SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA men’s basketball team (4-17, 0-9 AMER) heads to Tampa for the first time in two years, set for an American Conference matchup with South Florida (14-8, 6-3 AMER) on Wednesday night at the Yuengling Center. Tipoff between the Bulls and Roadrunners is set for 6 p.m. CT and will stream live on ESPN+.
On the Air and on the Web
The broadcast for Wednesday’s 6 p.m. CT tipoff with the Bulls at the Yuengling Center will air on ESPN+, with Jim Louk and Sean Salisbury on the broadcast call.
The radio broadcast will appear on Sports Radio AM 760 The Ticket with Andy Everett (play-by-play) live from the Yuengling Center. The broadcast will feature a 30-minute pregame and 15-minute postgame show – available online at Ticket760.com or via the free iHeartRadio app.
South Florida Athletics will also provide Live Stats.
About the UTSA Roadrunners
The Roadrunners are coming off a tightly contested matchup with UAB last week at the Convocation Center. The Roadrunners led for over 10 minutes, pulling in front as late as the final four minutes while drawing a four-point game with 47 seconds to go in the 83-73 setback. The prior outing against Temple saw the Roadrunners leading at half but falling in a close one down the stretch. UTSA is back out on the road with the first trip to the Yuengling Center since 2023-24, looking to snap its losing skid against a tough opponent coming off a road loss themselves.
The Roadrunners average 68.2 ppg on 38.9 percent shooting, gathering 36.9 rpg with 11.5 turnovers forced per game. Leading the way throughout the season, graduate guard Jamir Simpson tops the UTSA scorers at 15.7 ppg – the eighth-best scoring average in the American. However, since opening conference play, junior guard Austin Nunez has been lighting up scoreboards, putting up 13.4 ppg against American opposition, 10.1 ppg on the season with a team-high 2.5 apg and a team-leading 87.7 percent (50-of-57) at the free throw line. Coming on strong lately with contributions in multiple facets, sophomore wing Baboucarr Njie paces the team with 5.6 rpg, in addition to 8.6 ppg and a conference-third 2.2 bpg. Over the past four games, Njie has logged 19 blocks with 6.5 rpg and 12.8 ppg.
About the South Florida Bulls
The preseason American No. 2 selection despite a new staff and rebuilt roster, South Florida has followed through on its promise at 14-8 under Bryan Hodgeson, sitting in a tie for third in the league standings. After winning three big American games, South Florida is returning home after a tough loss on Saturday at Temple, 79-78. USF’s three conference losses were determined by a combined five points. Lifting the Bulls is the fastest-playing offense the Roadrunners have seen this year, averaging an NCAA-10th 89.5 ppg on the 13th-fastest tempo, scoring 15.1 fast break ppg. The Bulls are shooting 44.1 percent from the field with an NCAA 40th-ranked 10.0 threes per game on 33.6 percent long range shooting. Buoyed by the third-best offensive rebounding in the country (15.4 orpg), USF ranks sixth nationally with 43.1 rpg overall.
The Bulls’ top three scorers can accomplish a lot, with Izaiyah Nelson, Wes Enis and Joseph Pinion combining to produce 49.4 ppg. A transfer forward who followed Hodgeson from Arkansas State, Nelson averages a double-double of 15.9 ppg and American-leading 10.0 rpg, along with a team-high 35 blocks and 34 steals. A DII All-America transfer from Lincoln Memorial, Enis has 73 percent of his made shots coming from three-point range and averages 15.1 ppg. Also from A-State, Pinion leads the Bulls in three-pointers with 39.8 percent long-range shooting and 14.8 ppg. Meanwhile, Josh Omojafo adds 12.7 ppg and CJ Brown not only scores 12.0 ppg but leads the American at 5.3 apg.
Series History
The Roadrunners are looking for their first win in the short series with the Bulls, with South Florida holding a 3-0 advantage and 1-0 mark in Tampa. The past two meetings were close finishes, decided by a mere five points per game. In the lone Tampa matchup and UTSA’s first meeting with USF, UTSA saw an 89-72 setback in 2023-24 but turned the rematch into a barnburner at the Convocation Center with UTSA nearly upending the Bulls’ 11-game win streak.
Up Next
UTSA returns to action at home in the Convocation Center, honoring Black History Month on Saturday in the rematch with North Texas. The following week will see UTSA take in back-to-back road games in North Carolina at East Carolina (Feb. 11) and Charlotte (Feb. 15).
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