Memphis returns to action following back-to-back losses against North Texas and Utah State on Thursday for its third straight road game. The Tigers will wrap up the road trip in Tampa against South Florida, which leads the American Conference standings.
The Bulls enter the game with an 18-8 record, and they are currently on a four-game winning streak. USF has lost three games in conference play, including two at home, but it hasn’t lost a conference game by more than three points. During their first conference game, the Bulls lost in double overtime to UAB by three points, and later in January, Bryan Hodgson’s team lost another home overtime game against Wichita State by one point.
The only road conference loss came in the final game in January when the Bulls lost to Temple by one point.
Hodgson is in his first season with USF after spending the last two years as the head coach at Arkansas State. Hodgson took the job in Jonesboro after spending four seasons as an assistant at Alabama.
In his second season with the Red Wolves, Hodgson’s team beat the Tigers by 13 points inside FedExForum in early December. While he’s only in his first year with the Bulls, the head coach’s name is already being thrown around for potential power conference openings in the offseason.
Hodgson brought in Joseph Pinion and Izaiyah Nelson from Arkansas State, and both are playing major roles for the team.
As a team, USF averages 88.8 points per game, and it shoots 44.4 percent from the field, 33.4 percent from three-point range and 73.2 percent from the free-throw line. Five players average more than 10 points per game, and Nelson leads the team with 16 points and 9.8 rebounds per game.
Pinion, the other transfer from Arkansas State, averages 14.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, two assists and 1.6 steals per game, while shooting 39.3 percent from deep.
Point guard CJ Brown has also played a massive role for the Bulls this year, and he’s averaging 12.2 points, 5.1 assists and 4.1 rebounds.
Guard Wes Enis also averages more than 10 points per game, and he was named the conference player of the week after averaging 21.5 points against Wichita State and FAU.
In the frontcourt, Nelson, who stands 6-foot-10, is the tallest player they have on the roster, and they pair him with 6-foot-5 guard Josh Omojafo. Despite the lack of big men, USF averages 42.7 rebounds per game with a rebounding margin of plus-4.7.
The Bulls also only turn the ball over 11.6 times per game, while forcing 14 turnovers, and they score 19.5 points off those turnovers.
Defensively, USF allows 78.5 points per game, and opposing teams are shooting 42.2 percent from the field and 35.1 percent from deep. Hodgson’s team records 8.9 steals and 4.4 blocks per game, and the Bulls rank No. 75 in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency.