Men’s soccer begins quest for another Big East title

Last Nov. 16, the USF men’s soccer team celebrated on its home field after defeating St. Johns 1-0 to capture its first Big East Championship in school history.The No. 13 Bulls start their quest for another title when they open this season’s Big East Tournament at home against Marquette (4-9-3, 3-4-3) tonight at 7:30.

Despite this being the first post season match for the Bulls in 2009, Coach George Kiefer approaches it as just another game.

 “We treat every match like it’s our last so the preparation is no different for us,” Kiefer said.  “We are just trying to get better every game.”

USF and Marquette faced each other this season and played to a 1-1 tie on Sept. 18 at the USF Soccer Stadium.

Kiefer said his team is anxious for the rematch.

“Playing Marquette is a great opportunity for us,” he said.  “Our players felt like they should have played better the last time we faced (Marquette).  We were not happy to come away with a tie.”

Senior forward  Zak Boggs said it wasn’t a good night for USF.

“I don’t want to dwell on the past but a lot of things didn’t go right for us that night,” Boggs said.  “We are all itching to get on the field to hopefully come away with a big win.”

If the Bulls (12-3-2, 6-3-2) earn a victory over Marquette tonight, they would travel to South Bend to play Notre Dame (10-7-1, 8-3-0) in the quarterfinals on Sunday.

USF defeated the Fighting Irish 2-1 on Sept. 20 at the USF Soccer Stadium.

No matter what happens in the Big East Tournament, however, Kiefer feels the 2009 regular season has been a huge success

“If you asked me before the season where I thought we would be at the end after losing five seniors from last year, I wouldn’t have thought we would be 12-3-2,” he said.  “I am extremely proud of our team for the way they have played so far this season.”

Last year, South Florida was chosen to host the Big East Tournament’s Final Four and the Bulls won the championship.  This season, the semifinals and finals will be held in Morgantown, West Virginia.

If the Bulls are to repeat as conference champions in 2009, they will have to do it away from the USF Soccer Stadium – where they are 23-0-4 in their last 27 home matches.

Boggs believes that winning the Big East Championship last year has nothing to do with 2009, and that USF will really need to be at the top of its game throughout the tournament if they are to repeat.

“This is a completely different season,” he said.  “All year we have played with a target on our backs and that is what we wanted.  It has helped us improve our game on so many levels, including mental toughness which is what we are going to need to win another title.”  

-Joel Leventhal

 

USF 30 West Virginia 19

Well there’s a welcome sight for Leavitt.  Eric Schwartz just knocked through a 44 yard field to make it a two possession game.  Schwartz is 3 for 3 in field goals tonight and 6 for 9 on the year.  Schwartz hit a 50 yard field against Cincinnati.

-PN

 

USF 27 West Virginia 19

Daniels hit freshman Sterling Griffin for a 5-yard touchdown pass to extend the lead.  Daniels has three touchdown passes today, a career-high.

-PN

 

USF 20 West Virginia 19

West Virginia scored on an 11-yard touchdown run from quarterback Jarrett Brown.  The Moutaineers elected to not go for two and USF still maintains a 1-point lead early in the third quarter.

-PN

 

USF 20 West Virginia 12

Eric Schwartz knocks through a 30 yard field goal with :23 to go before halftime.

-PN

 

USF 17 West Virginia 12

West Virginia hits a field goal with 3:34 remaining in the second quarter.

-PN

 

USF 17 West Virginia 9

USF was able to overcome a horrific call by the officiating crew as Daniels hit a wide open A.J. Love for a 12 yard touchdown pass.  On the drive, Daniels hit Mitchell on what would have been a 78 yard touchdown pass but the officials ruled Mitchell out of bounds at the 12-yard line.  They reviewed it, but apparently didn’t have enough evidence to overturn it even though Mitchell was clearly in bounds the entire time.

USF leads by eight midway through the second quarter.

-PN

 

USF 10 West Virginia 9

That’s right folks: a safety.

Jamar Taylor got tackled in the end zone and West Virginia cut into Bulls lead heading into the second quarter.  USF was backed up on its own one-yard line thanks to an effective punt and a penalty.

USF will kick off the the Mountaineers to start the second quarter.

-PN

 

USF 10 West Virginia 7 (first quarter)

After the USF defense forced the Mountaineers a three and out, the USF offense drove down the field and set up an Eric Schwartz 30 yard field goal to give USF a three point lead. 

West Virginia is driving, though.

-PN

 

USF 7 West Virginia 7

That didn’t take long.

B.J. Daniels connected with Carlton Mitchell on  a 49 yard pass play for a touchdown to tie the game.  USF converted a huge fourth down on the drive, with coach Jim Leavitt electing to go for a fourth and 1 at midfield.

We’re about midway through the first quarter.

-PN

 

Women’s Volleyball

Greetings folks. Quick note that there is Volleyball to pay attention to this weekend. Compliments to correspondent Will McLaughlin…..

 

USF volleyball coach Claire Lessinger said she has noticed two things different in her team this week. It’s Energy and Defense. 

 

They’ll need that when they travel to play St. John’s and Connecticut this weekend.

 

USF (15-10, 5-5) comes into this weekend tied for eighth place in the Big East conference while Connecticut (18-7, 9-3) rests in fourth.  Lessinger knows that this weekend will be challenging, but is very optimistic with the way practice went this week.

 

“The energy here is really good,” Lessinger said.  “The past two losses weren’t bad losses, and we’re taking a lot of good things out of them.  We are feeding off of the positives, and working on our team defense.  I have a lot of faith that we’re going to be able to do what we need to do.”

 

The Bulls will need positive energy Friday. St. John’s (18-7, 9-1) comes in with sole possession of first place in the Big East.

 

 Last weekend, the Bulls team defense was exposed in losses to Cincinnati and Louisville.  Lessinger said that her team has solely focused on defense this week in preparation for the Red Storm.

 

“Defense wins championships,” Lessinger said.  “It is something we need to pride ourselves in.  We need to be more efficient on keeping balls alive, and that’s what we’ve been working on this week.”

 

Freshmen outside hitter Alli O’Connor believes the team grew up a lot after the losses last weekend, and believes that this week has brought positive things out of the squad.

 

“The two losses this past weekend really pointed out what we needed to work on,” O’Connor said.  “I think we have gotten better in practice this week, and hopefully we will carry that into the weekend and get a win.”    

 

Senior middle blocker Nakia Williams is very confident in the defensive development of the team.

 

“We have improved our defense every day in practice this week,” Williams said.  “We feel like we can go toe to toe with St. John’s and Connecticut and we’re going to play really hard this weekend.”  

- Will McLaughlin

Correspondent

 

USF women tip-off regular season

Greetings all,

It’s been a heavy day. I’m sure all of you have heard of USF’s 49-16 loss to Rutgers at Raymond James Stadium.

Not to worry fans! We have made the trip over to the Sun Dome, and are ready for tonight’s first women’s basketball regular season game.

USF returns seven girls from last year’s 16-16 team. Coach Jose Fernandez has taken the program to five straight postseason appearances, and with the addition of some good newcomers, he’s hopeful they do the same this year.

It all begins tonight with Central Connecticut. CCU is coming off a disappointing season, although coach Beryl Piper is in her second season with the program. CCU went 4-25 last year.

Live from the Sun Dome

-K.K.

 

Men’s Soccer set for Big Weekend

You’ve got football against Rutgers (by the way log on for the live blog!)

You’ve got the men’s and women’s basketball teams tipping off the regular season this weekend.

However, the biggest story of the weekend will be the USF soccer stadium hosting the semifinals and finals of the Big East tournament here in Tampa. Not to mention the Bulls have actually made it into the semis.

The tournament is going to slate Depaul v. St. John’s at 5:00 pm on Friday night with USF v. Notre Dame immediately following the game (probably about 7:00 pm.) The final will be played on Sunday at noon.

I talked to Coach Kiefer today about his thoughts on being able to play and host the Big East Championships.

“This is a huge opportunity for our program,” he said. “My thanks goes to Doug Woolard for putting in that bid to host this thing. To have an athletic director to take the initiative to host it is great, and obviously it put pressure on us to get there.”

Welp folks, they got there alright.

USF compiled a 12-4-2 record this year, and defeated Georgetown 2-1 in the quarterfinals to clinch the spot in the final four.

It may be tough sledding for the Bulls; however, because the last time the Fighting Irish and the Bulls met, it was a 5-0 route by the hands of Notre Dame. Kiefer said that he thinks playing at home will play a big factor though.

“The crowd is huge for us,” he said. “The students have been great for us this year. We could really use their support on Friday. In a game like this there is going to be adversity, and the times where things aren’t going well, the crowd will lift you up.”

Once again, you’ll want to log on right here Friday night for the best up-to-the-minute coverage of the game. We’ll be able for chat so be prepared to have your say on the game while it’s taking place!

For a full preview of this game log onto www.usforacle.com or pick up Thursday’s edition of the Oracle.

- K.K.

 

USF expected to receive sixth signing

Greetings folks … a follow up from yesterday’s report in the Oracle.

Yesterday we reported that despite the Bulls receiving their fifth expected signing in forward Jessica Monroe, coach Jose Fernandez said there would be a sixth signing this week.

That sixth signing is expected to be Aleshia Flowers. Flowers is a six-foot forward from Judson High School in Converse, Texas.

While she has been verbally committed to South Florida, paperwork has not been filed to call the signing official. The early signing period began today, and will run until November 19th. Fernandez said Flowers will be USF’s sixth and final signing.

The Bulls have already received verbals from forwards Tahira Johnson and Monroe, as well as guards Tiffany Conner, Kaneisha Saunders, and Sequoyah Griffin.

Suprisingly, with the addition to Flowers, the only in state recruit of the 2009 class will be Saunders who is from Palm Beach Gardens.

-K.K.

 

Saturday thoughts

First off, the South Florida women’s basketball team moved to 7-1 with a 99-71 win over Florida International last night at the Sun Dome.

The big difference this year for the Bulls has been without a doubt senior guard Jazmine Sepulveda, who scored 24 in last night’s victory. The way she’s developed as an influence on the team, this season, has been key to the start of the team. In the first eight games she leads the team in steals (27) and assists (35), and is second in scoring (13.8 ppg). The team will have a finals week break and then face North Florida at home on Sunday Dec. 14.

It’s a big day for men’s soccer as the Big East Champions travel up to Wake Forest to face the top ranked Demon Deacons in the elite eight of the NCAA Tournament at 4:30 p.m. I’ll be sure and try to get a hold of Coach George Kiefer after the game, and update you all on what’s going on. If the Bulls win, it would be mark the first ever Final Four appearance by USF. The Final Four is held in Frisco, Texas.

Don’t forget that men’s basketball is in action, as well. A big in-state affair between USF and UCF in Orlando. It is the second of a two game road trip for USF. The Bulls lost a close one to UAB 78-77 on Wednesday. If there is such a thing as a morale victory, that could be considered one. UAB played pretty well in New York in a preseason tournament at Madison Square Garden. They lost a close game to top ten ranked Oklahoma. USF (3-2) have a substantial lead in the series (18-4) over UCF (3-3). Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. tonight.

All this leading up to football tonight at 8:00 p.m. It will be a cold one in Morgantown with conditions predicted to be in the 20’s and perhaps snowing.

USF’s defense will be looking to continue its success against the spread attack of West Virginia. It must be preperation, said a lot of the players this week, and the way the defense practices without a ball all week. Senior safety Carlton Williams said that the Bulls just work on positioning and assignments. If everyone does their job, he said, Pat White and the Mountaineers can be stopped. He also said this game is his favorite.

“I love playing West Virginia,” he said. “It’s a battle of athletes. They have their athletes out in space, and us with our athletes. I look forward to it every year, and it’s going to be a great game, Saturday.”

That will be the big matchup. Particularly the linebackers and secondary of USF vs. the athletes of West Virginia. Containment of Pat White and running back Noel Devine (a Florida native) will probably be the big key.

Of course, handling the tough conditions will be a big factor, as well. However, perhaps USF has a pyschological advantage in this game considering they’ve won two straight over WVU, including that 24-19 win in Morgantown in 2006.

We’ll see you later, and enjoy the games today.

-K.K.

 

USF women’s hoops live blog!

Greetings out there folks …

We are live from the USF Sun Dome tonight set for USF v. Stetson.

Coach Jose Fernandez has his team at 2-0 after they won the USF shootout this past weekend. Stetson enters the game at 1-1. The Bulls have dominated the past two meetings between the two teams, winning by a combined average margin of 42.5 points.

USF is on fire offensively, and defensively, for that matter. They’ve racked up a combined average of 97 points, per outing, this season. Defensively, USF has 43 steals.

The Hatters and Bulls are ready to tip soon … we’ll be back mid half for an update.

Feel free to comment and talk hoops, regularly, i’ll be here to talk.

-K.K.

 

Late breaking football news

Greetings folks … it’s nearly midnight but there is some news we need to pass along. The USF football team has officially lost three members for the remainder of the season due to injury.

The most noteable is kickoff specialist Justin Teachey. Teachey has been struggling in recent weeks with a nagging quad injury, and the USF coaching staff confirmed he will be done for the season.

Now most of you out there might think ‘eh big deal.’ However, consider in the Bulls’ first loss to Pittsburgh that Delbert Alvarado (who most likely will take over now) was the one who kicked the ball out of bounds on a kickoff late in the fourth quarter.

Three plays later LeSean McCoy scored the winning touchdown.

My friends the fact is that this is a huge loss for USF. Coach Jim Leavitt puts a huge emphasis on special teams, and losing Teachey will only add insult to injury for this team.

Cory Grissam, a frosh D-Tackle, and walk-on special teams player Joe Herzhauser are the other two who will not see anymore action. In reality they are relatively small losses. Grissam has played minimally. Herzhauser has made a decent impact on special teams, and is a backup on the offensive line.

A note that Herzhauser’s career will end considering he is the oldest player on the team at 25.

Remember that we will be live on this blog from Raymond James Stadium on Saturday for the Rutgers game at noon.

I will open up a blurb story, and then post live up to the minute updates on what’s going on. Of course you will get plenty of ‘analysis!’

See you then. Be ready to comment and talk football.

-K.K.

 

USF loses recruiting battle

South Florida has lost one of the biggest recruting battles of the 2009 football class, and they lost it to an in-conference rival.

Dual-threat quarterback Eugene Smith told Rivals.com on Monday that he’s given a ’soft verbal’ to West Virginia. Smith, a 6-foot-3 182 pound athletic player, had narrowed his choices down to USF, LSU, and the Mountaineers before giving his committment. He still received offers from schools like Michigan, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, and Oregon.

I’ve watched film on Smith, and can confirm he would be a perfect fit into USF offensive coordinator Greg Gregory’s system. The Miramar, Florida native has a mix of size, speed, and a good arm. He rushed for seven touchdowns, and threw for 2,222 yards as a junior in high school.

