USF men’s basketball closes out Tulane in final home game

*Senior guard Selton Miguel (left) was one of three Bulls to score double-digits against Tulane. USF ATHLETICS PHOTO*

Coming into his final home game at USF in front of a sold out Yuengling Center, senior guard Selton Miguel felt blessed to be in this position.

“For me to play my last game at the Yuengling Center [in front of] the people that showed love since the beginning of the season, it was special,” Miguel said following the game.

The senior was one of three USF (23-5, 16-1 AAC) players honored during the senior night ceremony before the No. 24 ranked Bulls’ 85-72 win over Tulane.

Miguel didn’t show any nerves en route to 12 points and walked off the court to a standing ovation after being substituted with under a minute left.

The game was back and forth all the way through, containing seven ties and 13 lead changes.

Fellow senior guard Jose Placer hit a three with just under two minutes left that put the Bulls up by 11 and dashed any hopes of a Green Wave (13-16, 4-13 AAC) comeback.

The Bulls’ division one-best winning streak now sits at 15 in a row.

They have won 21 of their last 22 with one game left on the schedule before they look to add to their NCAA tournament resume in the AAC tournament.

The Green Wave entered Tuesday as the 20th best scoring team in the country, but it was the Bulls’ offense that dominated this game.

USF hit 13 three-pointers and shot 47.6% from the field, outscoring Tulane 41-29 in the second half to pull away.

Guard Chris Youngblood put on a show, scoring 29 points off the bench.

Bulls head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim said Youngblood took advantage of the chances his team gave him.

“[He was] the beneficiary of a team effort… he ended up being in the right spots,” Abdur-Rahim said.

The Bulls kept Tulane’s high-flying offense in check by applying constant pressure, leading to 25 points off of 17 turnovers.

Each player for South Florida, besides senior forward Sam Hines Jr., recorded at least one steal.

The home fans played a major role in getting in the Green Wave’s head, filling the seats for the third straight game and rocking the Yuengling Center.

Abdur-Rahim said he was grateful for the energy that the recent sold-out crowds have brought.

“Those guys deserve to play in front of crowds like that,” Abdur-Rahim said.

Following the game, South Florida officially celebrated their regular season conference title and its first undefeated home conference record in school history in traditional fashion: by cutting down the nets.

“I’m not surprised [by this result],” Abdur-Rahim said. “I think in anything you do, if you can get a group of people to trust in each other, believe in each other, play for one another, anything can happen.”

The Bulls close out the regular season on the road at Tulsa this Saturday at 3pm on ESPN+.