Bulls look to regain top-25 ranking

ORACLE FILE PHOTO/ADAM MATHIEU
While most students will be enjoying a Thanksgiving meal Thursday, the women’s basketball team (3-1) will be in the U.S. Virgin Islands playing in the Paradise Jam Basketball Tournament.
Coming off a dominant win at home against UNC-Asheville, USF will now take on three undefeated teams in a three-day span.
“There’s an opportunity for us to play some great basketball down there and continue to get better,” coach Jose Fernandez said.
The Bulls will face No. 9 Kentucky (4-0), Oklahoma (4-0) and Illinois (4-0) in the tournament, hoping to show skeptics that this team is the real deal.
With the loss to No. 8 Maryland last week, the Bulls dropped out of the USA Today Coaches Poll that they had recently been added to for the first time in program history. Coming away from this tournament without a loss would almost guarantee them a spot back in the rankings.
“That’s just a credit to the schedule that we play,” Fernandez said. “For us to stay in the poll, we’ve got to go to the Virgin Islands and prove we’re a top-25 team.”
No. 9 Kentucky already beat a top-10 opponent this year when it defeated Baylor last week, 74-64. A win against the Wildcats would give Fernandez and the Bulls what they lacked last season: a victory over a top-ranked team.
Following the tournament, the Bulls will be back in action at the Sun Dome on Dec. 3 to take on Stetson at 7 p.m.
More Stories
USF women’s lacrosse picks up third straight win against Lehigh
USF women’s lacrosse celebrated its third win of the season on Valentine’s Day, as they defeated Lehigh with a score of 17-7 on Lehigh’s season debut on Friday. The Bulls won their second home game with a final score of 17-7, successfully defending their now three-game win streak. Attacker Juliana George scored the first goal […]
USF men’s basketball outmatched in loss versus No.14 Memphis.
USF men’s basketball failed to upset No.14 Memphis on Thursday night, losing 80-65. The Tigers entered the match as one of the most formidable opponents on South Florida’s schedule. Memphis arrived riding a seven-game winning streak and ranked first place in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) standings. The Bulls (12-13, 5-8 AAC) continue their up-and-down […]
PHOTOS: USF men’s basketball suffers 80-65 loss against Memphis
Last year, USF faced off against Memphis and delivered a comeback for the history books. The 74-73 win against the then-ranked No. 10 Tigers was the Bulls’ first victory against a ranked team since 2012. But this year’s game against Memphis on Thursday night told a different story. The Bulls delivered a shaky performance with […]
USF women’s basketball beats Rice in triple-OT: “Really good players who make big plays”
With 25 seconds left in the third overtime of a hotly-contested affair against Rice, graduate guard Sammie Puisis nailed a 3-pointer from the Bulls logo to give USF their 10th in-conference win. From there, the Bulls (17-8, 10-2 AAC) coasted to their sixth straight win , pushing their record to 17-8 on the season. The 82-77 […]
PHOTOS: USF women’s basketball claims victory over Rice
USF women’s basketball delivered a thrilling game against Rice on Wednesday night, going into three overtimes before claiming an 82-77 win. The Bulls extended their win streak to six and claimed their 10th conference win. Graduate guard Sammie Puisis delivered a 3-pointer from the Bulls logo that gave USF the win. Puisis didn’t realize how […]
USF’s L’or Mputu powers team’s winning streak
USF women’s basketball senior forward L’or Mputu knew her hard work would pay off – it was just a matter of time. In her native language of French, her first name translates to “Gold” – a fitting description of her value to the Bulls this season. When she was named American Athletic Conference (AAC) player […]