Smith did say that he still plans on taking a recruiting visit to South Florida. So maybe the coaching staff can work their magic, and convince him to change his mind.

So what’s this mean for the squad?

Well, it isn’t entirely a huge loss, although, it is another athlete lost to the likes of WVU. However, remember that the Bulls have a very talented freshman quarterback in B.J. Daniels, and he is expected to medical redshirt this year. From what i’ve seen … Daniels is more than capable of taking the reigns once Matt Grothe leaves the program.

A reminder … LOG ON SATURDAY AT NOON FOR OUR LIVE BLOG. WE WILL BE LIVE FROM THE PRESS BOX AT RAYMOND JAMES STADIUM TALKING FOOTBALL. COME ON DOWN AND JOIN!

-K.K.

 

USF SOCCER LIVE BLOG HERE!!

HELLO all you USF soccer fans, and Notre Dame, as well. This is the link page for the live blog! Simply click the hedeline up top “USF SOCCER LIVE BLOG HERE” to open up the comment page.

Notre Dame senior Bright Dike scored his league leading 12th goal of the season, and the Irish lead 1-0 at halftime of the Big East Semifinals against USF at the USF Soccer Stadium.

Dike has two of the Irishes six shots in the first half. The Bulls have only managed to get one shot on goal against a stellar Notre Dame defense.

In the 19th minute sophmore Jeb Brovsky sent a through ball into a streaking Dike, who slid a low right footed shot into the back of the net to silence the home crowd for the lone goal of the half.

Once you click the link up top you’ll be in the thread, and the comment box will appear at the bottom of the page … that’s where i’ll be posting live updates.

We’re in the second half….

(REMEMBER TO KEEP REFRESHING THE PAGE!!!!!)

-K.K.

 

Bulls lead at the Sun Dome

Hey folks! Joe Rienzi here, live from the men’s basketball game at the Sun Dome.

Just a quick update:

USF overcame a 12-of-31 shooting performance in the first half to go into the break with a 32-23 lead. Sophomore guard Dominique Jones was held in check, going 2-of-6 from the field and scoring six points in the first half.

At the beginning of the second half, however, he’s come to life the last five points for the Bulls, and seven overall in the first three minutes of the second half.

With 16:42 remaining in the Bulls’ season opener, USF leads 39-29.

 

Bulls starting to put SMU away

Neither team has looked impressive tonight, but the Bulls have squandered countless opportunities to put this game away. Poor shooting — from the field and free-throw line — and turnovers have let the Mustangs, who have also been doing everything in their power to lose tonight, stick around.

It’s 53-39 with just under four minutes to play, as Jesus Verdejo just hit a huge three-pointer before the final officials timeout.

Bad news for USF, as Alex Rivas, who had offseason surgery on both legs, was slow getting off the floor and is in obvious pain. Coach Stan Heath said he was still trying to get back into playing shape earlier this week, so he may just be sore. He walked back to the bench with an obvious limp, so we’ll keep an eye on that.

 

USF CLINCH BIG EAST TITLE SPOT

Francisco Aristeguieta scored two goals for South Florida, and the Bulls defeated Notre Dame 2-1 at the USF Soccer Stadium on Friday night.

The win secures USF’s spot in Sunday’s final against St. John’s at the USF Soccer Stadium.

For a full recap of all the action, scroll down and click on the live blog link!

Then you can check out all the comments, as I was keeping you all up-to-date minute-by-minute on the action.

For a full gamer log on to www.usforacle.com later tonight.

 

-K.K.

 

Live Blog: Women’s hoops set for tip-off 2:25 Eastern time

Greetings from the Sun Dome …

We are all set here just minutes from tip-off for this Sunday final of the “USF Shootout,” between South Florida and Loyola (Maryland).

A quick reset of how these teams got here. Both, obviously, won their semifinal games on Saturday night.

Loyola defeated Harvard 78-69 in the early game, and had junior Kaitlin Grant drop 21-points.

USF’s victory was a bit easier. They beat Central Connecticut State 100-48, and had newcomers Janae Stokes and Alexis Givands drop 20-points a piece. The 100-point total was the highest for a season opener under coach Jose Fernandez.

USF is dressed in their all white get-ups, while Loyola is dressed in the all green uniforms.

I’ll be back with an update soon …

-K.K.

 

Volleyball stays alive

Coming into tonight, the South Florida volleyball team had one mission. Win and stay alive in the hunt for a Big East tournament spot.

Mission accomplished.

Behind an electric crowd at The Corral,USF  defeated the Seton Hall Pirates (14-14, 6-7) in five sets, and jumped into the 8th spot in the Big East standings. The top eight in the conference make the tournament.

“I told the girls in the locker room that this was a fun match,” USF coach Claire Lessinger said. “Tonight was definitely a team win, and they believed in themselves.”

The Bulls (16-12, 6-7) defeated the Pirates 23-25, 30-28, 25-21, 22-25 and 15-8.

Junior outside hitter Marcela Gurgel led the Bulls with 25 kills, 12 digs, and six aces. Gurgel said the win was crucial.

“This match was really exciting,” Gurgel said. “I’m so proud of my teammates. They gave it their all tonight.”

Junior middle-blocker Alli Arbogast, one of Gurgel’s teammates, recorded her first double-double with 13 kills and 12 blocks.

“We knew that we had to win this match in order to go to the tournament,” Arbogast said. “We worked well tonight, and played the kind of volleyball we’ve been striving for all season.”

The Bulls will try to reach their season goal, the Big East tournament, on Sunday when they play Villanova at 2:00 p.m. at the Corral.

If they win, then they’re in.

 

- Will McLaughlin

- CORRESPONDENT-

 

CLICK HERE FOR LIVE BLOG! 1ST QUARTER UNDERWAY ….

Today is Saturday, November 15th … and that means it’s gameday!

Greeting folks. We are live here at Raymond James Stadium for the live blog! Kick-off is set for noon local time.

Make sure to click the hedeline link: “CLICK HERE FOR USF FOOTBALL LIVE BLOG.” That will open up the comments page where i’ll be continually posting updates, and you can post your discussions as well!

Quick note on the temperature here. The skies have become quite blue! When we got here this morning it was raining, but it has cleared up, and although it’s hot, it should be a great day for football.

Crowd is filling in, but I would be suprised if there were 30,000 or so here today.

We’ll be kicking-off shortly. Stay tuned and check out the comments for updates on the game.

 

-K.K.

 

CLICK HERE FOR LIVE BLOG … 21-10 Rutgers in the 3rd

Matt Grothe has thrown two interceptions, one for a touchdown, and Rutgers leads 21-10 over USF at Raymond James Stadium, at half-time.

Rutgers quarterback Mike Teel has thrown for two interceptions, but had a two-yard rushing touchdown to give the Scarlet Knights a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter.

The Bulls moved the ball into Rutgers territory on the following possession, but, were held to a 26-yard field goal by Maikon Bonani to cut the lead to 7-3.

However, as it has been all game, Grothe threw the ball right into the arms of Rutgers defender Jason McCourty, who returned it for a 30-yard touchdown with 5:21 left.

Grothe, who is 14-22 with 125-yards passing, responded.

He led the Bulls on a nine play, 67 yard scoring drive, capped by Ben Williams five-yard TD run.

However, Rutgers responded with a drive of their own. Six plays, 41-yards, and it’s 21-10 at half.

 

Rutgers extends lead to 28-10

They picked up right where they left off.

After going into half-time with a 21-10 lead, the Scarlet Knights scored on their opening possession of the second half to extend their lead to 28-10.

Joe Martinek’s one-yard touchdown capped off the 15-play, 82-yard drive that bled 5:16 off the clock.

 

-K.K.

 

USF cuts lead to 28-16

The fact that the snap on the P.A.T. went right thru backup quarterback Greg Gregory’s hands may just sum up how this game has gone.

After falling behind 28-10, USF responded on the very next drive going nine plays and 52-yards to cut the lead to 28-16 on Taurus Johnson’s ten-yard touchdown reception.

The USF offense is still outgaining Rutgers 257-to-188 total yards with under seven minutes to play in the third quarter.

 

Rutgers begins to pour it on 35-16

Just about the time the rain began to fall Rutgers quarterback Mike Teel capped off a five play, 48-yard drive with a 28-yard touchdown throw to tight-end Shamar Graves.

When it rains, it pours.

It was sunny when the Scarlet Knights began their drive at the USF 48, but by the time Graves crossed the goal-line with just :26 remaining in the third, it was pouring rain.

Rutgers rushed for the first four plays of the drive before going play-action, and over-the top to a wide-open Graves, who walked into the end-zone.

About 15,000 fans deserted Raymond James Stadium shortly after.

 

Britt’s 92-yard touchdown makes it 42-16

The route is officially on.

The (about) 500 Rutgers fans that made the trip from New Jersey are making their voices heard here at Raymond James Stadium after Kenny Britt’s 92-yard touchdown scamper has given Rutgers a 42-16 lead.

After receiving the ball at their own five yard-line, the Scarlet Knights gained two-yards on a rush by freshman Joe Martinek, but on the next play Mike Teel went play-action, and tested USF cornerback Jerome Murphy deep.

Murphy didn’t pass the test.

Britt, who has 163-yards and a touchdown, broke on a post-route down the center, had about a five-yard gap, snatched the ball out of the air and trucked Murphy after the reception.

Britt danced, along with the Rutgers section, across the goal-line.

9:45 left to go in the game.

 

Rutgers destroy USF 49-16

Rutgers junior sensation Kenny Britt had 173 yards receiving, including a 93-yard touchdown, and the Scarlet Knights trounced South Florida 49-16 at Raymond James Stadium on Saturday.

Rutgers (5-5, 4-2), which racked up 421 yards of offense, outscored the Bulls 28-6 in the second half, after jumping out to a 21-10 lead at halftime.

USF (6-4, 1-4) was mauled by penalties and turnovers all day. The Bulls committed ten penalties for 100 yards, and turned the ball over six times.

Junior quarterback Matt Grothe threw three interceptions, including one that was returned 30 yards by Rutgers’ Jason McCourty for a touchdown to put Rutgers on top 14-3 in the second quarter.

For a full game recap just revisit out live blogs down below, or visit www.usforacle.com

-K.K.

 

End of the road

Greetings folks …

The South Florida volleyball team suffered a three-set defeat to top seed St. John’s in the Big East tournament tonight, ending their competitive season.

The Bulls will play a non-conference game on Wednesday against Florida International at home to finish out the season, but the chances at post-season play ended on the hands of the Red Storm.

“We have to go into the offseason with a lot of fire,” coach Claire Lessinger said. “We want to win Big East titles, and what we need to do is get into shape and build on the positives from this season.”

Sophomore Allie Boaz led USF with 10 kills.

Junior Marcela Gurgel had eight digs and kills, apiece.

For a full gamer recap check www.usforacle.com Monday …

 

USF uses 12-0 run, lead 16-6

Alexis Givands scored nine of the first 11 USF points, and helped the Bulls go on a three-minute 12-0 run. USF leads 16-6 with 15:55 left in the first half.

USF has upped the pressure on CCU playing primarily in the full court press. CCU has four turnovers in four minutes.

 

USF lead 30-9, 11:29 left in first half

20 of USF’s first 30 points were scored by newcomers to the squad.

Alexis Givands leads all scorers with nine points, Janae Stokes has six, and freshman Jasmine Wynne has five as the Bulls lead 30-9 mid-way thru the first half.

USF has forced Central Connecticut to turn the ball over eight times, so far.

 

USF leads 47-14, 3:51 left in half

USF scored 41 in the first 13 minutes of the game, and USF leads 47-14 with less than four minutes remaining in the first half.

The Bulls have turned up the pressure on defense playing full-court press throughout the entire game.

CCU has 13 turnovers, and are shooting only 24% from the field.

Janae Stokes and Alexis Givands, both transfers from Gulf Coast Community College, lead the team with 14 and 9 points, respectively.

 

Givands shoots USF to 53-18 lead at halftime

Talk about a debut.

Junior college transfer Alexis Givands went 7-7 from the field, and hit 2-of-2 from 3-point range to lead USF into the half with a 53-18 half-time lead.

USF forced CCU into 16 turnovers, and held the Blue Devils to 24.4 % shooting from the field.

Janae Stokes has nine points, and Jazzmine Sepulveda and Jasmine Wynne have seven, as well.

Just a note, the highest FG % in a game for USF happened in in 1990, at 8-8 from the field.

The highest opener total under coach Jose Fernandez was 85 against Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Nov. 10, 2006.

Just a quick note, as well. In the first game this afternoon at the Sun Dome Loyala (Md.) defeated Harvard 78-69. Junior forward Kaitlin Grant led the Greyhounds with 21 points.

Assuming USF finishes off this 53-18 lead, the Bulls will face Loyala on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. at the Sun Dome.

 

USF leads 73-22, 11:42 left

Janae Stokes went on an 8-0 run by herself mid-way through the half, and USF leads 73-22 with 11:42 to go in the game.

Stokes has 17 points tonight, while her JUCO teammate Alexis Givands has 18.

Givands didn’t even miss a shot until the 16:56 mark in the second half.

USF remains in the full-court press, and has forced 24 turnovers in the game, so far.

Check back for a full game recap, with player/coach reaction, shortly.

-K.K.

 

USF hits century mark, defeats CCSU

Talk about a debut.

Newcomers Alexis Givands and Janae Stokes helped USF handedly defeat Central Connecticut State 100-48 tonight at the Sun Dome. The 100-point total marked the highest for a season opener under coach Jose Fernandez.

“We got up and down the floor tonight, and that’s the way we want to play,” Fernandez said. “If you look at the three newcomers … they played pretty well tonight.”

Givands didn’t miss a shot in the first half, and hit her first nine shots of the game en route to finishing with 20-points.

“Coach told me that I need to look to shoot from now on, so that’s what I went out and did,” Givands said.

Stokes, who transfered from Gulf Coast Community College with Givands, scored 20, as well, and hit four three-pointers. She said her success came from CCSU playing primarily in a zone defense.

“We played with high-energy tonight,” Stokes said. “As a shooter I prefer a zone defense, and I got some open looks tonight.”

Led by a 14-2 start, the Bulls jumped out to a 53-18 halftime lead. The Bulls played primarily in a full-court press defense for the entire game, and held CCSU to 25 % from the field, while forcing 33 turnovers. Fernandez said he was happy with the way the defense played.

“We played well defensively, and that’s the way we need to continue to play,” he said.

South Florida moves into the finals of the USF Shootout against Loyola (Md.). Loyola defeated Harvard 78-69 earlier at the Sun Dome. USF v. Loyola is set for 2:00 p.m.

 

USF wins Big East Championship

USF’s Sebastien Thuriere had a rebound fall right to his foot and the freshman nailed the ball into the back- of-the-net, in overtime, to give the Bulls a 1-0 win, and a Big East Championship in soccer.

Thuriere scored the “golden goal” in the 96th minute and then sprinted into the arms of the celebrating student section support, all the while, coach George Kiefer was getting the gatorade bath.

The win secures USF’s first ever Big East Championship, in soccer.

For a full gamer recap, log onto www.usforacle.com, shortly.

-K.K.

 

Sepulveda’s outside shooting gives USF 26-10 lead

USF senior Jazmine Sepulveda has eight points, two 3-pointers, and the Bulls lead 19-10 mid-way through the first half over Loyola (Md.)

Sepulveda also has one assist, and two steals.

The Bulls spent the first five minutes of the game going down in the post to starters Brittany Denson and Jessica Lawson to try to take advantage of a significant height advantage they have over Loyola. The Greyhounds started two forwards that reach 6-foot, while Denson and Lawson both are 6-foot-3.

However, after the Greyhounds cut the lead to 15-10 at the 13:00 minute mark, coach Fernandez switched to a smaller lineup of Porsche Grant, Sepulveda, Alexis Givands, Janae Stokes, and Jasmine Wynne (four-guards). The Bulls then pulled away to extend the lead to 26-10.

 

Bulls lead at half 53-22

Behind the shooting of Sepulveda, USF has built a healthy 53-22 lead on Loyola here at the Sun Dome.

Sepulveda is 3-for-5 from the field and has ten points, two assists and two steals to lead South Florida.

Janae Stokes also has ten points.

Just after our previous update (when it was 19-10 mid-way through the half), the Bulls went on a 9-0 lead and outscored the Greyhounds 34-12 in the last ten minutes.

USF, like last night, is playing a full court-high pressure defense forcing 16 turnovers.

The Bulls already have been to the line often. They’re 10-of-14 from the stripe.

See you in the second half …

 

USF lead 73-38

With just ten minutes left in the game USF leads 73-38 at the Sun Dome over Loyola (Md.)

Sepulveda has quieted, a bit, still with a solid 12 points, but only two in the second half. She is 2-for-2 from the free-throw line, as well.

It’s been the defense, this half, that has impressed most in terms of USF. The Bulls have strangled 18 turnovers out of Loyola, and are holding them to 37% shooting. Most of that can be attributed to the size in the post for USF. Loyola is playing with a lineup that features two 6-footers, and USF has Denson, Dalember, and Lawson who all range in the area of 6-foot-3.

In fact, the feature player for the Grehounds, 6-foot-0 Kaitlin Grant, hasn’t scored a point. Suprising, considering she dropped 21 in Saturday’s win over Harvard.

Stay tuned for a post-game recap.

-K.K.

 

Bulls win USF Shootout

The South Florida women’s basketball team defeated Loyola (Md.) 94-46 to win the USF Shootout tournament at the Sun Dome.

The Bulls had six players score in double-figures, with senior Jazmine Sepulveda leading all scorers with 14.

USF shot 42.9% from the field, and held Loyola to just 35.6%, as well as forcing 35 turnovers.

-K.K.

 

Bulls lead 20-13

Stetson’s Jessica Bivins leads all scoring, but USF leads 20-13 over a feisty Hatters squad.

Stetson, playing a 2-1-2 variation box zone, is holding USF to 2-11 shooting from the three-point line. South Florida is being led by Alexis Givands’ six points.

Junior Janae Stokes, who just entered minutes ago, has USF’s two three pointers.

Both teams were knotted at 8-8 at the 12:00 mark, but led by Stokes’s shooting, USF has extended the lead.

Check back at halftime, and post a comment or question at anytime on the thread.

 

USF turn it on late, lead 54-33

And the USF offense continue’s to flourish.

The Bulls have managed to put up 54 points, and lead the Stetson Hatters 54-33 at halftime here at the Sun Dome.

South Florida is led offensively by senior Jazmine Sepulveda’s 17 points.

After it was 14-11 at the 12:20 mark, USF went on a 17-4 run in four minutes to extend the lead to 31-15 at the 8:24 minute mark.

Then the Bulls really began to click offensively, putting up 23 points in the remaining eight minutes. This is the third time in three games USF has scored 50 points in the first half. Just a reminder, coach Jose Fernandez has only one-year on his contract after this year … perhaps motivation to score points?

Sepulveda has already eclipsed her season high of 14, here in the first half, and her career high is 26.

Anyways … USF up by a good margin, we’ll be back for the 2nd half.

 

USF on its way to 3-0

Don’t call me crazy, but with the Bulls leading 75-43 with 12:00 remaining, i’m going to take the liberty of saying this one may be out of reach.

USF’s two senior two guard tandem of Shantia Grace and Jazmine Sepulveda lead the way with 17 and 19, respectively.

Defensively, coach Jose Fernandez has ceertainly made it a point to shutdown Stetson’s Tierra Brown, who scored 13 last year on USF. Brown has only 5 points in the game. We’ll try to find out after the game just how USF approached that tonight.

Check back with full stats, and gamer after the game.

 

USF puts up 100 … again

This USF women’s basketball team can score some points.

The Bulls defeated Stetson 103-55 at the Sun Dome tonight.

For a full recap, and reaction, pick up your daily Oracle, or log on to www.usforacle.com tomorrow.

 

Live blog double-header!

Happy Sunday to you all!

The Oracle is set for a busy day of blogging as we will be set up live twice today for USF coverage. First, the women’s basketball team will take on Coppin State at the Sun Dome at 2:00 p.m. Then, it’s live from Raymond James Stadium at the 6-4 Bulls take on UConn tonight at 8:00 p.m.

Stay tuned for live updates throughout the day!

 

-K.K.

 

USF leads 23-5

After letting Coppin St. take a 2-0 lead on the first possession of the ball game, the South Florida women’s basketball team went on a 13-0 run. The Bulls now lead 23-5 at the 11:38 mark here at the Sun Dome.

Shantia Grace leads all scorers with 11 points … including three 3-pointers.

USF has scored 100 points twice in the first three games. Perhaps they will do the same today.

Interesting side note that two of the top three scorers on the team, newcomers Alexis Givands and Janae Stokes, have not played yet. We will certainly keep you updated on the situation later today. Both are sitting on the bench and are dressed. Givands has started all of the previous three games this season.

-K.K.

 

Grace ties record in first half

Senior guard Shantia Grace has six 3-pointers, tying a USF single-game record, and 27 points in the first half as the Bulls lead Coppin State 57-17 at the Sun Dome.

It’s tough to say what’s been most impressive about this USF women’s basketball team. As of right now, the Bulls are on pace to score 100 points … again. They’ve scored 100 points twice already this season.

Yet, with the 12 steals already this half, USF has 69 steals on the season. Coach Jose Fernandez, again, is playing the full-court press, and doing so, well.

Shantia Grace has already tied the USF single-game record for three-pointers made, in the first half today. Grace has six three-pointers. She’s 10-14 from the field and 6-9 from beyond the arc. Also, she has four assists and 3 steals.

As a team the Bulls are shooting 60.5 % from the field, while holding Coppin St. to only 27.3 %.

A note that USF will be heading to the Virgin Islands this week to take part in the Paradise Jam, where they’ll play against the University of California, Iowa and Texas Tech.

 

-K.K.

 

Grace breaks record

Just one minute into the game senior guard Shantia Grace nailed her first three-pointer and cracked a smile, as she jogged back to the other end of the court.

She had a lot to smile about on Sunday.  

Grace hit eight three-pointers — breaking a school single-game record —to lead the Bulls to a 95-41 destruction of Coppin State on Sunday.

At the 16:17 mark, in the second half, she hit the record breaking three-pointer to put USF up 66-21. Grace then went on to break the all-time school record for most points scored in a game, finishing with 44.

Take things into perspective a bit, though, because the four opponents the Bulls have defeated have a combined record of 4-9.

They’ll face much stiffer competition next week when they face Texas Tech, Iowa, and currently ranked No. 7 University of California in the Virgin Islands.

OFF TO RAYMOND JAMES STADIUM! See you there!

 

-K.K.

 

 

 

 

Live blog from Raymond James Stadium

Greetings folks …

We are live and set for tonight’s matchup between UConn-USF at Raymond James Stadium. Kickoff is set for just after 8:00 p.m.

Tonight’s delicacy? Well, of course, in the spirit of the week it was turkey, potatoes and all the fixins’! As for the Bulls, the delicacy will be the Huskies.

The big matchup tonight will be USF’s 5th ranked rush defense v. Connecticut running back Donald Brown. Brown leads the country in rushing yards with 156.2 per game. So watch out for that.

Feel free to post your comments on the story pages, and discuss football with either of us in the press box.

-K.K. & J.R.

 

USF leads 7-0

5 plays. 30 yards. 2:23.

That’s how long it took USF to take it’s first lead on an opponent since the Louisville game weeks ago. Ben Williams capped off the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run, and USF leads 7-0 early in the first quarter.

On senior night, it was the sophmore Dontavia Bogan who stole the early spotlight. Bogan returned the opening kickoff 64-yards down to the UConn 30.

Junior Matt Grothe, who looks good despite a lingering foot injury, hooked up with senior Taurus Johnosn on a 22 yard throw and pass in the drive.

-K.K.

 

USF leads 7-0 after first

Ben Williams scored on a 3 yard touchdown run and USF leads Connecticut 7-0 at Raymond James Stadium after the first quarter.

Williams capped off a 5 play 30 yard drive on the Bulls’ first possession of the ball game.

The USF defense has obviously made it a priority to stop UConn running-back Donald Brown. Brown leads the nation in rushing, but only has 19 yards on six carries, so far. The Bulls are still playing in the nickel look, but senior safety Carlton Williams is serving more as an outside linebacker than he is a safety to helpe with the run defense.

Junior quarterback Matt Grothe has connected downfield on two occasions. First, hitting Taurus Johnson on a 22 yard completion on the scoring drive, then hitting AJ Love on a 29 yarder just as the first quarter ended.

-K.K.

 

Bulls take 10-0 lead

Freshman kicker Maikon Bonani nailed a 29 yard field goal and USF leads 10-0 over UConn with 12:57 left in the second quarter.

The Bulls sustained a 11 play, 73 yard drive spanning 3:52.

On 3rd and nine from the USF 45, Matt Grothe connected with Marcus Edwards in the flat and Edwards took the ball down to the UConn 14-yard line. However, after an AJ Love dropped pass, the Bulls could only manage 3 points in their red zone trip.

 

UConn cuts lead to 10-3

Just when it looked like USF was well on its way to a shutout first half, Matt Grothe was stopped on a 4th and 1 quarterback sneak and UConn got the ball on the 45 yard line of USF. It was the best field position of the night for the Huskies.

The Huskies converted on two seperate third down situations to put the ball inside USF’s redzone, and then Huskies running back Donald Brown, who’s been silent all night, had his longest rush of the night, a 13 yard rush.

However, the Bulls finally stopped the Huskies on third down when Carlton Williams deflected a pass in the end-zone and Dave Teggart tacked on a 21 yard field goal to polish off a 12 play, 41-yard scoring drive.

 

USF leads 10-3 at half

Welp folks its 10-3 here at Raymond James Stadium. After USF jumped out to a 10-0 UConn cut the lead with a field goal in the dying ambers of this first half.

My quick thoughts:

Well first off, where the heck is the nations leading rusher? Mr. Brown has only 36 yards rushing on 11 carries, and most of that came on a 13 yard rush late in the second quarter. Suprisingly, USF has stayed in the nickel defense, although, Carlton Williams is playing a half OLB-Half Safety type role. Tyrone McKenzie is a man on a mission with 10 tackles here (it is Senior night after all.)

Grothe is obviously aggravated by the ankle injury he’s struggling with … he has 1 yard rushing. But he’s made up for it thru the air, I think he’s hit like six different receivers for over 100 yards passing … yikes.

But J.R. my first half compliments have to go to Mr. Dontavia Bogan … the sophomore has stolen a bit of the show on senior night with his kickoff returning ability. He took the opening one for 64-yards and the final one in the half 71-yards.

The story of the game was Brown vs. USF rush defense and I have to say that it’s the USF defense winning that battle.

J.R. what are your thoughts?

Wow. After being spoiled with a 49-16 game last week (and by spoiled, I mean we saw people score points) we have witnessed a classic defensive struggle. The Bulls have held Donald Brown in check — which is a shock to nearly everybody in the press box. However, the offense hasn’t been able to take advantage of the D’s great half.

When you hold the nation’s leading rusher to 36 yards and a starting quarterback to 28 yards passing, it usually equals good things.

The Bulls’ offense, however, has hurt itself with penalties, dropped passes and a costly, red zone interception at the end of the first half.

Grothe is obviously limited by his ankle injury, and the offensive line will need to do a better job in terms of protecting him, because “Mr. Miracle” doesn’t have the speed to scramble around and make plays.

— J.R.

 

UConn pulls rabbit out the hat

On 1st and 10 from the USF 44-yard line, UConn quarterback Tyler Lorenzen pulled the ole trickeration!

The Huskies ran a reverse flea-flicker and Lorenzen found Senior Ellis Gaulden wide open downfield for a 43-yard touchdown reception to tie the game with just under three minutes left in the 3rd quarter.

Lorenzen handed the ball off to Jordan Todman on an end around, who then reversed it Andre Dixon, then Dixon pitched it back to Lorenzen and the USF defense was done.

The Bulls were hurt early in the drive when they should have stopped UConn on a third and long. Lorenzen threw an incomplete pass, but Jerome Murphy was called for a defensive holding and the Huskies got the ball back. The very next play was the score.

-K.K.

 

Taylor gives USF 4th quarter lead

Jamal Taylor scampered on a 25-yard touchdown run and USF leads UConn 17-10 with 12:36 left in the fourth quarter.

Taylor, who has only 30 yards on the night, took the third down hand off, and broke thru the right side of the line. He danced untouched into the end-zone.

Taylor’s run capped off a 5 play, 48-yard drive spanning 2:24.

 

UConn responds with field goal

UConn responded promptly to USF’s touchdown drive with a scoring drive of its own.

Kicker Dave Teggart kicked a 35-yard field goal to cut the Huskie deficit to 17-13 with just under ten minutes to play.

USF, again, shot themselves in the foot when they should have been out of a drive. On 3rd and 4 from the UConn 40 Jerome Murphy was called for a defensive holding after an incompletion. The next play Tyler Lorenzen hit Anthony Sherman on a 28 yard pass to put them into field goal range.

 

UConn fumbling game away

Tyler Lorenzen took the snap from the shotgun, rolled to the right, and took off running. Lorenzen picked up the first down, on the 4th-and-4, but fumbled the ball after he crossed the marker. Kion Wilson and Jerome Murphy contributed to the forced fumble and it was Quentin Washington who recovered it on the 25 yard line with 5:38 remaining.

