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USF enters the second round of the Big East tournament after their first round bye (never thought that would happen). The Bulls sit at 19-12 (12-6) on the year and will need to make some noise in the tournament to avoid missing the tournament and get off the bubble, but it won't be easy.
The Bulls will face 14 seed Villanova after they upset 11 seed Rutgers the night before. Villanova enters the game with a record of 13-18 (6-13) on the year and has dropped both games during the regular season to USF, 74 to 57 on their home floor and 65 to 51 at the Forum (last game was without Maalik Wayns). The Bulls have been able to assert themselves inside the paint with the size of their front line and have been able to close out on their 3-point shooters during the games.
The Bulls have been able to lock down on Nova the first two games and take them out of their perimeter shooting and attack inside, but it is never easy beating someone 3-times and on the biggest stage in basketball, the Bulls will have to rise to the occasion (game starts at 9PM).
Nova is led by junior guard Maalik Wayns (6-2 200-pounds). He averaged 17.5 points per game, 3.4 rebounds per game, 4.1 rebounds per game and has 24 steals in the regular season. In the last game against USF, he was not healthy and sat out, but now that he is close to 100%, the Bulls will have to make sure to keep him in check. Wayns is one of the most versatile guards in the conference and can take a game over. In the win over Rutgers, he had 28 points, but was just 1 for 6 from 3-point range. Junior guard Dominic Cheek (6-6 190-pounds) averaged 13.2 points per game (shooting 30% from 3-point range, 3.9 rebounds, and had 31 steals.
Junior forward/center Mouphta Yarou (6-10 255-pounds) is averaging 10.9 points per game, 8.2 rebounds per game and has 24 blocks. Nova needs him to be more active in the paint and avoid foul trouble early. Last night he had 13 points and 12 rebounds, so look for him to be active under the basket. Freshman forward JayVaughn Pinkston (6-7 270-pounds) is averaging 10 points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game (really starting to find his rhythm late in the season). Sophomore guard James Bell (6-6 225-pounds) is averaging 7 points per game and 3.9 rebounds per game. Freshman guard Darrun Hilliard (6-6 205-pounds) is averaging 4.9 points per game and 2.5 rebounds per game off the bench. Junior forward/center Maurice Sutton (6-11 220-pounds) is averaging 3.4 points per game and 3.1 rebounds per game (will need his size against USF front line).
It is not easy to beat anyone in the Big East, especially twice, but three times? This is going to be a hard fought game. Nova is fighting for pride at this stage while USF is looking for NCAA bid. Nova remembers what the Bulls did to them on this same court last year and will want to exact a little payback if they can.
Trying to break a three-game losing streak vs your Bulls...from Nova's POV, Sutton has been noticed for both his height and his quickness to defend, Cheek needs to not be the most spastic player on the floor, and Mouph needs to actually be in the paint offensively instead of settling for 16-fters...really a must-need game for both teams, Nova needs this win to all but assure them CBI status (shudder as I type that) or run the table to win the tourney and be a double-digit AQ, while USF, as stated, needs a good run to solidify their resume come Selection Sunday...gonna be an interesting one for sure...go Nova!
ReplyDeleteHa, glad to see some of your points. I agree that Yarou has to be a factor in the game. Last game he was in foul trouble early and the USF bigs did what they wanted inside the paint. Wayns wasn't sharp from the field, but made his free throws and got the foul calls. USF will need to step up on offense, continue their game on defense, and cannot afford to fall behind in this game at ll. Should be a fun one to watch. I hope Nova doesn't do what USF did to them last year in the tournament.
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