USF Athletics

Bulls Open 2018 at Home Against ECU

January 02, 2018

Matchup: ECU (6-7, 0-2 The American) vs. USF (7-8, 0-2 The American)
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 3
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Sun Dome
TV: ESPN3 (Bernie Guenther, Mark Wise)
Radio: AM 820 | USF Bulls Unlimited (Jim Lighthall, Neil Solondz)
Follow: Listen | Stats | Twitter

TAMPA, JAN. 2, 2018 – The USF men's basketball team returns home to open 2018 with a matchup against East Carolina. Tip-off is slated for Wednesday at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN3.

The Bulls (7-8, 0-2 AAC) closed out 2017 with a 79-39 loss to SMU in Dallas. Isaiah Manderson (Bronx, N.Y.) led USF in scoring with a career high-tying 14 points. Manderson is averaging 10.7 points per game off the bench in the last three games, good for third on the team. He is also averaging six rebounds per game in that span.

Malik Martin (Miami, Fla.) led the way on the boards against SMU with 10. The game was Martin's third this season with 10-plus rebounds after never having more than 10 in a single game entering the season.

Freshman Justin Brown (Birmingham, Ala.) made his second consecutive start in the absence of Payton Banks and scored three points with three rebounds. Brown is leading the Bulls in minutes played since the start of conference play, averaging 32 minutes through two games.

This will be the second home game for the Bulls since opening the conference slate. USF started American Athletic Conference play with a home loss to Houston on Dec. 28.

The Bulls are searching for their first AAC victory since Feb. 11, 2017, which came in their last meeting with ECU, also at the Sun Dome.

  
THE OPPONENT 

The Pirates (6-7, 0-2 AAC) come to the Sun Dome having lost two straight to open their conference season. Last time out, ECU dropped a home New Year's Eve matchup with UCF, 59-39. Leading scorer B.J. Tyson was the only Pirate to score in double figures in the game with 13. He is averaging 15.5 points and 5.0 rebounds so far this season.

ECU is led by interim head coach Michael Perry since head coach Jeff Lebo announced his resignation on Nov. 29. The Pirates are 4-3 since Perry took over as head coach and won the first three games under Perry.

ECU returned eight players, including three starters, from a team that went 15-18 and 6-12 in The American in 2016-17.

NOTABLES

• With a win, the Bulls would reach eight on the season, surpassing their total for the entire 2016-17 season with at least 17 games to play. They would also tie their conference win total of one from last season. The Bulls' only conference win of 2016-17 came in the home matchup with ECU.
• Justin Brown needs only four made threes to crack the top 10 for freshmen in a single season at USF. Brown is 20-for-54 (37 percent) from beyond the arc this season.
• Malik Martin recorded two blocks against SMU to bring his season total to 22. He currently sits seventh in the conference with 1.5 blocks per game.
• East Carolina junior guard Seth LeDay is the younger brother of former USF letterwinner Zach LeDay. Zach played for the Bulls from 2012-2014, earning two letters before transferring to Virginia Tech for his final two years of eligibility.

About USF Men's Basketball

The USF men's basketball team is led by head coach Brian Gregory. On March 22, Gregory was introduced as the 10^th head coach in program history. He previously led programs at Georgia Tech (2011-16) and Dayton (2003-11). Gregory spent nearly a decade as an assistant coach under Michigan State's Hall of Fame head coach Tom Izzo and helped the Spartans win the 2000 NCAA National Championship. Gregory brings nearly 250 career head coaching wins and six postseason appearances, including the 2010 NIT Championship, to Tampa.

USF has retired three numbers in its 47-year history: Chucky Atkins (12), Charlie Bradley (30) and Radenko Dobras (31). The Bulls have earned three NCAA tournament bids and appeared in the NIT eight times.

For tickets, contact the USF Ticket Office at 1-800-Go-Bulls or by going online to USFBullsTix.com.