As we speak, USF is driving and running out the clock. 17-13 USF with 2:34 left, and UConn has one-timeout left. Stay tuned for recap.

-K.K.

 

Monday morning links

Wow, what a day for USF athletics. Shantia Grace sets school records and the football team ‘upsets’ UConn.

USF sophomore Dontavia Bogan was named Big East Special Teams player of the week. Bogans had 135 yards on two kickoff returns in the Bulls’ 17-13 win over Connecticut on Sunday night. He also set a coupl of records in the process.

Bogans set USF’s single-season record for kickoff returns (25) and kickoff return yards (652).

Here all the links to our stories:

football: http://www.usforacle.com/bulls_muzzle_huskies

Women’s Basketball: http://www.usforacle.com/women_s_basketball_tramples_coppin_state

 

Live from the Sun Dome

… Where the men’s basketball team is taking on High Point.

The Bulls have a new starter at center, with senior Aris Williams starting in place of BJ Ajayi.

We’re six minutes into a 7-7 tie, and the Bulls have some interesting formations to contend with.

High Point is running an unconventional, four-guard lineup. This gives the Bulls four players under 6′4″ to try to deal with, but the four guards are pushing the ball up the court quickly.

High Point has already made several substitutions, most likely to keep players fresh throughout the game.

 

J.R.

 

Nine minutes gone, Bulls trail

The Sun Dome is housing a surprisingly small crowd — people are probably at the men’s soccer team’s 2nd round game of the NCAA tournament — and those in attendance are watching USF trailing High Point.

USF trails 12-11, and are having trouble getting back defensively. High Point is pressing on defense and taking shots within the first 10-12 seconds of possessions on offense.

Nobody but the Bulls top three scorers have put the ball in the basket, led by Jesus Verdejo’s seven points.

 

Bulls trail by six, Rivas Sanchez to enter game

The Bulls trail 23-17 with 3:45 left in the first half — a familiar feeling for USF this year, as they’ve given up early leads in both games.

USF can’t get a rebound, being beat 17-10 on the boards, and can’t catch a break. High Point guards hit two three pointers from about 10 feet behind the three-point line, as time expired on the shot clock. Coach Stan Heath looked up and smiled after the second one, knowing how lucky High Point has been — and to show his frustration in his team.

 

Basketball trails by four, men’s soccer tied up

It’s halftime here at the Sun Dome, where the Bulls trail 28-24. Alex Rivas Sanchez provided a spark for USF, scoring four points in just under three minutes, but he was obviously in pain stemming from the sprained ankle he suffered against Virginia last week. 

The Bulls have shot 7-of-20 from the field, and had only 13 rebounds — five of which came from freshman forward Eladio Espinosa. 

Correspondent Phil Neary is at the USF Soccer Stadium, where the Bulls took an early lead against Harvard in their second round match in the NCAA tournament. Freshman Zak Boggs scored just five minutes into the match, but the Crimson’s Josh Stamatis tied it up in the 25th minute.

 

Jones is heating up, but Bulls still trail

Sophomore guard Dominique Jones — who led the Bull in scoring last season — is coming to life. He scored four points in the first half, but has three in the first four minutes of the second to bring the Bulls within two — 32-30.

USF has two forwards on the court — Williams and Ajayi — and is trying to take the lead for the first time tonight.

 

Aris Williams gets the crowd into it

Senior center Aris Williams has scored eight points during a 10-2 run that has given USF its first lead of the night, 40-34 with 12 minutes remaining.

Williams scored on two short jumpers to give USF the lead, then had a dunk and caught an alley-oop from Dominique Jones to get the crowed pumped. 

Williams’ eight points on the night are one shy of his career high, set on Dec. 9, 2006 against East Carolina.

Correspondent Phil Neary says the men’s soccer game is still deadlocked at one, so both teams playing tonight are in nailbiters.

 

USF taking control

The Bulls led by as many as 11 here at the Sun Dome and hold a 51-44 lead over the High Point Panthers with 3:15 remaining in the game.

Senior Aris Williams has a new career high, as he has 10 so far.

Williams was limited by injuries last year, so seeing him elevate and get the crowd excited is something I’m sure Stan Heath will be excited about, especially with BJ Ajayi playing poorly so far this season and Alex Rivas dealing with an ankle injury.

Rivas, by the way, hasn’t come back into the game since playing three minutes in the first half — an obvious sign that his sprained ankle is worse than he thought.

 

USF escapes 59-46, Soccer leads late

Well that wasn’t easy.

Chris Howard finished with 14 points and Stan Heath escaped with a 59-46 win over High Point. The Bulls out shot the Panthers 40.4 percent to 34.1 percent.

The Panthers frustrated South Florida in the 1st half working with a primarily four-guard lineup, and took a 28-23 lead into halftime.

Also…. Reports coming from correspondent Phil Neary

At the USF Soccer Stadium the Bulls lead Harvard 2-1 late in the second half of the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Junior Zak Boggs has netted two goals. Winner moves on in the tournament.

-K.K.

 

Holiday news

Greetings folks … hope everyone enjoys a safe holiday out there.

Now, just because it’s Thanksgiving doesn’t mean you guys are off the hook. We’ve got a couple of things to go over.

There will be a LIVE BLOG tonight for the USF women’s basketball game in the Virgin Islands. It is without a doubt the biggest game of the season (and maybe in quite some time). The Bulls will tip-it-off against the No. 3 ranked Cal Golden Bears at 8:30 p.m.

Also, The Salt Lake Tribune is reporting that South Florida assistant coach Mike Canales will be interviewed for the head coaching position at Utah State sometime this weekend. Along with a couple other candidates, it is reported that Canales is one of the frontrunners to land the job.

The Aggies are also looking at San Jose State assistant Kent Baerand and USU coaches Gary Anderson and John L. Smith.

Canales’ position at USF is passing game coordinator, and it’s no suprised he’s interested in the job. He is a Utah State graduate.

Anyways … enjoy your Turkey and see you back here tonight around 8:30!

 

No. 3 Cal routes USF

That’s what you call a reality check.

After outscoring its opponents by a margin of 52.25 points per game en route to a 4-0 record, the South Florida women’s basketball team were grounded by a 85-55 loss suffered to No. 3 University of California at the Paradise Jam Tournament in the Virgin Islands.

The Bulls’ first four opponents have a combined 4-9 record.

“We just didn’t shoot the ball very well tonight,” USF coach Jose Fernandez said. “(California) is a very very good basketball team, and you can’t shoot that bad against this kind of caliber team.”

The Bulls shot only 28 percent from the field, and had 12 turnovers.

The Bulls battled tough with the Golden Bears early in the first half, and held a 12-11 lead midway thru halftime. However, Cal was able to dish out a 20-3 run, and finished the half leading 42-24.

“You know the first ten minutes we were playing well,” Fernandez said. “But then we went to our bench, and we didn’t get much from our bench tonight.”

Fernandez said that he’s still optimistic about where the season is going for his team.

“It’s still very early in the season,” he said. “This game won’t dictate how good we will be in January.”

Cal junior Natasha Vital led all scorers with 22.

USF was led in scoring by senior Jazmine Sepulveda, who had 11 points.

USF will be in action, again, tomorrow night when they take on Iowa  at 6:00 p.m.

-K.K.

 

NCAA Tournament Live Blog

Greetings folks …

We’ve got a busy night of USF athletics on the menu. We are all set for our live blog tonight at the USF soccer stadium for tonight’s NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 matchup between USF and UNC Greensboro.

USF (15-4-2) defeated Harvard in the second round 2-1 after receiving a first round bye.

UNC Greensboro (10-11-2) defeated Duke 2-0 in the first round, and then upset #9 Loyola 2-1 in overtime to advance to Saturday night’s mathchup.

Kick-off is set for 7:30 p.m. … with updates coming throughout the night.

We will be keeping you updated with what’s going on at the Sun Dome as the Men’s basketball team will be facing off against Northeastern.

Also, a quick note, the women’s basketball team is up 31-29 at half over Texas Tech in the Virgin Islands. The Bulls are 1-1 at the Paradise Jam down there. They got trounced 85-55 by No. 3 Cal on Thanksgiving night, but responded with a 82-79 overtime victory over defending Big Ten Champs, Iowa on Friday.

Again, stay tuned for constant updates from all the action going on around the country (or out of it!).

-K.K.

 

New Look

Hope you all enjoy the new look of the blog, compliments to our production assistant Emily Handy!

I’ll be out of town for the rest of the week.

-K.K.

 

Updates from all around

We are underway at the USF soccer stadium, just under 5:00 into the game and still scoreless.

Meanwhile the USF men’s basketball team leads Northeastern 10-7 with 8:14 left in the first half at the Sun Dome.

The women’s basketball team is trailing Texas Tech 54-50 with under eight minutes to play in the Virgin Islands.

 

USF women win in Virgin Islands

The USF women’s basketball team went on a 13-4 run in the last 4:00 minutes and that fueled 71-61 victory over Texas Tech in the final game of the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands.

Forward Brittany Denson set an all-time tournament record with 16 blocks in three games, and had six in tonight’s victory. She also scored 12 points and had seven rebounds.

Senior guard Shantia Grace led the Bulls, hitting 5-6 of her six free-throws and scoring 15 points.

USF was 23-29 from the free-throw line.

 

Meanwhile, it is scoreless at the USF Soccer Stadium in the Sweet 16 matchup between USF and UNC Greensboro.

Stay tuned for more updates!

-K.K.

 

Men’s hoops leads at the break

If you wished you made a trip out to the USF Sun Dome tonight but just couldn’t make it, be glad you’re at home.

The Bulls finished the first half with an 11-0 run to go up 22-11, but the game has been ugly.

The teams combined to go 12-of-48 from the field and combined for 12 turnovers.

USF guard Dominique Jones leads all scorers with eight points. He could be the second USF player this month to outscore an opposing team, but it would be far less impressive than Shantia Grace of the women’s basketball team dropping 44 on hapless Coppin State.

 

Sweet 16 scoreless

The Sweet 16 is kind of sour.

Not a whole lot of action going on as both South Florida and UNC Greensboro have made defense a priority at the USF Soccer Stadium. It’s 0-0 at halftime.

The Spartans hold a slight edge on shots-on-goal with two, while USF has only had one.

It can be argued that USF’s one chance was the best of the game. In the 25th minute midfielder Francisco Aristeguieta fed a pass into forward Jordan Seabrook on the left side of the penalty area. Seabrook put a left-footed boot on the ball but Spartans goalkeeper Nate Berry made a great save with his leg.

A reminder, this is knockout competition. We will go to overtime – and if need be – penalties if this thing is tied after regulation.

 

Cinderella’s take the lead

Perhaps Cinderella has one last dance in her …

On the foot of Nirav Kadam UNC Greensboro has taken a 1-0 lead at the USF Soccer Stadium, just three minutes into the second half.

Forward Tim Masters headed a ball along around midfield and his counterpart Tebastso Manyama sent a pass into the penalty area. Kadam fielded the ball with his chest, slotted it past USF keeper Jeff Antinella and did some kind of crazy tribal dance right in front of the Spartans bench.

1-0 in the 50th minute.

 

Greensboro hanging on late

UNC Greensboro still holds a 1-0 lead with 15 minutes left to play at the USF Soccer Stadium.

However, it’s been USF with two chances that could have broken the deadlock. Junior Zak Boggs connected on a header in the 65th minute off of a corner kick, but his attempt sailed just inches high above the crossbar. Then just two minutes later, junior midfielder Jorge Mora looked to be taken down inside the penalty box, but the official saw it otherwise. I can confirm that the crowd of 1,823, coach George Kiefer and the rest of the Bulls’ bench was not happy about it.

Nevertheless it’s gut-check time for USF if its to stop UNC Greensboro’s Cinderella run in this tournament. The Spartans are 10-11-2 and have already defeated #9 Loyola in the tournament.

 

USF ties it late

Oh, how this matchup is heating up!

In the 82nd minute Jordan Seabrook has scored to equalize this game at 1-1. With UNC Greensboro hanging on by a thread, USF midfielder Felipe Libereros sent a cross into the box which Spartans keeper Nate Berry deflected. Junior Zak Boggs, then, headed the ball off the post, and fell right to Seabrook, who blasted the ball into the back of the net.

How do I say? Literally, 1,823 people at the stadium lost their socks.

With less than five minutes to play, this Sweet 16 matchup has taken a twist. We could be heading to overtime folks.

 

-K.K.

 

Sweet 16 heading to overtime

What a game we have on our hands here at the USF Soccer Stadium.

After everything looked sour for the South Florida Bulls, Jordan Seabrook put the ball in the back of the net with just eight minutes remaining to tie the game at 1-1. It was Seabrook’s sixth – and most important – goal of the season.

Nirav Kadam put UNC Greensboro up in the first half with his fifth goal of the season.

However, it’s been all USF in the second half. USF has four shots on goal, compared to the Spartans’ three.

We are set for two ten minute periods of overtime. Golden Goal (first one to score wins) rules are in play. If the game remains scorless after that. The game will go to penalty kicks.

-K.K.

 

No score after first overtime

Welp, that was pretty uneventful. It seems like both teams have lost steam after a very eventful game.

Neither team has produced any sort of offense in the first overtime period, and it remains 1-1 going into the final ten minutes of overtime.

Nirav Kadam scored the opening goal of the game in the 46th minute for the Spartans, and USF’s Jordan Seabrook tied it up in the last eight minutes of the game.

If this game remains scorless it will go to the dreaded (and ever so drama packed) penalty kicks.

-K.K.

 

USF advances on penalty kicks

USF keeper Jeff Antinella saved three Spartans penalty kicks, and sent cinderella home in penalty kicks.

The Bulls went 3-for-3 in penalties – all they needed – and Antinella denied three of UNC Greensboro’s four attempts.

South Florida advances to the elite eight next week with the win.

 

USF to face Wake Forest in ‘Elite Eight’

It isn’t getting any easier for the South Florida men’s soccer team.

After a dramatic penalty kicks victory over UNC Greensboro on Saturday night, USF found out who it will face in the elite eight of the NCAA Tournament. It’s No. 1 Wake Forest.

The Deamon Deacons (16-9-2) massacred Dartmouth 7-0 in the Sweet 16 today. So the Bulls will travel to Winston Salem to face WFU on December 6th at 4:30 p.m.

 

McKenzie headed to Shrine Game

South Florida senior linebacker Tyrone McKenzie has accepted an invitation to play in the East-West Shrine Game on January 17 in Houston. The game will be played at the University of Houston’s Robertson Stadium.

The Shrine Game is predominately used for showcasing some of the best senior talent in the country, and will be a hot-bed of NFL scouts. McKenzie is among four Big East players and 26 nationally to accept invitations.

The three other Big East representatives are LB Cody Brown and DB Darius Butler (Connecticut), OL Trevor Canfield (Cincinnati).

