USF Men’s Basketball Blows By Tulane 66-48

Redshirt freshman Alexis Yetna posted his conference-leading eighth double-double of the season and every Bull that played found the scoresheet as the USF men’s basketball team powered past Tulane 66-48 on Wednesday night at the Yuengling Center.

“We’re making progress. We tell our guys, we’ll get to where we need to get to when we’re good enough. We’re not good enough yet, but we’re making the right progress,” head coach Brian Gregory said. “We’re making the right steps. You’ve just got to keep going through it.”

The Bulls (12-3, 2-1 AAC) never trailed and controlled the majority of the game, jumping out to a 26-12 lead on the heels of a 10-0 run in the first half.

Yetna, who has more double-doubles than Houston, UConn and Wichita State combined, finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds and set a new career-high with three treys.

“I’m just trying to go hard and grind it out,” Yetna said. “I still have plenty of room to grow...but it’s just instinct for me.”

Leading 34-25 at the half, USF held Tulane to just 32% (8-for-25) shooting in the second half while forcing the Green Wave into 26 turnovers.

“Defensively, we played with strength and some toughness, and some grit. We forced 26 turnovers and we don’t press,” Gregory added. “That shows we were strong defensively on drives. We were strong on ball screens and we were very, very active off the ball.”

Sophomore David Collins finished with a team-high 17 points, five assists, five rebounds and a career-high five steals.

Fellow sophomore Mayan Kiir scored all eight of his points in the first half, including an absolute monster slam as part of the 10-0 run.

Already at 12 victories for the first time since the 2013-14 season, USF begins a tough three-game stretch at Temple on Saturday at 2 p.m. on ESPNU.

Notables:

• The Bulls scored 35 points off 26 Tulane turnovers to distance themselves in the second half.
• USF is one of only two schools in the NCAA with a conference leader in rebounds, assists and steals.