TAMPA – The Wildcats will stay close to home when they make the short drive down I4 to take on the Bulls of USF on Wednesday, December 18th. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Yuengling Center

Thursday, December 18th

Opponent: USF (5-5)

Time: 7:00 p.m

Location: Tampa, FL | Yuengling Center

Regard: https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/c2e46aec-a846-4020-8398-77b22b9ac5db

Live statistics: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=549517

Hear: https://tunein.com/radio/Bulls-Unlimited-s320681/

Tickets: https://www.ticketmaster.com/south-florida-mens-basketball-v-bethune-tampa-florida-12-18-2024/event/0D006131D74C2646/

Four Wildcats scored in double figures as the Wildcats battled West Virginia, but the Mountaineers proved to be a little too much as they ran away with an 84-61 victory at WVU Coliseum on Saturday night.

FIRST HALF

West Virginia (8-2) made five of its first six shots and raced to a 12-3 lead in the first four minutes of play.

When three Mountaineer starters went to the bench, the Wildcats (2-8) stormed back Daniel Rouzan three ball and one Brayon Freeman The layup made it 12-8 WVU after five minutes.

Three straight West Virginia three-pointers put the Mountaineers back in control at 21-10, which increased to 26-10 as the B-CU offense struggled. The Mountaineer’s lead grew to 37-17 on a jumper by Javon Small with 4:30 left to play.

The Wildcats didn’t go into halftime quietly and ended the quarter with a 13-4 run, leaving them down just 41-30 at halftime.

SECOND HALF

The Wildcats cut the deficit to single digits at halftime Trey Thomas Three-pointers and layups made it 48:39 with 15:42 minutes left to play.

From there, the Mountaineers began to pull away, extending the lead back to 17 with a three-point foul midway through the half. B-CU still fought on Daniel Rouzan show the way. He made two free throws to cut WVU’s lead to 59-46.

A Seneca Willoughby Circus shots and one from three kept the Cats close at 63-52, and a Trey Thomas The Springer only managed to trail by 11 points with seven remaining, but WVU pulled away from there against the B-CU bench. scored 19 of the next 28 points for the 84-61 win.

USF is off to a 5-5 start to the season under interim coach Ben Fletcher, who took over head coaching duties after Bulls coach Amir Abdur-Rahim unexpectedly died before the start of the 2024-25 season.

The emotional start to the season has led the Bulls to non-conference wins over UAPB, West Georgia, Portland, Wright State and Stetson. USF has lost two straight road games at Loyola Chicago and Utah State.

The Bulls average 76 points per game and allow 78. They achieved this with a shooting rate of 45 percent and a three-point rate of 33 percent. They bring a near-even rebound margin and a +2 advantage in the turnover department.

The Four Bulls averaged double figures, led by sophomore guard Jayden Reid with 13.4 and 37 assists. Senior forward Jamille Reyolds leads his team on the boards, averaging nearly nine per game.

Wednesday marks the 17th all-time meeting between USF and B-CU. The Wildcats are winless in 16 tries, with their best goal coming in a 79-73 overtime game in 2016.

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— #HailWildcats —