SAN ANTONIO – The Roadrunners are back in the win column after a dramatic finish against a rising Tulane squad on Wednesday, but UTSA men’s basketball (8-12, 2-5 AAC) immediately heads back on the road this weekend. The Roadrunners land at the Yuengling Center in Tampa on Saturday to square off with a South Florida Bulls (12-5, 5-1 AAC) team that has positioned itself in the American Athletic Conference’s top tier as January winds down. Opening tip is set for 3 p.m. CT and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+ alongside the radio broadcast Sports Radio AM 760 The Ticket.
On the Air and on the Web
Saturday’s meeting between the Roadrunners and Bulls will air live on the radio from the Yuengling Center with Andy Everett (play-by-play) on the call. The radio broadcast will appear on Sports Radio AM 760 The Ticket and, as always, will feature a 30-minute pregame and 15-minute postgame show – available online at Ticket760.com or via the free iHeartRadio app.
The live stream of the game will run on ESPN+ for subscribers. Sean Salisbury and Jim Louk will be on the broadcast call.
South Florida Athletics will also provide LIVE STATS.
Last Time Out
‣ UTSA snapped a four-game skid as a game-winning Jordan Ivy-Curry three in the closing seconds secured an 89-88 victory over Tulane in an intense back-and-forth at the Convocation Center on Wednesday night.
‣ UTSA trailed nearly the entire first half and the Green Wave hit a game-high nine-point lead on a couple of late-half pushes, but UTSA rallied to a brief single-point lead just under one minute to go – Tulane leading UTSA into halftime with a 41-40 advantage.
‣ In the first half, Tulane was getting their hits in from long range while shooting 52 percent from the field, and UTSA was surviving the extra points at the free throw line, hitting 11-for-13 to keep pace while the Roadrunners were an icy 1-for-17 from the perimeter.
‣ From the opening possession of the second half, a switch flipped for the Roadrunners and Carlton Linguard Jr. in particular – as he blocked the second half’s opening Tulane shot and then drained the first of five threes in the half on the other end.
‣ Creating opportunities for all Roadrunners, Linguard lit up the boards by scoring 20 of his career-high 31 points in the second half. Keeping the game tight for UTSA, Linguard made 10-of-16 field goals, including 6-of-10 from three-point range and 5-of-7 at the free throw line – on top of securing a double-double with a team-high 10 rebounds as well as three blocks.
‣ The second half saw constant and wild momentum swings with neither team able to hold the advantage for long – there were nine ties and 19 lead changes on the night.
‣ Down the stretch, Ivy-Curry collected the game’s final tie on a step-back jumper that made it 85-all with 1:29 remaining. However, Jaylen Forbes edged the Green Wave in front once more at the line and Collin Holloway stretched the lead to two on split free throws when the Roadrunners were forced to foul. On the final possession for the Roadrunners, Christian Tucker brought the ball up off the make, shielding his shooter as he pitched back to an advancing Ivy-Curry – who pulled up for the game-winning shot from the top of the arc with 2.3 on the clock to secure the 89-88 victory.
‣ A relatively quiet night coming off his 38 points against No. 23 Florida Atlantic, Ivy-Curry registered his 1,000th career point on the buzzer beater for his ninth point of the night. Since joining the active roster on Dec. 17 at Oregon State, Ivy-Curry has eight double-figure games in 10 outings, including five scoring more than 20 points. His career scoring moves to 1,002 heading into this weekend’s matchup at South Florida. His 18.4 ppg leads the Roadrunners and is the third-highest in the AAC.
‣ Following up a career-best 12-assist performance against Florida Atlantic, Tucker added five more dimes against the Green Wave along with seven points. For the 12th consecutive week, Tucker remains No. 1 in the American Athletic Conference on 112 total assists (24th in NCAA) and 5.6 assists per game (29th in NCAA). Tucker is also working on his third week leading the AAC in free throw percentage at an NCAA 26th-best 89.1 percent.
‣ Firing it up from the perimeter, UTSA ranks at No. 8 in the NCAA and atop the AAC with 29.5 three-point attempts per game, leading to an NCAA 15th-ranked 10.1 made threes per outing to pace the conference. The perimeter attack helps UTSA to its No.4 ranking in AAC scoring offense at 80.9 ppg (44th NCAA), further fueled by a 61st-ranked 13.05 fast break scoring average.
‣ Commanding the boards against Tulane with a 48-33 advantage, UTSA ranks No. 2 in the AAC with 40.5 rpg for 25th in the NCAA.
Series with South Florida
The Roadrunners and the Bulls will meet for the first time on Saturday.
Scouting South Florida
‣ USF has made a solid early stand in the first season under Amir Abdur-Rahim, who transformed Kennesaw State from a one-win team to a conference champion with an NCAA appearance in just four years.
‣ South Florida went 14-18 last season and are quickly encroaching on that win count, coming into Saturday’s game at 12-5 and sitting at third in the current AAC standings at 5-1 in league play – most notably, the Bulls handed No. 10 Memphis its first AAC loss in the FedEx Forum last week, 74-73.
‣ The Bulls are on a four-game win streak after rallying from behind for the fourth consecutive game, moving past Temple in the final four minutes while outscoring the Owls 11-6 in that stretch to pull off the 75-69 win.
‣ Forward Kasean Pryor recorded his third-straight double-double (20 points/10 rebounds) against Temple and fourth-straight scoring over 20, leading the Bulls as the reigning AAC Player of the Week with an 18.3 ppg average in conference play, logging a 12.7 ppg average on the year while shooting 40.8 percent on field goals in conference games. Pryor does boast a 39-for-42 record at the free throw line against AAC schools and leads the Bulls on the glass, using his 6-10 frame to gather 7.1 rpg.
‣ Guards Selton Miguel (14.5 ppg) and Chris Youngblood (14.2 ppg) are pacing the team in scoring and responsible for the bulk of USF’s assists and perimeter shots. Miguel has a team-best 38 threes to Youngblood’s 30, while Miguel’s 37 assists top the team, ahead of Youngblood’s 36. Youngblood is one of three players that followed Rahim from Kennesaw State.
Up Next
UTSA gets a slight break amidst the conference season, facing no midweek opponent before hosting Rice on Feb. 3 for the first conference rematch of the season. UTSA defeated the Owls in overtime on Jan. 6 in Houston, 89-82.
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