USF Basketball: A Huge Comeback Win Against Memphis

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The USF Bulls basketball team has gone through a lot over the past few years. They hired a new head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim who became the 11th coach in program history. Thursday night, they traveled to play conference rival the Memphis Tigers. The Tigers were ranked 10th in the nation. The Bulls came into the game with a 9-5 record and a 2-1 record within the AAC. Many did not give USF a chance to win this game. The first USF men’s basketball game I attended was against the Memphis Tigers. The Tigers’ record was 15-2 and 4-0 within the AAC. The Bulls had not beaten a ranked opponent against the Louisville Cardinals in 2012 winning 58-51. If they defeated Memphis, it would be the first time they beat a top 10 team since 2010 when they beat Georgetown 72-64.

The game had just over 10,000 in attendance. The Memphis Tigers got off to a hot start. Despite struggling for the three-point line. Memphis went 6 for 28 from behind the arc. The Tigers had a 15-point lead over the USF Bulls going into the half. The Bulls had an early three-point lead that evaporated quickly. Forward David Jones of Memphis led Memphis with 25 points and was one of the major reasons the Tigers got off to a 15-point lead. The other player that stood out for the Tigers was Jahvon Quinerly a guard that finished the game with 15 points. The first half ended with a three-pointer by USF guard Selton Miguel that got the game closer.

The second half began with the Memphis Tigers increasing their lead by as many as 20 points. The USF Bulls started their comeback with about 18:17 left in the second half. Kasean Pryor hit a three-pointer that cut the lead to 17 points. The Tigers struggled from behind the arc, but the Bulls did better going 10-30 which aided in the comeback. If you look at the final stats many would think that the Tigers won because they had a better field goal percentage than USF. The Tigers also had fewer turnovers than the Bulls. What made the game exciting was with 37 seconds left in the game USF tied it up. USF took the game over with a free throw with four seconds left in the game. The Tigers had a chance to win the game but missed a three-pointer in the closing seconds.

What a comeback in a USF Bulls win, 74-73. It was a big win for USF. Just like with the football program they also had big wins in 2023. It was the second largest comeback for the Bulls the biggest came against Stony Brook when they were down by 25 points. This is the first time in 10 games the Bulls beat the Tigers. It was also the 700th win for the USF Bulls basketball program. The players that stood out for USF were Selton Miguel and Chris Youngblood. Miguel finished with 23 points and Youngblood with 13 points. Another stat that stood out was that the USF bench outscored the Tigers 27-23. Either way, what a great comeback for the USF Bulls.

What are your thoughts on the 20-point comeback for the USF Bulls? Leave a comment below.

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