The USF men’s basketball team got its first Big East win at home on Saturday night, defeating the Georgetown Hoyas by the score of 61-58.
The Bulls (10-7), coming off a last-second 70-67 loss to Rutgers earlier in the week, knew that getting an in-conference win against a tough team like the Hoyas was absolutely critical for boosting team morale going into the rest of the season.
“Our backs were against the wall,” said coach Stan Heath, addressing the team’s mindset going into the game, “When you’re 0-4 in the league and you’re not feeling great about yourself…you kind of say, ‘Are we going to have some resolve, have some toughness, are we going to fight back?’”
USF showed perhaps more fight than it had all season against a Georgetown team that has been ranked as high as No. 15 in the nation. Despite getting off to a slow start that saw the Bulls go 1-for-14 on three-pointers, which left them trailing 31-23 going into halftime, USF showed its resolve going into the final 20 minutes.
The Hoyas (12-4, 2-3 Big East) continued to build on their first half success until Toarlyn Fitzpatrick shifted momentum with a three-point jumper. This would lead to a string of threes scored by teammates Rudd, Poland and Collins that resulted in a 15-2 run against the 11th ranked scoring defense in the nation.
Once the Bulls were able to close the gap, they focused on defense to close out the win. Leading 59-54 with just over three minutes remaining, USF did not score again until Anthony Collins’ free throws in the final seconds of the game. The team’s smart play—only five turnovers were committed by the Bulls during the game—and defensive prowess on 15 forced turnovers led the way towards a critical victory.
In addition to hitting an important three-point shot during the Bulls’ second half run, Anthony Collins scored his team-leading 14 points while playing all 20 minutes of the half. Georgetown coach John Thompson III, who has led his team to six NCAA Tournament appearances in his eight years as head coach, had nothing but praise for the young point guard.
“He’s terrific, down the stretch, in the beginning, in the middle,” he said. “He puts pressure on your defense. It’s easy to say, ‘Let’s keep him out of the lane.’ No one’s kept him out of the lane yet.”
USF will travel to Seton Hall (12-6, 1-4 Big East) for a matchup on Wednesday night, then return home to the Sun Dome to take on No. 20 Notre Dame (15-3, 3-2 Big East).
