Photo by Jorden Pompey | The Crow’s Nest.
By Jorden Pompey
In front of a sold-out crowd on national television, the University of South Florida upset no. 24 Florida Atlantic University 90-86 on Feb. 18 at the Yuengling Center to increase its winning streak to 11 games. The Bulls improved to 19-5 overall and 12-1 in conference play.
This is the second time this season that USF has upset a ranked opponent. The first time was against Memphis beating the Tigers 74-73 on Jan. 18.
USF almost flipped the script from their most recent games having to erase a 10-plus-point deficit to go up by 25 points in the second half. However, the Owls surged back late in the second half to lower the deficit to one.
“In our huddles, I kept on saying ‘composure, composure and just relax man.’ Because we’ve been in this position before on the other side, so we know what to do and how to go about everything,” senior guard Chris Youngblood said in a post-game press conference.
Youngblood, scored 23 points shooting 57% from the field and a perfect three for three from the free throw line.
Senior guard Selton Miguel led the team in points with a career high of 25 points, in addition to recording four rebounds, one assist and one steal.
“I just see the rim, when I see the rim, it really doesn’t matter who put their hands down, but my teammates trust me. They know how good I am in one-on-one situations, so they trust me,” Miguel said.
Following Miguel’s performance, he was named the American Athletic Conference Player of the Week. For the week, Miguel averaged 17.5 points per game in two matchups.
“Whenever I hear a ball bouncing in the gym, I peek out my office window and it’s one of the two (Miguel and Youngblood). I say it humbly, it doesn’t surprise me them dudes; they work their face off,” head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim said.
The University of Texas at San Antonio will host USF for their second meeting today at 8 p.m. available to watch on ESPN+.
USF is on the outskirts of the top 25 in the country receiving 45 votes from the Associated Press to place the Bulls at 31st overall.
The Bulls have been receiving huge support from across the Tampa Bay Area including Bulls football head coach Alex Golesh, Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling, former Tampa Catholic forward Kevin Knox, also brother of sophomore guard Kobe Knox, and CBS Sports insider Jon Rothstein.
USF will play their last home game of the season against SMU at noon on Feb. 25 at the Yuengling Center. Students can claim their free ticket through the Herd Perks app and a discounted ticket for student guests.
