January 23rd.

Two weeks later, loss #6 still has not come.

While much of the talk immediately following the Bulls improbable come-from-behind 109-105 OT win over Providence was centered around the late-game collapse of the Friars, little did we know the game would be a spring board to an unprecedented run of the Bulls.

USF followed the win over the Friars with an overtime win at home against Seton Hall and their first win streak of any kind in the Big East. Then came a home win over No. 17 Pittsburgh for a third in a row. Last night came win #4 in a row as South Florida shocked No. 7 Georgetown in the Verizon Center, 72-64.

“Obviously it was a huge win for our program,” coach Heath would tell media members today during the weekly Big East coaches teleconference. “I am hoping our win at Georgetown will help us continue the momentum of playing well at home and on the road.”

The winning streak has elevated the Bulls from the bottom of the Big East standings right into the thick of things. At 5-5 in the conference the Bulls are just one game out of the fourth spot in the 16-team league. For a program that had lost 62 of their first 74 Big East regular season contests the excitement is building around them, which coach Heath compared to a “lightning bolt” for the city of Tampa and a buzz around the program that is unprecedented.

Averaging 35 points a game in the Bulls' four-game win streak, Dominique Jones has had a lot to celebrate and hopes to continue into March (AP Photo by Alex Brandon)

The catalyst of the turnaround has been 6-foot-4, 205-pound junior guard Dominique Jones. The Lake Wales (FL) native has put up point totals of 46, 28, 37 and 29 while adding 7.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists a game during the steak. He has also been on the court for 168 of the 170 minutes of game action.

“Dominique Jones continues to play at a high, high level and is just the straw that stirs the drink for our basketball program,” Heath said this morning after Jones scored 29 in last night’s 72-64 win over the Hoyas.

In the win over Providence, Jones scored 46 points on 15 of 23 shooting from the field. He also added 10 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals. He was at his best during the late game stages, scoring 17 points over the course of the last 1:34 of regulation and the five-minute overtime period.

“He acts like he is a pro, like he has been playing this game a long time at a high level,” Providence coach Keno Davis said today.

In the win over Pitt it was Jones again taking over the game down the stretch. After the Panthers cut a 14-point USF lead to 53-49, Jones went to work, scoring 13 points in the game’s final 5:48 for a statement victory.

“We kind of jump on his back and he can make plays and make things happen,” said Heath. “It would be hard to do without [him].”

USF will look to continue the streak Sunday at noon when they visit Notre Dame. The Irish were one of the five early conference losses for the Bulls as they earned a 74-73 victory at the Sun Dome behind the 36 point effort of Luke Harangody.

With a 15-7 overall record and a RPI creeping up, currently sitting at #46 according to RealTimeRPI.com, goals have begun to be elevated for the Bulls. While coach Heath noted that they are trying to stay focused in the immediate tasks at hand with the rigors of the Big East, he admitted that thinking ahead to the NCAA Tournament is not a bad thing.

“I believe the kids have to have a carrot in front of them and they desperately want to play in the post season and want to go to the NCAA Tournament,” said Heath.

The Bulls are also expected to be getting another lift in the near future as sophomore Augustus Gilchrist could be returning to the line-up in the near future. Gilchrist was leading the team in scoring at 18.8 points a game and rebounding, with 7.4 a game, when he injured his ankle in practice prior to their December 13th game against Central Michigan (56-59 loss). The Bulls were 7-1 at the time of Gilchrist’s injury and the return of the 6-foot-10 big man would add another valuable weapon to their attack.

One recent addition that Heath singled out today as playing a key role was sophomore point guard Anthony Crater, a transfer from Ohio State, who recently became eligible. After sitting out his year of residence and a couple extra games because of a violation of team rules, Crater made his debut in a January 10th loss at Syracuse. Crater got off to a slow start, going 0-13 in his first two games (losses at Syracuse and to West Virginia), but he scored 10 in the win over Rutgers and the Bulls are 5-1 since.

“Anthony Crater has helped Dominique Jones and Chris Howard tremendously,” said Heath. “Its taken ball-handling responsibilities away from them. It has taken the wear and tear of having to do so much where they, at the end of the game, they don’t have the energy they normally do.”

As far as Big East schedules go, the home stretch for the Bulls is a favorable one. With the conference currently boasting four top 10 teams and five teams in the national rankings, USF only has one of those teams (at Villanova, 2/24) left in their final eight contests. Coach Heath knows that things can change quickly in this league, just as fast as things have turned around positively the last two weeks things can go the other way and the losses can pile up. He believes, though, the Bulls have come a long way and have learned how to win and close games out.

“Every game you really have to play at a high, high level,” the USF coach said about surviving in the conference. “I do think our team is just starting to believe that we can win games and [are] making some of the subtle plays…down the stretch.”

Have we seen the beginning of a Bull Market that will last into March? Time will only tell, but for now the Running of the Bulls has South Florida fans thinking big in February for the first time since joining the Big East.

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