AAC-leading Tulsa comes to town
Senior guard Corey Allen Jr. leads USF in scoring with 15.5 points per game. ORACLE FILE PHOTO/SEBASTIAN CONTENTO
The Bulls prepare for an imposing matchup Saturday when the AAC-leading Tulsa Golden Hurricane comes to town.
USF (7-10, 1-3) is coming off an overtime loss against Tulane in which both junior guard Anthony Collins and freshman center Ruben Guerrero missed game-winning shots in regulation.
Tulsa (11-5, 4-0) did not look promising at the beginning of the season, as it dropped its first game to Oral Roberts, which plays in the Summit League.
But ever since, the Golden Hurricane has been on a roll, winning 11 of 15 games and boasting a 4-0 conference record.
Leading Tulsa is former Missouri basketball coach Frank Haith, who is in his first year as head coach.
Haith’s guard tandem — Shaquille Harrison and James Woodard — has driven Tulsa to the top of the conference standings.
Both Harrison and Woodard average 15 points per game and are the clear-cut scorers on the team, with the next player averaging only eight points.
Harrison has used his 6-foot-4, 180-pound build to drive and slash to the rim, while Woodard has used his three-point shot to his advantage, making an average of 2.4 per game.
Woodard has shot 106 3-pointers and made 38, which is more than half the 3-pointers USF has made all season.
To knock Tulsa out of first place, the Bulls must stop the dynamic guard duo that Tulsa brings. In four out of Tulsa’s five losses, at least one of the two guards was held to under 10 points.
In addition to stopping the skilled guards, the Bulls will have their work cut out for them on offense.
USF has not scored at least 60 points since Dec. 28, in a loss to Bowling Green. In that span, it has gone 1-3, with losses to SMU, UConn and Tulane.
The Bulls host Tulsa at the Sun Dome on Saturday at 11 a.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.
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