 

Update on winter break

Greetings folks….

Just wanted to note and get the word out that ‘The Analyst’ blog will be in service over winter break. While all you men and women relax (much deservedly) after a long holiday, we will be continually updating you with what’s going on around campus.

The website, www.usforacle.com, will also have periodic updates, as well. However, this will be the greatest source for your athletics sweet tooth.

Anyways happy finals week.

-K.K.

 

USF down early in ‘elite eight’

It took only 20 minutes for Wake Forest to take a 3-0 lead over South Florida in the elite eight of the men’s soccer NCAA Tournament.

On a chilly day with temperatures in the 40’s it took minutes to heat up. It’s been all Wake whether it be possession, passing or offense.

In the 15th minute Demon Decons senior Jamie Franks slid one past Bulls keeper Jeff Attinella, and then senior Sam Cronin had a great strike from about 25 yards out into the top left corner to make it 2-0.

23 minutes into the game WFU began to pour it on with another. Lyle Adams – the third senior to score for Wake – beat Attinella, and it’s all gone sour early for USF.

This might be too much for South Florida to come back, although, if there was a team to do so, you might say it would be the 2008 Bulls.

We’ll get reaction from coach George Kiefer after the game so stay tuned.

-K.K.

 

NCAA Tournament run ends at Wake Forest

It was cold. It was dark. There were snow flurries.

Similarly, It was a cold and dark day for USF soccer.

The No.1 Demon Deacons scored four goals in the first half, and put South Florida’s hopes of an opportunity at a final four appearance on ice with a 5-0 win over the Bulls today in Winston Salem, North Carolina, in the NCAA Tournament.

“I’ve been around some good college soccer teams, and that’s one of the best college soccer teams i’ve seen in a long time,” USF coach George Kiefer said.

The Bulls, making their second appearance in the elite eight, ‘”dug themselves a hole” just 15 minutes into the game when Wake senior Jamie Franks slid a goal past the diving keeper, Jeff Attinella. Just minutes later the lead was extended to 2-0. Senior Sam Cronin struck a belter from about 25 yards away and beat Attinella in the top left corner.

Wake Forest (21-1-1) scored two more goals on the feet of Lyle Adams and Marcus Tracy in the first 45 minutes to please the crowd of 2,319. Every goal scorer in the game was a senior.

“(Wake Forest) forces you to play very quick,” Kiefer said. “We set out to do certain things and, obviously, we didn’t do a great job of it. The first half we played to their pressure. I think three of the goals came from give-a-ways in our own half.”

The Bulls finish the season 15-5-3, were crowned Big East Champions and reached the elite eight of the NCAA Tournament for the second time in school history. Kiefer said despite being down by so much late in the game the team still showed character.

“With the guys, I’ve never seen a team come back from something being negative,” he said. “I was very happy to see, with two minutes left in the game, that our guys were still trying to get a goal. They didn’t quit playing.

 

USF drop third straight road loss

Greetings folks… Couple of updates.

The South Florida men’s basketball team dropped its third straight road game tonight in a 71-63 loss to Central Florida in Orlando. Despite sophomore Dominic Jones’ 31 points scored (tie for career high), and a 28-26 lead at halftime, the Bulls only shot 53 percent from the free-throw line. Efficiency from the free throw line has been something that has hurt this team all season.

UCF shot 44 percent from the field and had a 30 point effort from senior guard Jermaine Taylor.

USF shot only 41.5 percent and turned the ball 21 times in the loss.

Also, it has been made official (suprise suprise) that USF will play in the MagicJack St. Petersburg bowl played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. We all knew it was coming, yet it just had to be made “official.”

It should be a great draw for fans and the bowl itself. You’d think the Bulls would bring a lot of fan base. USF will know for sure its opponent on Sunday, but most likely it will be Memphis (6-6) from Conference USA.

The St. Petersburg bowl is played on Dec. 20, at 4:30 p.m. For more information head to stpetersburgbowl.com

 

Bowl game hooplah

Greetings folks….

Okay, so it’s nothing like selection Sunday for the NCAA basketball tournament, but this day is still one of the exciting days of the sporting year.

It’s football’s version of selection Sunday. By tonight we’ll know for sure who’s going where and who will play who. Of course, big controversy in terms of the national title implications. I will be sure to share my thoughts, feelings or concerns on that situation once everything is made official.

One thing is for sure, though. USF will be headed across the bay to play in the Magic Jack St. Petersburg Bowl.

Check on here later tonight for my “Five Most Intriguing Match-ups” for the upcoming holiday bowl season.

I’m out.

-K.K.

 

Bowl Games: Five to watch for

Well we all knew that South Florida and Memphis would end up clashing in St. Petersburg for the Magic Jack St. Petersburg bowl on Dec. 20 at 4:30 p.m. It was inevitable that would happen. The Tigers come in at 6-6, while USF is 7-5. We’ll be covering practices (which begin on Thursday) and press conferences throughout the week so stay tuned for more….

I’d like to share the five things that stood out to me tonight during the selection.

BYU vs. Arizona in the Pioneer Las Vegas bowl:

I really like the quarterback match up in this ball game. Arizona’s Willie Tuitama vs. Brigham Young’s Max Hall should be one of the best quarterback duals in the entire bowl season. This should be a high scoring affair in the ‘city of lights.’ Tuitama leads the Wildcats (7-5) with 2,763 yards passing and 21 touchdowns. Hall has done that much better, throwing for 3,629 yards and 31 td’s for the Cougars (10-2).

Prediction: The teams short circuit the entire city with an overload of offense. BYU wins 45-41.

TCU vs. Boise State in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia bowl:

This could be a very, very, very good game. Boise State (12-0) is one of the few undefeated teams in the country, and they’ve got good wins over teams like Oregon, Southern Mississippi and Hawaii. The Blue Turfians (I made that up) had a decent shout for a BCS berth. Speaking of BCS … the Horned Frogs have two losses on the year (10-2) and both of those losses are against BCS teams. They lost to Oklahoma 35-10 and Utah 13-10 – both on the road – in the regular season. TCU has one of the best defensive minded coaches in the country in Gary Patterson and he’ll most likely try to slow down Boise running back Ian Johnson. Perhaps, the Broncos will run the ‘Statue of Liberty’ to crack that Horned Frog defense.

Prediction: No tricks here. Patterson and his defensive scheming prevail 23-16.

Oregon vs. Oklahoma State in the Pacific Life Holiday bowl:

Earth to San Diego … you’ve got some good games on your hands. I’m not sure what intrigues me most about this game … the uniforms or the style of offense! The Cowboys have a great quarterback in Zac Robinson, a go-to receiver in Dez Bryant and, of course, hail from perhaps the best division of a conference in history. The Big 12 has overtaken the SEC as the best conference in football, and Oklahoma State is one of the reasons for that. Don’t forget about Oregon, though. The Ducks have quietly crept up to second in the Pac-10 after putting up a 65 spot against rivals Oregon State. I have just a strange suspicion about this one.

Call me crazy but I’m going to go with the upset. Oregon prevails in the Gas Lamp District 41-38.

USC vs. Penn State in the Rose Bowl:

I’ve never been a resident of the west coast, but I’ve always been an admirer of the Rose Bowl game, and the rich tradition it carries. I’ve been to it before, and can say it’s one of the best venues in the country to see a game. I’m not sure if the Nittany Lions can win this game. I still think USC (11-1) is one of the best teams in the country, however, just seeing Penn State coach Joe Paterno there playing the Trojans will be a sight to see. The one loss for Penn State (11-1) wasn’t a surprise to me. Many people underestimate how tough it is to win at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. Talent wise, the nod obviously goes to the Trojans with Sanchez, McKnight, Johnson (take a breath) and Patrick Turner. However, perhaps this is the time a Big Ten team shows up on a national stage.

Okay, that was a bit rash. USC wins 34-17.

Oklahoma vs. Florida in the BCS National Championship:

Here you go America. Here is the game you wanted. The SEC’s #1 vs. the Big 12’s … #2. Oops, the BCS did it again. Sorry folks but I stand on the side of the Longhorns who have been left out. How is it that a team beats another team head-to-head – on a neutral site – has the same record and gets jumped?

How bout this for a scenario……..

Prediction: Oklahoma wins a close one over Florida in Miami and Texas rolls the Buckeyes in Glendale! Can you say split national title in the Red River Rivalry?! That might get the blood-a-boiling.

Feel free to post your thoughts, feelings or concerns.

 

USF Notebook: Tuesday’s bowl press conference

If you’re reading this, you’re probably A) ready to hurt me with the amount of studying you’re doing B) sick and tired of reading. Period. Or, C) Looking for an update on South Florida football.

Let’s hope the latter is on your agenda. Otherwise, I hope to divert your mind of the pressures of finals week.

Tuesday marked the inaugural formal introduction for the St. Petersburg bowl. Media from around the area gathered with representatives from the bowl itself, as well as Memphis coach Tommy West and USF coach Jim Leavitt.

We were set-up on the top floor of the St. Pete-Pier, and I must say it was a beautiful day. The view of the shoreline, and the sunny skies served as a good time to ask the question to Leavitt: What are your thoughts on being in the St. Petersburg Bowl?

“Honestly, to me, and I’m not being political when I say this, it’s is really special,” he said. “To be part of the inaugural game with a program that started some years ago is pretty special.”

It’s probably more special for Leavitt, himself, who grew up in the St. Petersburg area.

“I really appreciate the opportunity to be in this bowl game,” Leavitt said. “It’s really special for me. I grew up down the road here, and that’s powerful for me. It really is.”

It’s also special for the Memphis program, said West, who’s led the Tigers to a 6-6 record this season.

“Other than this weather right here and coming to Florida, for us, to have a chance to come and compete against the BCS is good,” he said. “To have a chance to play South Florida and play one of the teams that left (Conference USA), i’m not going to say it’s not important, because it is.”

The Bulls and Tigers have clashed before back in their Conference USA days. The overall series is tied 2-2, and the St. Petersburg bowl will serve as the rubber match.

The last time these two met was in Tampa, in 2004. It didn’t go well for USF, as Memphis claimed a 31-15 victory on that day. If you remember, a certain DeAngelo Williams rushed for more than 200 yards in that game. Ring a bell Tampa Bay Buccaneer’s fans? (*Insert Monday Night Football joke here*)

Anyways, stay tuned for more updates throughout the next two weeks for practice notes and interviews.

Also, as promised, I will be compiling a podcast for next week dedicated to the bowl game itself. We’ve been getting some questions about it, and I will set a tentative date for next Thursday to have it posted on our website www.usforacle.com. I will certainly link it from this blog, as well. We’ll have interviews with coaches and players, as well as some good discussion. As always, send your questions or comments to sports@usforacle.com and i’ll read them on the p-cast.

As we get closer to game time we’ll dive more in-depth into this match up.

Whenever you need a break from studying … you know where to go.

-K.K.

 

Q&A with coach Stan Heath

Greetings folks…

I had a chance to swing by practice today, and I sat down for a short session with men’s basketball coach Stan Heath. The South Florida men’s basketball team is 3-3 after three home wins and three road losses. The three road losses the Bulls have suffered came by the hands of Virginia, UCF, and UAB, all of those in which were by a combined margin of 11 points.

USF is led in scoring by guard duo Dominique Jones (18.5 ppg) and Jesus Verdejo (17.2 ppg).

The Bulls have received a boost to their roster as transfers Mike Mercer (University of Georgia) and Gus Gilchrist (University of Maryland) are finally eligible to play. Both will make their first appearance on Sunday when South Florida hosts Niagara at 1:00 P.M.

Oracle: Has it been tough week with final exams?

Heath: “This is really the first day where we’ve had everybody together. The exam week made practice, for us, a little sporadic. We are really trying to bring the new guys, Gus and Mike, into the fold. We want to get them as many reps as we can with the other players.”

O: How are the transfers fitting in with the team and how you play?

H: “They’re fitting in well. We’re still going to have to evolve, especially chemistry wise, and I think Mike will make the fastest and easiest adjustment. I think Gus offensively will be fine, but I think defensively he still has some things he has to improve on.”

O: How much will having some extra depth help?

H: “It’s just absolutely huge. We’ve been struggling with our depth, a lot. We’ve also struggle with scoring, and those two guys will help us a lot in that department.”

O: How would you sum up the first six games of this season?

H: “We’ve been inconsistent and have had problems finishing games. I really think, though, that we’ve played good basketball for 80 or 90 percent of games. We just haven’t been able to finish off that last 10 percent. In my opinion, it’s been depth that has hurt as in the early part of this season.”

O: What do you say to your team after losing so closely on the road?

H: “I think what we just try and tell them is that we are there, but now, we have to finish these games off. The fundamental plays are the ones that are beating us. Whether it be the free-throws, a rebound, or a simple pass, our mental mistakes have been a big issue. The important thing is that we grow and get better. If we do that, then we’ll be okay.”

O: What is your assessment of Jesus Verdejo and Dominique Jones’ play, so far?

H: “Dominique is really starting to play like Dominique can. Jesus has been very good, as well. I think it’s hard when you ask them to give so much for 40 minutes. That’s an awful lot to ask them. So with the added depth, that should help them out. I’m pleased with what they’ve done, and I’m hoping that they won’t have to shoulder so much load now.”

O: Have you seen much of Niagara?

H: “Yeah I have seen them. They’re a good basketball team. They’ll play with four perimeter players who can score. They have great quickness on the court, and we’re going to have to play really well against them. I know that they’re going to play well against us. I’m looking forward to the game.”

-K.K.

 

Niagara leads USF at half

Junior Tyrone Lewis has 12 points and the Niagara Purple Eagles lead USF 32-29 at the Sun Dome.

Lewis is 4-of-7 from both the field, and the three point lead, as well. Led by three Lewis 3-pointers in the first five minutes of the ball game the Eagles jumped out to a 18-12 lead midway through the first half.

The Bulls climbed back to take the lead 25-24 with 7:38 remaining in the half.

USF is led in scoring by senior Jesus Verdejo, who has 11 points.

Stay tuned for more….

 

Niagara defeats USF at Sun Dome

An 11-2 Niagara run midway through the second half propelled the Purple Eagles to a 70-55 victory over South Florida on Sunday at the Sun Dome.

Led by junior Tyrone Lewis’ 23 points, the Purple Eagles were able to hold the Bulls to just 37.5 percent shooting from the floor, and 15.4 percent from behind the arc.

Free-throw woe’s continued for USF, also. The Bulls shot hit only 11 of their 21 free-throws.

Despite a first half with four lead changes, Niagara led 32-29 at halftime. There were no lead changes, however, in the second half.

Senior guard Jesus Verdejo led the Bulls in scoring, finishing with 20 points.

The big story coming into today’s game was, of course, the two newcomers to the squad. It wasn’t necessarily a welcoming day, though. While junior Mike Mercer had 12 points, freshman Gus Gilchrist had only eight, and he struggled to find a rhythm all day.

