USFs hot streak gets put to rest on the road

And so the streak comes to an end.

USFs four-game road streak and, perhaps the most important, its three-game winning streak was put to rest Tuesday night as the Bulls suffered a 68-56 loss at Rutgers.

The loss most likely eliminates any hope the team had of becoming ranked this season and could hurt its chances of making the NCAA tournament.

While the Bulls were winning consistently, one of their main issues continued to rear its head in the loss.

Closing halves has been the main struggle for USF this season, especially evident last week when No.16 Louisville took advantage of a 10-0 run to end the first half and when Syracuse went on a 13-0 run during the following game.

In New Jersey, USF (19-8, 8-6) faced off against Rutgers, (15-12, 6-8) and the Bulls again found themselves faltering at the end of the first half.

It had been a back and forth battle during the first 16 minutes of the game until Rutgers took advantage of poor shooting and sloppy play by USF to go on a 10-2 run to finish off the half and grab an 11 point advantage.

In the past, the Bulls have overcome large deficits such as these with their three-point shooting, but when a team lives and dies by the three point shot, its bound to backfire.

USF shooting was out of character from the Bulls recent performances and couldnt seem to turn it around all night, shooting 20 percent from three-point territory and 29 percent from the floor.

The Bulls, however, managed to hold on the ball.

Despite committing 13 turnovers in comparison to Rutgers 23, USF struggled to capitalize. The Scarlet Knights shot over 50 percent from the floor and
out-rebounded the Bulls by 10 boards.

Going forward, the Bulls will likely need to take shots closer to the rim when the jumpers arent falling.

Despite coming off the sinking feeling of a winning streak ending, the Bulls as they face two more conference teams this season,
including No. 3 UConn on Saturday at 12 p.m. in the Sun Dome.