Memphis enters the final week of the regular season with two more games before the conference tournament begins, and it will have a pair of rematches to wrap up conference play. The first matchup will be Thursday night in the Tigers’ final home game of the season against South Florida, who beat them by 21 points in the first meeting in Tampa.
Since that game, the Bulls haven’t lost, and they’re currently riding a six-game winning streak. Bryan Hodgson’s team has only lost three conference games this year, and they clinched the regular season title in a 28-point win over Tulane on Sunday.
USF ranks in the top two in the conference in multiple categories, including adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency, according to KenPom. Among all 365 teams, the Bulls rank inside the top 50 in defensive efficiency and No. 10 in offensive rebounding percentage.
As a team, Hodgson’s group averages 88.3 points per game, and they shoot 43.9 percent from the field, 33.1 percent from deep and 74.4 percent from the free-throw line. Five players average more than 10 points per game, and Izaiyah Nelson leads the team with 16.2 points and 10 rebounds per game, while Joseph Pinion shoots 38.5 percent from deep.
In the first game, the Bulls shot 36 percent from the field, but they grabbed 52 rebounds, including 22 offensive boards. Three players scored 17 or more points in the first game, and Wes Enos led the team with 20 points.
USF also got to the line 35 times, and it averages 20.8 free-throw attempts per game. Hodgson’s team is extremely aggressive getting to the basket, and they rank No. 4 in the country in average 2-point attempt distance.
Defensively, USF allows 76.7 points per game, and opposing teams shoot 41.6 percent from the field and 35.1 percent from deep. The Bulls average 42.9 rebounds per game, and they only turn the ball over 11.4 times.
Since USF has wrapped up the regular-season title, it will be the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament, so it won’t play until the semifinals on Saturday.