Tulsa and South Florida have been the “cellar dwellers” in the AAC this season. While Tulsa was 0-7 coming into Saturday night’s game, their record was far worse than they have played. Five of Tulsa’s seven conference losses were by five or less points. For South Florida, they were above Tulsa in the standings, but have been virtually uncompetitive throughout conference play. All of their losses were by 12 points or more.
Tulsa basketball saw a chance to finally break into the win column in conference play and took full advantage. With a 76-45 victory over South Florida, Tulsa made a statement that they are far from done this season. Although Tulsa has virtually no chance to compete for the regular season title in the AAC, they are certainly a team to keep an eye on as they can hang with the best of them.
Tulsa Basketball Blasts South Florida, 76-45
Jeriah Horne and Sam Griffin Take Over
There is little question that Tulsa’s offense runs through Jeriah Horne and Sam Griffin. The duo average over 32 points per game. Against South Florida however, the two were even better than usual. Horne and Griffin combined for 44 points, eight rebounds, and six steals. Those two alone scored just one less point than all of South Florida.
For as good as the stats look for the pair, their efficiency is even more impressive. Horne and Griffin combined to shot 16/29 from the field (55%) and seven for 12 from deep (58%). When these guys are hot, it isn’t an overreaction to say that nobody in the entire AAC can beat Tulsa. If Tulsa can just get an average game from the rest of their supporting cast, they’ll be dangerous for the rest of the season.
Bulls’ Shooting Woes Continue
It’s rare in college basketball to see a team have a solid defense with virtually no offense. As rare as it is, that’s the problem that South Florida has had all season. The Bulls only give up 63 points per game but only manage to score 58 points per game. The team averages just 38% shooting from the field and 25% from downtown this season.
Against Tulsa, their anemic offense somehow got even worse. The Bulls shot just 30% from the field and 16.7% from three. The fact that South Florida has a win at all in the AAC is impressive. It’s hard to believe that any major changes will be seen at this point in the season but one needs to be made fast for anything to change. If South Florida can’t figure something out, they will continue to be embarrassed the rest of the season.
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