-K.K.

 

Bowl Game Podcast

Greetings folks…

An update for you on the podcast. Our St. Petersburg Bowl podcast will be posted on our website ( www.usforacle.com ) this Thursday, which is Dec. 18.

What you can expect is some discussion on the matchup, interviews with coaches and players, and some interesting things to watch. Of course, I will be answering your emails, as well.

If you’d like to get your say in on the matchup, send your email to sports@usforacle.com by Tuesday!

Again, Thursday Dec. 18 will be the date it is aired, and I will post the direct link here on the blog.

-K.K.

 

St. Petersburg Bowl Preview

Greetings folks….

Tired of those quirky, boring, less interactive preview stories of bowl games????

We’ve come to the rescue (as we always do) with our St. Petersburg Bowl Special Podcast!

Thanks for all the emails and I did my best to pick the best three to answer (sorry but next time don’t get bounced with your email). We’ve got coaches and players talking about the match up, as well as my thoughts.

Here is the URL to the podcast (Titled: 12-18-2008):

St. Petersburg Bowl Podcast

Enjoy the game and see you on here afterward with the story!

-K.K.

 

Stokes powers USF win

Greetings folks … Big night for women’s basketball, compliments of correspondent Alex Cobb.

It was a big night on Thursday evening as the South Florida women’s basketball team defeated visiting Grambling State 126-62 at the Sun Dome.

It was even bigger for Janae Stokes.

Stokes, a junior, dropped eleven three pointers — the most in school history — and hit a career best 39 points. Stokes, however, did not let the rush of a great performance get to her.

“I appreciate that my teammates got me the ball tonight,” she said. “I really thank them for that. I always stay humble … I don’t have a big head or whatever you want to call it.”

She said despite staying humble, she feels she really proved herself in the win over the Tigers.

“Tonight’s game really showed [teammates] the kind of intensity that I have,” Stokes said.

As the Bulls approach conference play Stokes said tonight’s performance gives her confidence that she can compete at the Division I level.

The junior is in her first year at USF, after transferring from Gulf Coast Community College.

“It just lets me know that I can compete at this level,” she said.

The 126 points scored by USF set a record high in NCAA women’s basketball this season. Despite this accomplishment — like Stokes — head coach Jose Fernandez stayed humble in the glow of their success.

“We had eleven turnovers at half,” Fernandez said. “That was a concern. Our guards could have done much better … we need to continue to rebound the ball better.”

In a game that saw little offensive prowess from the opponent, Fernandez did his best to give each of his players minutes in preparation for conference play.

“You look at the minutes,” Fernandez said. “Nobody played over 24 minutes tonight. It was great to give everybody minutes and get everybody to play.”

Fernandez said in light of Stokes’ success this evening, she will still only play her regular amount of minutes per game, as the season continues.

“(Stokes’) job is to give us that big lift off the bench,” Fernandez said.”She knows her role. She comes in, and she needs to give us big points off the bench.”

At the beginning of the season, South Florida was projected to finish 12^th in the Big East. However, Fernandez feels that they could really prove some people wrong at the end of this season.

“If we can continue to stay focused at the task at hand, remember this team got picked twelfth in the Big East, I think up to now we’ve proven that we’re better than twelfth,” Fernandez said.

Fernandez, however, reminded everyone that conference play doesn’t start until January.

Victories in their next four games — three of which are at home — would send the Bulls into their first conference match up against Marquette at 13-and-1.

-A.C.

 

St. Petersburg Bowl Blog

Greetings folks…
We are all set up here in the press box right at kick-off. Of course, Memphis vs. South Florida for the magicJack St. Petersburg bowl live at Tropicana Field.

Now, just a quick note to consider. I walked down on the field about a half hour ago to get a feel for how the setup is arranged with the transfer from baseball to football. The infield portion of the field has been covered with a layer of field turf. However, the turf is different – and slicker – than the orginal field turf. The new turf covers  about 20 yards of actual playing surface. That could be a factor in today’s game.

As for the crowd … hmm perhaps 18,000 or so.

USF brought a new wrinkle to the game, wearing white helmets today. I don’t think I’ve ever seen white helmet worn by the Bulls. Correct me if I am wrong on that.

Anyways, we’ll keep you up-to-date throughout the game.
Stay tuned for our analysis throughout the game.

-K.K.

 

USF scores in 1:02

It took the South Florida offense just 1:02 to score the first ever touchdown in the magicJacks St. Petersburg bowl.

Senior wide receiver Taurus Johnson capped off a three play, 43 yard drive with a 26 yard touchdown reception from Grothe. Initially, the play was ruled a fumble in the end zone by the officials, as Johson lost control of the ball at the pylon. However, the call was eventually overturned.

Sophomore Dontavia Bogan took the opening kickoff 56 yards to set up good field position for the Bulls in the opening drive.

 

USF feeling the magic

Just about ten minutes into the first quarter here at Tropicana Field, and it’s already 14-0 USF. South Florida running back Ben Williams helped the Bulls with a three yard touchdown run after a 57 yard drive.

Matt Grothe hit tight-end Ben Busbee earlier in the drive on a 21 yard reception to put USF in Memphis’s territory. Grothe then hit two more receivers on double digit receptions, Dontavia Bogan and Carleton Mitchell, to put the Bulls inside the ten yard line.

 

Tigers respond at Tropicana

Perhaps I jumped the gun a bit on Memphis.

Just minutes after USF took a 14-0 lead in the St. Pete Bowl, the Tigers put together a six play drive of their own to cut the lead to 14-7. However, it was with USF’s help.

Personal foul penalties – which have hindered USF all season – by Tyrone McKenzie and Keith McCaskill put Memphis well into Bulls territory. Mempis running back Curtis Steele then took the Tigers inside the USF five yard line, where quarterback Arkelon Hall sneaked across the goal line.

 

Grothe leads USF to 17-7 lead

Freshman Maikon Bonani kicked a 23 yard field goal to extend the South Florida lead to 17-7, however, it’s been quarterback Matt Grothe who has impressed the most.

Grothe is 9-for-13 passing and has 130 yard through the air, while totaling 40 yards rushing on five carries.

Grothe has been able to beat the Memphis defense with ease, mostly with short crossing routes, while the Tigers play primarily in the man-t0-man defense. The largest play of the 14 play, 63 yard drive that took 5:51 off the clock was a 19 yard reception (a crossing route) to Carleton Mitchell that put the Bulls inside the Memphis ten.

The Bulls were stopped on three downs, however, and were forced to take three on the drive.

17-7 with 10:42 left in the half.

 

USF leads 24-7

The South Florida offense has been primarily known as a quick strike offense, however, a 13 play, 77 yard drive that drained 5:24 off the clock could make a case that its getting the hang of this possession offense thing.

A 13 yard touchdown reception by junior tight end Ben Busbee capped off the drive. Busbee caught the ball around the five yard line, then ran over a Memphis defender on his way into the end zone, right in front of the USF marching band.

Busbee has 3 receptions for 36 yards, while quarterback Matt Grothe is 13-of-19 for 177 yards passing and two touchdowns.

Grothe has 48 yards rushing, as well.

Grothe has surpassed 10,000 yard total offense, which places him as only the second player in Big East history to do so in a career. Pat White was the other player.

 

Memphis fights back

Just when it seems USF is going to run away with this game, Memphis climbs back.

After the Bulls jumped out to a 14-0 lead, Memphis returned with a touchdown to cut the lead. Then after extending its lead to 24-7, Tigers wide receiver Duke Calhoun caught a touchdown pass on the goal line and cut the lead to 24-14 at halftime.

Sophomore Carlton Mitchell leads USF with 60 yards receiving, and Matt Grothe is 13-of-19 passing for 177 yards and two touchdowns.

For a more in depth look at things check out the blog posts below.

We’ll be back on shortly as our columnist Joe Rienzi will share his thoughts on the game.

Cheers!

-K.K.

 

St. Pete Bowl not impressing many

Well, the first ever St. Petersburg Bowl is half over, and that’s a pretty good thing. Not only has the first half been unbearably long (two hours and change) but the crowd isn’t very loud, or large, and USF has been sloppy on defense.

The crowd was announced at 25,205 — convenient for a first-time game that needed to hit 25,000  — but it’s probably closer to 16,000 people. Not only that, but Memphis brought all of about 800 fans with them.

The best part of the game has been USF’s new-look uni — and the Bon Jovi song I heard in the parking lot of Tropicana Field on the way to the press box.

The Bulls have 55 penalty yards, including two personal fouls and a pass interference in the endzone, that have led directly to Memphis’ two scores.

There have been some good things, such as Matt Grothe’s 13-of-19, 176 yard, two touchdown performance. But, any game featuring a 7-5 Big East team against a 6-6 Conference USA team was bound to be a little disappointing.

As the second half draws near, the Bulls will look to knock off the penalties and put away a team it should already be destroying.

J.R.

 

Bonani makes it 27-14

A 37 yard field goal by Maikon Bonani extended the South Florida lead to 27-14 as the Bulls continue to rack up offensive success in the St. Petersburg Bowl here in the third quarter.

If you don’t count Matt Grothe’s quick kick in the first half, the Bulls haven’t punted yet in the game. Funny just to think of Grothe punting the ball.

Grothe has been helping in many areas, including 66 yards rushing, 186 yards passing and two touchdowns.

 

USF pulling away

Dontavia Bogan got himself into the offensive party the Bulls are putting on in St. Petersburg this afternoon.

Grothe connected with Bogan on a 24 yard touchdown throw – it’s Grothe’s third today – to increase the USF lead to 34-14 with 1:50 to play in the third quarter.

It’s been the USF offense that has stolen the show, as the Bulls have 403 yards total offense, with 252 of those through the air.

Connecting the events of this game, Bogan started the game with a 56 yard kickoff return.

Sitting next to Joe Rienzi, I ask the question “is this game over?”

J.R.: “Yes”

 

Bulls pouring it on

Get the party started.

If this game can be considered important enough for a celebration, then it will be USF that will be doing the celebrating. Junior Mo Plancher just took a two yard rush into the end zone to make it 41-14 here at Tropicana Field.

Senior Grant Gregory actually manned the USF offense – which has been firing on all cylinders all day – on the scoring drive with 12:40 remaining. Most of the seniors, you would assume, will be in now as it’s their last game as USF athletes.

I’m sure we’ll get some reaction from them after the game.

41-14 with 12:40 remaining.

The Live Blog is finished for the day. I’ll be heading down to the field soon. I’m sure there won’t be much news after this.

Thanks for joining us today, and visit www.usforacle.com for the game story shortly after the game.

-K.K.

 

Blog Break

Greetings folks…

I’m taking a break for the holiday from coverage and posting. I plan on returning next weekend.

Hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable week.

On behalf of the sports desk.

Happy Holidays

-K.K.

 

Blog = Back

Greetings folks …

I hope everyone had a nice holiday break. I know I sure did. I’m still recovering from the mounds of turkey, seafood buffets and days at the beach … it’s a rough life.

Anyways, i’m sure you all are just eager to get back to business as we are (unfortunately) almost ready to get back to school.

I’ll be in attendance at tonight’s USF-Iona men’s basketball game at the Sun Dome. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. so get your minds set on a story to follow soon afterwards with reaction.

This is the last non conference game for the 4-7 Bulls as they’ll host a tough first Big East game against Syracuse this Friday. Perhaps USF can capture some of that Cleveland State magic. We’ll see. Youtube that shot if you haven’t seen it.

I’m out though. I’ll see you guys on here tonight after the game.

-K.K.

 

Halftime at the Sun Dome

I’m no genius, however, it seems to me  the South Florida basketball teams’ troubles seem more clear after the first half of tonight’s game.

No, not because the Bulls are repeating the things that have hurt them all year, rather the turnaround in the two areas that have hurt them most this season.

USF is shooting 50 percent from three point range and is six-of-six from the free throw line, holding a 34-29 lead over the Iona Gaels at the Sun Dome.

On the season, the Bulls are a horrendous 29 percent from 3-point range and 56 percent from the free throw line.

USF is led by sophomore guard Dominque Jones, who is 3-of-4 from behind the arc and has 17 points. Jones, who is second on the team in scoring, went on a 8-0 last minute run. However, Iona’s Scott Machado, who has eight points and four assists, hit a layup as the buzzer sounded to end the half.

There was a new face in the USF starting lineup. Freshman guard Justin Leemow got his first career start in place of the injured transfer Mike Mercer. Mercer is out tonight with a knee injury. However, it hasn’t been the starting debut that Leemow had probably hoped for. He has zero points and only one assist in 12 minutes of play.

Welp, I’m off to polish off some brownies.

-K.K.

 

Jones scores career high in win

At times, it seemed more like Devon Clarke vs. Dominique Jones, rather than Iona vs. South Florida on Saturday night. If that’s the case, Jones certainly took the cake in this battle.

Jones scored a career high 36 points, leading USF to a 68-55 win over the Iona Gaels on at the Sun Dome.

Jones, a sophomore, was 12-of-16 from the field, 7-of-9 from three point range and 5-of-6 from the stripe.

“It just felt good out there,” Jones said. “I kind of felt like my old self again … I’m just trying to get my confidence back because I know my team needs me.”

Jones broke his previous career high of 31 with a three point shot from the top of the key with just over five minutes left in the game. The shot also gave the Bulls a 59-50 lead, their largest of the game at that time.

Freshman Justin Leemow, who made his first career start for USF, extended that lead to 11, just minutes later, with a three pointer to make it 62-51, seemingly putting the game out of reach.

It wasn’t necessarily smooth sailing for the Bulls, considering the second half alone saw four lead changes.The Gaels even led early in the second half despite trailing 34-29 at halftime.

Iona forward Devon Clarke was causing problems all night. Clarke scored 16 points, more than double his season average.

It has been rough sledding (excuse my holiday reference) for USF in the past couple weeks and wins are coming sparingly. The Bulls dropped two games out of three in Puerto Rico last weekend, and Coach Stan Heath said this win was especially encouraging.

“Physcolgically it’s huge for all of us, our team, our players and our coaches,” he said. “When we work out we’re in a P—- mood, just mad all the time, so it’s kind of good to maybe have a little bit of a smile on your face.”

The Bulls saw improvement in two key areas that they’ve struggled with this season. Coming into the game, USF was shooting 29 percent from behind the arc and 56 percent from the free throw line. On Saturday night, however, USF went 10-for-20 from three point range and 12-of-16 from the stripe.

South Florida will begin Big East play on Friday when they host Syracuse at the Sun Dome. Jones said the Big East conference is something he’s looking forward to playing on a regular basis.

“It seems like it’s going to be a really big challenge, but I think if we can stick together and play hard, then we can suprise a lot of people,” he said.

