Collins, Brazeal earn weekly Big East honors

After one of USF Athletics’ best all-around weekends in recent memory, a pair of Bulls earned recognition from the Big East on Monday.

The men’s and women’s basketball teams, in addition to the baseball and softball teams, went a combined 8-0. In addition, four USF athletes took home an event title at the Big East Indoor Track and Field Championships.

Freshman point guard Anthony Collins used two nationally televised games to display his talents, helping the Bulls to a 65-51 win over Villanova on Wednesday and 56-47 over Pittsburgh on Sunday. Earning the distinction of Big East Rookie of the Week, Collins averaged 16 points and 6.5 assists in those games.

Collins has played a pivotal role in USF’s revival this season, growing in confidence as he adapts to college basketball. After missing the first five games of the season with a hip flexor, Collins dished out six assists in his college debut. Since then, he’s provided a steady hand running the Bulls’ offense. He’s recorded at least six assists in each of USF’s last six games.

In addition, Collins has found his role as a secondary scorer for USF, putting up a career-high 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting against the Panthers.

USF designated hitter Todd Brazeal found himself on the first Honor Roll of the season after the Bulls won all three of their games in the Big Ten/Big East Challenge.

Batting cleanup in the USF lineup, Brazeal went 7-for-11 in the three wins, with two doubles, a run scored and two RBIs.

Brazeal did show one weakness Friday in the season opener against Ohio State, his first action since his offseason ACL surgery. After hitting a double deep to the left-centerfield gap, he tried to leg out a triple, but stumbled on the base paths before being called out at third.

“He didn’t have enough air in the tire that time,” coach Lelo Prado said. “He had been on base four times, so he was really tired. I give him credit for trying it, but we probably should’ve held him up there.”

Both Collins and Brazeal will be in action Wednesday night for USF, with the men’s basketball team on the road at No. 2 Syracuse and the baseball team making its home debut against North Florida at 7 p.m.