American Athletic Conference foes will collide when the South Florida Bulls (6-21) play the Memphis Tigers (15-11) at USF Sun Dome. The game gets underway at 11:00 am ET on Saturday, Feb. 20 and will air on ESU and ES3.
The Bulls enter this game hoping for similar success after beating East Carolina 69-52 on Tuesday. Nehemias Morillo had 18 points, two steals, and two rebounds for South Florida. The Tigers are coming off a 73-56 win over UCF on Wednesday. Trahson Burrell stood out for Memphis, registering 13 points, six assists, and five rebounds.
The inefficient offense of South Florida (321st in the nation with an offensive efficiency of 95.6) will square off against the top-notch defense of Memphis (26th in the nation with a defensive efficiency of 95.4). The Tigers figure to have the advantage on that end of the court. It will also be a tale of two tempos, as the fast-paced Tigers are ranked 19th in possessions per game, with the methodical Bulls at 312th.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Tigers won the first game 71-56. Dedric Lawson played a huge role in the victory by recording a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
The Bulls enter the game with records of 6-21 Straight Up (SU) and 14-12 Against The Spread (ATS). The Bulls have seen an uptick in scoring as of late, averaging 76.1 points during the last 10 games compared to their season average of 63.3 points per game. Crossing over to the defensive side of the court, the Bulls are the 15th-best team in the country at blocking shots, averaging 5.5 blocks per game.
Over on the other bench, the Tigers head into the game with records of 9-13-1 ATS and 15-11 SU. Offensively, they average 81.1 points per game on the road, which is eighth in the country. The Tigers are getting to the foul line at a high rate. Their 522 free throws made ranks sixth in Division I. Memphis is one of the better offensive rebounding teams in Division I. The Tigers average 13.6 offensive rebounds per game, making them the 20th-best team in the country for that category. The Memphis defense has been a problem for competitors, allowing only .393 shooting from the field to its opponents. They average 7.8 steals per game, good for 38th in the nation.
Following the Tigers’ latest win over the Bulls, their SU record against South Florida moves to 9-1. The Tigers also hold the advantage ATS with a record of 6-4.
Predictions: SU Winner – Mem, ATS Winner – Mem
Notes
“South Florida is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games “.
“South Florida is 3-13 SU in its last 16 games “.
“The total has gone OVER in 5 of South Florida’s last 6 games “.
“South Florida is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games at home”.
“The total has gone OVER in 5 of South Florida’s last 7 games at home”.
“South Florida is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Memphis”.
“South Florida is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing Memphis”.
“South Florida is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Memphis”.
“South Florida is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Memphis”.
South Florida is struggling at 3-11 SU in its conference, while Memphis sits at 6-7 SU.
Memphis is one of the top-scoring teams on the road, averaging 81.1 points per game (ranked eighth). South Florida, on the other hand, allows 71.8 points per home game (ranked 189th).
Memphis beats South Florida in both possessions per game and points per possession. The Tigers average 74.0 possessions and 1.046 points per possession, while the Bulls average 66.2 possessions with .956 points per possession.
The South Florida Bulls average an effective field goal percentage of 46.0% this season. The Memphis Tigers have a poor record of 3-8 when opponents have an eFG% of 46.0% or greater.
On average, South Florida attempts 14.0 three pointers and Memphis attempts 18.0. In games where they have 20 or more three point attempts, the South Florida Bulls are winless at 0-4, while the Memphis Tigers have an underachieving 5-8 record.
With 5.8 blocks per game, the Memphis Tigers rank seventh in the country. The South Florida Bulls are among the top-25 teams in blocking, ranking 15th with 5.5 blocks per game.
Memphis is one of the top defensive rebounding teams, ranking 25th. South Florida ranks 67th in offensive rebounding.
The Memphis Tigers average 7.8 steals per game. When giving up 7 or more steals, the South Florida Bulls have an abysmal record (1-15) this season.
