By USF is back on the road tonight as they travel to Houston for an AAC matchup with the Rice Owls.
USF enters the contest at 19-8, 11-3 in conference play, and riding a five-game winning streak.
With a win over Rice, the Bulls will reach the 20-win mark for just the seventh time in program history.
This will also mark just the second time that USF has achieved 20 wins alone in the regular season.
The Bulls also currently have a 1.5-game lead over Tulsa and Wichita State for first place as the regular season enters its final 10 days.
The Bulls have already clinched a berth in the AAC Tournament and enter the contest with a net ranking of 52, best in the American Conference, and the highest in program history.
USF is coming off an impressive 90-74 win against Memphis at home, while Rice lost last weekend against Tulane 81-75.
Rice is 11-16 on the season and 5-9 in conference play, currently in 11th place in the conference, and is at risk of missing the AAC Tournament.
The Bulls continue to score at a prolific pace, averaging 88.7 PPG. USF also is atop the conference in rebounds (15.5 RPG), assists (17.1APG), and three-point FG attempts (29.2) per game.
The rebounding has been a strong point for this USF team this season, as they are 8th in the country, averaging 38 rebounds per game.
South Florida has a scoring differential of +289, thanks to the Bulls averaging 88.7 points per game (11th in the NCAA).
It’s the defense that has struggled at times this season, giving up 78(PPG), which is number 293 in college basketball.
Wes Enis leads the Bulls in scoring at 16.0 PPG, while Izaiyah Nelson is a force inside, averaging 10.0 rebounds per game.
The offense is led by CJ Brown, who dishes out 5.2 assists per game.
Trae Broadnax is the leader of the Rice basketball team. Broad Nax leads the team in scoring at 16.2 PPG, rebounds at 5.3, and is also dishing out 3.3 assists per game.
Nick Anderson is the leading three-point shooter for the Bulls, making 2.7 three-pointers per game.
Rice will need a good night from beyond the three-point line and good interior defense to slow down the Bulls’ offensive attack.
This is the fifth all-time meeting between Rice and USF, with the Bulls winning all four previous meetings.
USF is favored by 11 points over Rice, and I think USF more than covers the spread.
I like USF to win 101-57 and take another step toward the regular season AAC Title.
