USF Men’s Basketball Is Still The Worst

Well, we knew today’s game wasn’t exactly going to be pretty -- presumably on both sides of the court. Going in to the matchup, the two worst teams in the American Athletic Conference had only combined for two league wins. Tulane had lost the last nine straight games, and USF was averaging 16 turnovers a game … having tried 14 different starting lineups. So there’s all that.

Freshman forward Tulio Da Silva scored the first eight points for USF, hitting 4-of-5 from the field. At the first media timeout, he was the only Bull on the board, as USF trailed Tulane 12-8.

Sophomore forward Luis Santos joined Da Silva on the board with two points off a jumper. Then The Green Wave went on a 12-0 run over five minutes before junior guard Geno Thorpe hit a three-pointer to end the drought and cut the lead to 24-13. Tulane promptly went on another run, this time 6-0 over nearly three minutes. For the worst three-point shooting team in the conference, Tulane hit three on the Bulls in the first 10 minutes of play – shooting 50 percent from beyond the arc.

At halftime the Green Wave held a 44-26 advantage and grabbed a new season high for points in the first half. Sigh.

Da Silva led the Bulls with 8 points and 6 rebounds. Positive point: Santos shot a perfect 100 percent on the half (3-of-3). USF finished with a 40 percent efficiency from the field and committed 14 turnovers.

Tulane opened with another three-pointer, and Thorpe responded with a layup. He followed up with a steal for another layup, AND a jumper for six quick points … but less than four minutes into the half, he picked up his fourth foul. Which was pretty disheartening because a player averaging 19 points a game is something USF can NOT ever lose with that much time left to play.

Thorpe out, Junior guard Jake Bodway in. Cue a Bodway missed jumper and a turnover. Bodway out, ice cold sophomore guard Troy Holston in. That was quick.

With 14 minutes to play, the Green Wave took their largest lead of the season at 60-38. Haaaaaaaaa. Tulane shot 67% from the field today, the best anyone’s done against USF since they started keeping track of those things. Haaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

Halfway through the second, Santos was still perfect from the field, and grabbed a career-high 16 points on 7-for-7 shooting from the field, and 2-for-2 from the line. At this point he also led the Bulls in scoring. OKAY, BIG FELLA. WE SEE YOU.

Despite Santos’ perfect shooting and a team-high 22 points from Thorpe, Tulane easily closed out their second win in the American (their first was also against the Bulls, lol) with a 94-71 victory. It was the most points they scored all year, and the first time they had six players in double figures. *rolls eyes*

USF will travel to Tulsa on Thursday for an 8:00 p.m. tipoff. At least they should be able to actually stay in Tulsa. Because of the NBA All-Star Game this weekend (it was moved before the league schedule came out), USF couldn’t get a hotel anywhere near New Orleans. Good job with the schedule, American Athletic Conference!