Bulls looking to rebound versus Cincinnati

Before the USF men’s team lost to Houston on Saturday, the Cougars were Conference USA’s worst rebounding team.

And after Houston outrebounded the Bulls 38-31, USF fell to the rebounding cellar.

“(Rebounding) has been a point of emphasis for us the entire season,” assistant coach Frank Burnell said. “Up until the last couple of games, we’ve really done a pretty good job in the league of rebounding the basketball.”

With No. 20 Cincinnati (15-3, 4-1 C-USA) visiting on Thursday, things won’t be any easier for USF. The Bearcats are C-USA’s best rebounding team, grabbing 40.3 a game.

“They do a tremendous job on the offensive boards and just rebounding in general,” Burnell said.

The Bulls will also need to rebound mentally after their deflating double-digit loss to Houston. It was their fourth consecutive loss.

“We just have to continue to battle and try to get better each and every day,” Burnell said. “Saturday (versus Houston) I think we all know and understand that it was just not a very good effort on our part.

“Thursday’s a great opportunity for us — a nationally ranked team, a team with a lot of great tradition. If we can’t get fired up to play them, then we’ve got some serious problems.”