clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

USF Men’s Basketball Pounds Memphis 75-51

Yes, you read that correctly.

NCAA Basketball: South Florida at Memphis Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports

Fueled by 19-point performances from both Payton Banks and Malik Martin, the USF men’s basketball team stunned the Memphis Tigers from start to finish in a 75-51 rout on Thursday night at FedExForum.

The 24-point win is the Bulls largest margin of victory in an American Athletic Conference game since March 2014, the teams first win in Memphis since January 2003 and snaps the Bulls eight-game losing streak.

Of Banks 19 points, the 16th was pretty special as the grad transfer picked up his 1,000th career point on a jump shot in the second half. He added seven rebounds on 6-for-11 shooting, including 4-for-8 from three-point range.

Martin, a redshirt junior, also finished with a surprising 19 points and nine rebounds. He was 8-for-10 from the field and 2-for-3 from behind the arc.

Memphis (18-12, 9-8) committed 10 first-half turnovers allowing the Bulls to get big defensive stops and increase their lead.

USF (9-21, 2-15) scored a season-high 45 points in the first half and held a 22-point lead at halftime. The Bulls pushed their lead to as much as 27 early in the second half.

Senior forward Isaiah Manderson grabbed his second career double-double to add some secondary scoring, finishing with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

As a team, the Bulls shot an even 50% (26-for-52) from the field and 43% (9-for-21) from three-point range while outrebounding the Tigers 38-27.

Already doubling their conference win total from last season (1) , the Bulls can clinch double-digit victories for the first time since 2014 with a win on Sunday afternoon against SMU in the final regular season game of the year. Tip from the Sun Dome is at 2 p.m.