Photo courtesy of USF Athletics.
By Jorden Pompey
If there is one thing about the University of South Florida men’s basketball team, it’s that it knows how to keep its fans at the edge of their seats.
But this heart stopping game was different — it marked the accomplishment of a goal many years in the making.
During its first game ever as an Associated Press ranked team, the Bulls defeated Charlotte to crown themselves as the American Athletic Conference (AAC) Regular Season Champions for the first time in program history.
The win on March 2 did not come easily.
Despite coming in with a 13-game winning streak, the Bulls struggled on the paint during the first half. Additionally, the vocal audience at the Dale F. Halton Arena in North Carolina made sure to set the stage for an exciting game.
The back-and-forth match constantly changed leads (seven in total during the entire game) and stuck in ties (five in total during the entire game).
The crowd erupted when the 49ers had the ball and booed when the Bulls took possession, but it only seemed to ignite more power to the visiting team.
Senior guard Selton Miguel closed out the half hot with six of the team’s eight point to put USF ahead 33-28.
With a switch of gears, the Bulls came into the second half strong, maintaining a lead of at least eight points during most of the quarter. The team’s biggest lead was of 18 points for almost eight minutes, prompting Charlotte fans to start exiting the arena.
The 49ers weakness was the team’s 20 turnovers against USF’s eight, with the game ending in a 76-61 win by the Bulls.
USF’s top scorers were senior guard Chris Youngblood with 17 points, junior forward Kasean Pryor with 16 and Miguel with 13 — a trio that has been consistently at the top of the score board the past few games.
Before heading back home, the team celebrated not only the AAC championship, but a list of accolades that came with the win, including 15 wins in conference play (the most in program history), the 14-game winning streak (the longest winning streak in program history) with it being the second-longest active streak in the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) behind St. Mary’s.
While in the air, the Bulls had an army of people waiting for them at the Yuengling Center where the women’s basketball team had, yet another, heart stopping win against Tulane before heading to Texas for a game against Southern Methodist University on Tuesday, March 5 and the American’s Women’s Basketball Championships in Fort Worth, Texas from March 9-13.
The men’s basketball team arrived at the Yuengling Center at around 10:30 p.m. on Saturday and was welcomed by the Herd of Thunder band, the USF cheerleaders and Sun Dolls, members of the SoFlo Rodeo and fans.
The players danced along head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim and the crowd while signing autographs and taking pictures.
When the celebrations wined down, coach Abdur-Rahim recognized the team’s trajectory up until this point and motivated them for the challenges to come. He also thanked the support from the university and the fans who stayed up until late waiting for them. Finally, he recognized forward junior forward Sam Hines Jr., junior forward Corey Walker Jr. and Miguel who have been in the program since 2021 and 2022, respectively.
“There’s a whole lot more work to do,” coach Abdur-Rahim said. “You all think this is fun, wait until you welcome us home from that first weekend when head into the Sweet 16.”
But the fun seems to keep coming.
On Monday, March 4, the Bulls climbed to n. 24 on AP’s poll — taking the University of Florida’s spot from week 17 and positioning itself as the only Florida university in the top 25.
The Bulls will stay in Tampa to face Tulane at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 5 at the Yuengling Center and to honor its seniors for Senior Day — not to mention the chance to extend the streak to 15.
For tickets, contact the USF Ticket Office at 1-800-Go-Bulls or by going online to USFBullsTix.com.
After the game, the team will take a few days off before heading to Fort Worth for the AAC Tournament from March 12 to 16 to aim for the program’s fourth appearance at the NCAA Tournament.