 

USF prevails

At times, it seemed more like Devon Clarke vs. Dominique Jones rather than Iona vs. South Florida. If that’s the case, Jones certainly took the cake in this battle.

Jones scored a career high 36 points and led USF to a 68-55 win over the Iona Gaels on Saturday night at the Sun Dome.

Jones, a sophomore, was 12-of-16 from the field, seven-of-nine from three point range and five-of-six from the stripe.

Game story to follow soon …

-K.K.

 

Live blog tonight!

Greetings folks …
Just a reminder, I will be live at the Sun Dome for tonight’s Big East opener between USF and No. 14/17 Syracuse.

The Orange ( 13-1, 1-0) have already began Big East play and are coming off a 100-76 win over Seton Hall on Tuesday. And I’m sure South Florida coach Stan Heath was watching that game, as the Bulls have had the week off, coming off a 68-55 win over Iona on Saturday.

Offensively, these two teams are on opposite sides of the spectrum.

Syracuse is averaging 82.6 points per game, in comparison to USF’s 61.9 average. Perhaps the most impressive offensive statistic is the fact that the Orange have five players averaging in double figure points. More often than not, the Bulls (5-7) rely heavily on sophomore Dominique Jones to carry the offensive load.

And more often than not Jones does.

Jones scored a career high 36 points in the win over Iona, and if the Bulls want to at least contend in arguably the best conference in the nation it will be Jones who has to carry them.

Jones leads the team in scoring with 17.1 points per game.

It could be bittersweet for Heath in looking at the 2-3 zone that Syracuse runs on defense. On one hand, he’ll know what kind of defensive look he’s going to get. On the other hand, however, it’s obvious that USF struggles in playing against a zone. Heath said after the Iona win he’s been pleased with the patience of his team when given a zone look, however, statistics don’t lie.

South Florida has struggled in shooting the ball.

The team is averaging a decent 41 percent from the field, but from behind the three-point line USF is averaging a dismal 31.7 percent.

If USF wants to upset some of the top competition in the conference, it most certainly will need to be with shooting well on a night. And against a 2-3 zone, with good ball movement, USF will probably get its open looks.

The question will be: Can USF turn around its poor shooting and capitalize on its open looks tonight?

We’ll be there tonight to find out.

See you at 8:3o p.m.

-K.K.

 

Live Blog: USF vs. Syracuse

Greetings folks …

We’re all set here courtside at the Sun Dome.
Quick note, there’s a fair amount of orange filling up the seats, and I’d be inclined to say there will be quite a bit of noise when Syracuse scores.

A reminder that tonight at halftime we are launching a new feature! I’ll be posting an audio report (in mp3 format) for you guys to listen to at half. The report will have statistics and some discussion/analysis on what I’m seeing out there in the game. Again, that will be at halftime.

Tip-off to come soon.

-K.K.

 

Arinze Onuaku has four points and two rebounds, and the Syracuse Orange lead South Florida 7-4 with 14:52 remaining in the first half.

Onuaku, who leads the conference in field goal percentage, has been causing problems early in the post for USF in front of an almost pro-Syracuse crowd.

The Orange haven’t trailed in the entire game.
-K.K.

 

Syracuse leads 33-19

Two runs of 8-0 and 9-0 in the last ten minutes of the first half have the Orange leading 33-19 at the Sun Dome.

Although USF was able to cut the lead to 24-19 at the 4:25 mark, Syracuse used that 9-0 run to pull away. Syracuse is led by junior forward Arinze Onuaku, who has nine points and seven rebounds.

Surprisingly, USF is led in scoring by senior Mobolaji Ajayi. Ajayi is well on his way to breaking his career high of 12 points with 8 points already in the first half.

STAY TUNED at halftime for our audio report. I’ll discuss a bit my thoughts on this game and will post it in the story so you can listen right on the blog page.

-K.K.

 

Audio Halftime Report

Syracuse leads 35-19 here at the Sun Dome.

Here’s the audio halftime report:

syracuse-usf-halftime-report

 

USF cuts lead, still trails

A three-pointer by Dominique Jones has put a spark in a rather quiet Sun Dome crowd with less than eight minutes to play in the game. The three has cut the Syracuse lead to 50-43.

Jones, who has 12 points for USF, made just the third three on the night for the Bulls. USF is 3-for-18 against the Syracuse 2-3 zone, and the three-point shooting has clearly been the handicap tonight.
An interesting play just minutes ago. Junior Alex Rivas was called for his fourth foul of the night, but it was clearly on Eladio Espinosa, rather Rivas. The officials stood by their decision despite claims by the USF coaching staff.

You just think: if USF could make even two or three more three-pointers in this game, it would be a totally different story.

Rivas is sitting on the bench now, which will hinder USF’s chances of stopping 275 lb. forward Arinze Onauku, who has a double-double already, as he has 13 points and ten rebounds.

 

After trailing by 11 points at the 10:25 mark of the second half, USF has clawed its way back to make things a bit more interesting, trailing only now by five with 3:51 remaining in the game.

A 9-3 run stretching five minutes, highlighted by two three-pointers by Dominique Jones, has helped the Bulls back into this game.

Jones and Mobolaji Ajayi lead the team in scoring with 15 points apiece. Ajayi has a career high in front of a crowd of 8,350 at the Sun Dome. To be honest, approximately half of those may be Syracuse fans, who are making a bit of noise in the upper portion of the dome.

We’ll be back after the game with a report to see if USF can pull off the upset of the No. 13 ranked Orange.

-K.K.

 

Jesus Verdejo missed a three-pointer from the sideline with ten seconds left in the game, and the Syracuse Orange held off the South Florida upset effort at the Sun Dome tonight.

Eric Devendorf, who had eight points in the game, iced the win with two clutch free-throws at the 19 second mark. All of this coming after South Florida cut the lead to three with under a minute to play, the smallest deficit since the 11 minute mark in the first half.

With the win Syracuse moves to (14-1, 2-0) in the Big East, and USF (5-8, 0-1) drops its Big East opener.

Full game story will be in Monday’s back to school edition.

Until then, goodnight.

-K.K.

 

Live blog tonight! UConn-USF

Greetings folks …

It’s one of the most anticipated women’s basketball games … well, maybe ever.

Tonight South Florida will host No. 1 Connecticut at the USF Sun Dome. Tip-0ff is set for 7:00 p.m.

I’ll be court side keeping you updated on what’s going on, and of course, I’ll have my ‘audio halftime report’ for you guys to listen to. That way we can keep things interactive!

Here is our story:

preview

Also, a quick note that the university has announced that the ‘tentative’ date for the football spring game is March 18.

See you guys tonight.

-K.K.

 

Louisville plane makes emergency landing

The Louisville men’s basketball team, flying to Tampa, Fla. on a charter plane, had to return back to Louisville and make an emergency landing at 4:15 p.m. EST on Tuesday afternoon.

It was reported that there was a fire inside the engine of the plane.

Cardinals athletic director Kenny Klein said there were no injuries, and the 41 members of the team that were on the plane walked off unharmed.

Klein said the team expects to travel later tonight for the Wednesday game against South Florida.

 

UConn off to hot start

It’s been all Maya Moore here in the first half.

The sophomore all-American has 15 points for the Huskies and Connecticut leads 21-12 at the Sun Dome with 11:25 remaining in the first half.

Stay tuned for our live ‘Audio Blog Report’ at halftime with my thoughts on tonight’s game.

I’ll post the link at halftime so you can take a listen!

-K.K.

 

Audio Halftime Report

It’s all UConn here with a halftime score of 45-26.

Here is our uconn-usf-haltime-report

-K.K.

 

Podcast update

Greetings folks …

As we prepare for a weekend of tennis and basketball (men’s and women’s), I wanted to let you guys know what the status is on our podcast.

I’ve gotten a couple emails, and I can gladly update that the podcast will be back on Jan. 22 (next Thursday).

We’ll dive into our first basketball focused podcast and see if we can get some stuff from Coach Stan Heath and players.

I’m also in the process of trying to line up an interview with Mallori Lofton-Malachi, USF women’s soccer keeper, who just spent a week in California training with the U.S. U-23 Women’s National Team.

Stay tuned for all that and enjoy the action today.

-K.K.

 

USF spring game moved

The University of South Florida announced today that the tentative date for the football team’s spring game has been set for April 11.

The game was orginally scheduled for April 18.

USF’s pro day is still set for March 13.

-K.K.

 

Busy week

Greetings folks …

It’s been a busy week of new commitments and basketball. I’m still working on compiling a podcast sometime next week. We’ve had trouble in lining up some interviews.
As for this blog, I’m not sure how much we’ll be using it during the week, however, this will be your Oracle Sports home on the weekends.

Five new recruits pledged their service to coach Jim Leavitt and USF this week.

It was a big night in basketball as both men’s and women’s basketball faced and fell to top competition.
The men lost 75-62 to No. 1 Pitt. The women lost 76-60 to Louisville.

I’m sure I’ll scurry on here for something tomorrow.

-K.K.

 

Mark Schlabach mentions USF

ESPN analyst Mark Schlabach went through his winners/losers after today’s NFL Draft deadline, and he mentioned USF as a winner.

Schlabach writes …

“The Bulls kept their most visible player, junior defensive end George Selvie, who overcame an ankle injury and constant double-teams to record 5½ sacks in 2008.

The only repeat All-American in South Florida history, Selvie had 25½ sacks the past three seasons. Even after his injury-plagued junior campaign, Selvie was projected as a potential first-round pick.”

Just thought that was kind of interesting to pass along.
Anyways, have a good weekend.

-K.K.

 

Saturday slate

Greetings folks …

Tired of reading those boring blogs?

saturday-slate-1-17

-K.K.

 

Bulls lose two

A relatively busy day in USF athletics begins with men’s and women’s basketball losses.

Despite Dominique Jones’ 35 points, the South Florida men lost 62-59 on the road at West Virginia.

Jones had a three point shot with 8 seconds left to tie the game, but it clanked off the front of the rim. He scored over half of USF’s points and got no help from his teammates.

The women also lost, but this wasn’t nearly as close as they fell 79-47 at Pittsburgh. The women fall to 14-5 and 1-4 in the Big East, while the men sit at 6-11 and 1-4.

Enjoy your Saturday and be safe tonight.

-K.K.

 

Women’s tennis open up season

Compliments of correspondent Joel Leventhal

The South Florida women’s tennis team opened its spring season Friday at the FGCU Invitational in Naples.

In singles play, No. 43 ranked USF was matched against No. 37 Illinois (according to the ITA rankings.)The Illini lived up to its ranking, taking out the Bulls 5-1.

The lone victory for the Bulls, in singles play, came from senior Iciri Rai who defeated No. 12 Chelcie Abajian in straight sets 7-6, (7-5) and 6-4.

Illinois sophomore Leigh Finnegan defeated the Bulls’ Jessica Zok, 6-2 and 6-3.  No. 22 Megan Fudge, who was all-Big Ten, last year, took care of sophomore Jessica Sweeting in straight sets.

South Florida took care of the host team, though.

USF defeated FGCU in three matches.

Zok and Rai beat Florida Gulf Coast juniors Eva Sambrano and Maggie Caulk 9-8 (3).

In the second match, Allyn Mueller teamed up with Lauren Shumate to defeat Eagles duo, Pricillia Villemond and Marissa Grammar 8-3.  In the final match of the day, Guevara and Sweeting completed the three match sweep against FGCU with an easy 8-1 victory against Leah Johnson and Joanne Power.

-J.L.

 

Live blog tonight!

Greetings folks …

Hope your all prepared for the live blog tonight from the Sun Dome where USF and DePaul will tip-off at 9 p.m.

Also, stay tuned for our exclusive “Audio Halftime Update.” I’ll share all my thoughts on the game at halftime and post the mp3 into my blog for you all to listen.

Don’t forget to refresh the page, obviously. Post your comments as always.

See you in a couple hours.

-K.K.

 

Verdejo out for tonight’s game against DePaul

Senior guard Jesus Verdejo, USF’s second leading scorer, is sitting out of pre-game warmups right now, so obviously, the assumption is that he will not play in tonight’s game.
Verdejo suffered a head-to-head collision with a West Virginia player in the Bulls’ 62-59 loss on Saturday.

Heath said on Monday that Verdejo would be a gametime decision.

Apparently, the decision has been made.

I’m going to go take down some taco’s now before tipoff.

-K.K.

 

Jones starts early

The USF student section is celebrating tonight’s “Pajama Party” theme at the Sun Dome, but sophomore guard Dominique Jones didn’t show up for a slumber.

Jones has the first seven points for South Florida and the Bulls lead DePaul 7-4 at the 15:37 mark.

Jones is 3-for-3 from the field and 1-for-1 from outside. The rest of the team has missed their first four shots.

-K.K.

 

Bulls lead 15-11

It’s been back and forth in the beginning of this ball game, but USF has withstood DePaul and still leads 15-11 with 11:34 left in the first half.

Again, like usual, Dominique Jones is off to a fast start in a game that’s has five lead changes already.

Jones hit his first five shots and leads all scoring with 10 points.

Senior guard Jesus Verdejo, who is out with a concussion, has been replaced by a trio of guards that are rotating.

Freshmen Gaby Belardo, B.J. Daniels and Justin Leemow have stepped in for the senior.

 

USF in a close battle

It certainly isn’t looking like the game these two teams played less than two weeks ago.

The Bulls defeated DePaul 80-58 back on Jan. 10, however, this one is a close 25-22 with less than four minutes remaining in the first half.

Dominique Jones leads USF with 12 points.

Stay tuned for our exclusive “Audio Halftime Report” coming shortly. I’ll share my thoughts on this game and post it for you guys to click and listen too.

-K.K.

 

Halftime report

Here is your usf-depaul-halftime-report

-K.K.

 

USF and DePaul still battling

This thing sure is getting interesting …

After USF jumped out to a 35-28 halftime lead, it seemed as if USF went into a slumber at the break. The Blue Demons have led as much as five points in the second half, but trail 48-47 with 10:47 remaining in the game.

Jones has 20 points and is four assists and two rebounds away from a triple-double.

-K.K.

 

Interview with Lelo Prado

Greetings folks ….

Both the men’s and women’s teams took a double last night from Big East conference with the men defeating DePaul and the women taking care of Providence with ease.

Interesting interview with USF baseball coach Lelo Prado here courtesy of The College Baseball Blog

 

Gregory still at USF

There’s only one thing that’s certain right now with “former” offensive coordinator Greg Gregory’s situation: nothing is certain at South Florida.

On Saturday night, local media received a press release that said Gregory had been “released from his duties as offensive coordinator.”

The release continued …

“”Greg is an outstanding coach and I appreciate everything he has done for us.  It is time for our program to move in another direction,” USF coach Jim Leavitt said.

The same was confirmed through the department on Monday that Gregory was not on USF’s staff.

Now, we are getting a different story.

South Florida assistant athletic director Chris Freet confirmed Wednesday that Gregory is still on staff.

“(Gregory) is still an assistant coach but was removed as offensive coordinator,” Freet said.

The St. Petersburgh Times reported Tuesday night that Leavitt immediately released Gregory after he showed interest in the tight ends position at Florida.

“Greg visited with me about the possibility of coaching at another school, and I felt like I had to make a move,” Leavitt told The Times. “I’m not going to have my offensive coordinator out visiting with other schools. If a position coach wants to do that, I don’t have as much a problem.”

The Gators filled that position with former University of Washington assistant Brian White on Wednesday.

Freet said Gregory’s new position has not been decided.

Leavitt still has not been available for comment to The Oracle.

-K.K.

 

Big East Student Writer’s Poll

Class is finally in session for all of the schools across the Big East, and to celebrate, we’re launching a new feature. With so much attention on the Big East as perhaps the best conference in the nation, we decided to turn to the students who cover the league for some weekly opinions. Thus, the Big East Student Writers Poll was born.

We’ll do it weekly, every Wednesday. This week’s first poll features votes from 12 student writers from all over the conference. Each school has one ballot per week.

Teams are ranked on a points system. So every first-place vote is worth 16 points, every second-place vote worth 15, so on and so forth. All votes include action through Monday’s games.

So, without further ado, the results:

1. Pittsburgh (17-1, 5-1), 189 points
Why doesn’t Jamie Dixon get the recognition he deserves? — David Cassilo, The Villanovan

2. Marquette (16-2, 5-0), 180 points
This is the best thing going on in Wisconsin right now. — Giuseppe Barone, The Setonian

3. Louisville (13-3, 4-0), 178 points
Three consecutive wins over ranked opponents means Louisville is adding to good week for teams named after Cardinals. — John Borneman, The Marquette Tribune

4. Connecticut (16-1, 5-1), 166 points
Even though they’re 16-1, still a mystery. — Kerry Klecic, The Oracle

5. Syracuse (17-3, 5-2), 148 points
I don’t know who I would fear more in a fight. Harris, Onuaku, or Flynn. — Matthew Stein, The Daily Targum

6. Georgetown (12-4, 3-2), 127 points

7. Villanova (14-3, 2-2), 106 points
If they could only make a layup… — Chris Hine, The Observer

8. Notre Dame (12-5, 3-3), 99 points
Irish are finding out that road rims aren’t as kind to 3-point attacks as the ones at the Joyce Center. — Borneman

9. West Virginia (13-4, 2-2), 98 points

10. Providence (12-6, 4-2), 79 points
One of the most confusing teams in the country, but definitely has a chance to win some big games. — Mike Gladysz, The Pitt News

11. Cincinnati (12-7, 2-4), 72 points

12. St. John’s (10-7, 1-4), 54 points
That was an impressive win over Notre Dame, but they’ve lost their other four league games by an average of 18 points per game. Ouch. — Hine

13. Seton Hall (9-8, 0-5), 40 points
The writing is on the wall for Bobby Gonzalez after what looks to be another disappointing season. — Cassilo

14. South Florida (7-11, 2-4), 35 points
It’s an improvement from being last, but this team is still atrocious. — Barone

15. Rutgers (9-9, 0-5), 34 points

16. DePaul (8-11, 0-6), 27 points
No crowd, no fans, no wins. — Gladysz

 

Catalano out for the season

Tough break for USF softball as 2008 Big East freshman of the year, Capri Catalano, will be out for the 2009 season because of a shoulder injury.

“We are fortunate enough to diagnose a minor situation that our medical staff is on top of and ready to take care of,” said USF head coach Ken Eriksen said. “We will continue with physical therapy for the rest of the spring. We look forward to getting a completely healthy Catalano back for the 2009-10 year.”

 

Scottie Who?

Apparently Dominique Jones has never heard of Villanova guard Scottie Reynolds — a 2007-2008 second team All-Big East selection.

In preperation for USF’s game against Villanova on Saturday at noon over at the Sun Dome, I casually asked Jones in a conversation what he thought of Reynolds.

“Who?” Jones replied. “Who? I don’t know. I know we play Villanova, but I don’t know who Scottie is.”

I asked again, “Never heard of him?”

“Nope, nuh uh,” as Jones smiled.

I guess when you’re averaging 18.8 ppg like Jones is you can say whatever you want. Jones, a sophomore, is playing in perhaps his best stretch of basketball at USF.

Jones had 26 points, 10 rebounds and was four assists shy of a triple-double in Tuesday night’s 70-61 win over DePaul.

Reynolds is averaging 15.2 ppg that includes a 40 point effort in an overtime win over Seton Hall on Jan. 1.

Welp, one thing is for certain, Jones will meet Reynolds at noon on Saturday.

-K.K.

 

USF gets wide receiver commit

Just two weeks from National Signing Day and USF just picked up another verbal, this one from Miami Pace wide-out Derrick Hopkins www.USFBullsEYE.com reported Wednesday.

A 5-foot-10, 160 pound 2A State Champ in the 200 meters, Hopkins should bring plenty of speed to the receiving core.

Hopkins, a two star recruit,  chose USF after considering offers from Kansas State, Auburn, Iowa State, Central Michigan and Florida International.

Also on USFBullsEYE.com, the Bulls picked up a verbal committment from JUCO linebacker Jacquain Williams. Williams, out of Fort Scott C.C., is listed as running a 4.5, 40-meter dash.

 

Ajayi tears ACL

Greetings folks … Tough news for the USF basketball team.

Forward Mobolaji Ajayi partially tore his right Anterior Cruciate Ligament and will miss the remainder of the season.

Ajayi, who had appeared in all 18 games for USF, landed awkwardly on his right leg after a layup on Thursday.

“We are extremely disappointed for Moboloaji,” USF coach Stan Heath said in a statement. “Our coaching staff and team will support him during his rehabilitation and continue to push him academically while he’s regaining his health. He has been playing well recently and his size and presence will be missed.”

Ajayi’s career at USF is over. He is a senior.

 

Live blog tomorrow

Just a reminder for all the students that I will be blogging live court side at tomorrow’s game between USF and No. 20 Villanova.

And, of course, I’ll have your “Audio Halftime Report” at the intermission that you guys can click and listen to. I’ll share all my thoughts, feelings and concerns as the game evolves.

I’m sure as you’ve read below USF has lost its second key player to an ACL injury. First, transfer Mike Mercer and now B.J. Ajayi. Also, senior Jesus Verdejo is still struggling with a concussion.

Tune in tomorrow at noon to see if the banged up Bulls can pull off the upset.

Have a safe night.

-K.K.

 

Live blog: Mercer and Crater suspended indefinitely

Just a day after USF coach Stan Heath lost senior B.J. Ajayi for the season due to an ACL tear, he received more bad news.

Junior Mike Mercer and Ohio State transfer Anthony Crater were arrested and charged with misdemeanor count of possession of marijuana, the Times and Tribune both reported.

Heath made a statement in a release early this morning.

“This kind of behavior is unacceptable within our program,” Heath said. “We are reviewing the situation and once we have more information and all the facts, we’ll have further comment.”

Mercer was already ruled out for the remainder of the season with an ACL injury.

Crater, who won’t be available to play until next season due to NCAA transfer policy, had been at USF since the beginning of this semester.

Just about to tip here at the Sun Dome. I’ll be back with an update.

-K.K.

 

Live blog: USF trails early

Augustus Gilchrist’s dunk just moments ago ignited a spark in this Sun Dome crowd, but USF still trails 15-14 with 11:46 remaining in the first half.

Chris Howard leads USF with 6 points.

Dante Cunningham has given Nova 8 points.

There have been six lead changes in the first ten minutes.

 

Live blog: USF leads

Just under the four minute mark,  and seven lead changes later, USF leads 28-25 No. 20 Villanova at the Sun Dome.

All the stuff happening off the court — with Mike Mercer and Anthony Crater’s suspension — it seems the Bulls have taken it into their account to handle things ON the court.

Nova led 25-21 at the 6:30 mark, but Augustus Gilchrist’s layup and 3-pointer on straight possessions have fueled the USF comeback.

South Florida is 10-for-19 from the field.

Villanova is 10-for-23.

-K.K.

 

Live blog: Technology 1, Klecic 0

Alright, I will be the first to admit when I’ve been defeated.

It seems my recorder is going through some technical difficulties. Therefore, today’s “Audio Halftime Report” won’t be able to be posted.

Sometimes that stuff can just be a hassle, eh. I can just sense all of you guys sighing in dismay as I write.

It’s all knotted up here at 32-32 between USF and No. 20 Villanova.

Chris Howard and Augustus Gilchrist lead the Bulls with 10 points.

Dante Cunningham is 4-for-7 from the field and has eight points to lead the Wildcats. And Cunningham just scored the opening basket of the second half just a moment ago.

-K.K.

 

Interesting story on former USF goalkeeper

Former South Florida goalkeeper Troy Perkins is far from sunny Tampa. That’s for sure.
A great story on him that I found from a link on the New York Times.

It’s a pretty good read, you can find it here.

 

Live blog: Wildcats hold 1-point lead

After taking its first lead of the second half just moments ago, USF let Villanova on a 5-0 run with less than eight minutes remaining in the game, and the Wildcats lead 52-51 here at the Sun Dome.

USF is having perhaps its most balanced scoring effort this season with four guys in double figures.

Chris Howard leads everyone with 15 points, and Augustus Gilchrist has 13.

Nova jumped out to a 39-32 lead on a 7-0 run to begin the second half.

Be back shortly

-K.K.

 

Live blog: Jones fouls out, USF trails by five

USF is trying to pull off the upset on No. 20 Villanova, but they’re having to do it with a flat tire of sorts.

Leading scorer Dominique Jones fouled out with less than six minutes to go, and the Wildcats lead 60-55 with 3:40 t0 g0 in this game.

If you’re a USF fan, it will be encouraging to know that others have carried the offensive load today.

Augustus Gilchrist has 17 points — including an electrifying dunk minutes ago — and Chris Howard has 15.

I’ll be on after the game for a brief update. With the announcement of two suspensions and Ajayi’s ACL injury, this win would certainly be big for USF coach Stan Heath.

 

Live blog: USF down four

Just over a minute left to play, and USF is down 62-58 with Villanova’s Dwayne Anderson at the line to complete a three-point play. Anderson drove to the lane and made an acrobatic layup to give the Wildcats the lift.

Augustus Gilchrist, who has 18 points and six rebounds, went 1-for-4 from the free-throw line on two straight ocassions just minutes ago.

That certainly would have given USF a better chance…

-K.K.

 

Reynolds ices victory over USF

We’re still in action here, but it’s safe to say this one is iced.

Scottie Reynolds just made four free throws and Villanova leads 67-58 with the clock dwindling …

USF had its chances to be in this game, but Dominique Jones fouled out, and Augustus Gilchrist couldn’t finish at the line.

The Bulls will move to 7-12, 2-5.

Thanks for joining us today.

-K.K.

 

Mercer’s future ‘in jeopardy’

I’ve seen a lot of different sides from USF coach Stan Heath in my time covering South Florida athletics.

I’ve seen a stern coach in practice who is teaching his players how to play the game. I’ve seen a coach who smiles when one of his players achieve something great. I’ve seen someone who truly and genuinely cares for his players.

On Saturday, I saw a man that was very disappointed in two of those players.

Heath was able to shed some light on the situation surrounding last night’s arrest of Mike Mercer and Anthony Crater for possession of marijuana after USF’s 70-61 loss to No. 20 Villanova today.

When someone asked Heath what Mercer’s status was with the program he said “in jeopardy.” This is his second incident while at USF.

“This is just not something that I will accept in our program and at the same time this happened so fast that I need to find out all the facts and make a decision from there,” Heath said.

Heath said he will meet with athletic director Doug Woolard and most likely make a decision on Monday.

Heath said he hasn’t spoken to either player yet.

 

Women’s tennis loses road opener

Compliments of correspondent Joel Leventhal …

The South Florida women’s tennis team ended up on the wrong end of a 4-3 match result against No. 49 ranked New Mexico on Saturday.

In doubles play, USF juniors Lauren Shumate and Allyn Muller defeated the Lobos’ Anya Villanueva-Forte and Ashley Bonner 8-4.

That would be the Bulls’ only doubles victory all day. Jessica Sweeting and Natalia Guevara lost a close match while Jessica Zok and Iciri Rai fell 9-8 to Maria Sotirchos and Ola Abou-Zekry.

In singles play, Rai and Muller each lost close matches to Emma Hayman and Maria Sotirchos respectively.  Natalia Guevara avenged her defeat in doubles earlier by defeating Manumea Durie in straight sets, 6-4 and 6-4.  Lauren Shumate continued her stellar play by coming out victorious 6-1 and 6-1 against Ashley Bonner.

As this is USF’s first official match, the Bulls are 0-1 on the year.

USF will travel to Gainesville to take on the University of Florida on Feb. 4 before returning home to play the opener against Furman on Feb. 13.

 

Super Bowl media day

Greetings folks …
Just wanted to leave my apologies about not posting on here in the last couple days extensively. I’ve been doing some coverage for the Super Bowl.

I spent most of today lost in the frenzy that is Super Bowl media day. How it is very fun and rewarding, it is also tiring.

I did a story in yesterday’s paper about the impact of having the AFC Champions here on campus for practice this week. Check it out here.

Stay tuned for my commentary in tomorrow’s issue about my experience at media day!

-K.K.

 

Mercer dismissed from the team

We’ll have plenty more on this story in tomorrow’s paper…

Junior guard Mike Mercer has been dismissed from the program, men’s basketball coach Stan Heath announced Monday.

Mercer and teammate Anthony Crater were arrested late Friday night on charges of misdemeanor possession of marijuana.

Mercer was arrested in Septemeber for public consumption of alcohol. This is Crater’s first offense, and he has been placed on “probationary status.”

-K.K.

 

Big East student writer’s poll

1. Louisville (15-3, 6-0), 182 points (5 first-place votes)
The anti-Georgetown: A team which people thought may have chemistry issues has put aside early season struggles and really come together. — Bailey Heaps, The Hoya

2. Pittsburgh (18-1, 6-1), 173 points (3)
If Levance Fields took a tumble on the court, would he roll like a bowling ball and knock over everyone in his path? — Matthew Stein, The Daily Targum

3. Marquette (18-2, 7-0), 171 points (2)
Buzz Williams for national coach of the year? — Kyle Austin, The Daily Orange

4. Connecticut (18-1, 7-1), 170 points (2)
This team will be the new national No. 1 next week after Duke loses to Wake Forest. — Giuseppe Barone, The Setonian

5. Syracuse (17-4, 5-3), 141 points
1-3 over the last four doesn’t usually mean you’re a top 25 team, but in the Big East, rules don’t apply. — Tony Dobies, The Daily Athenaeum

6. Villanova (15-4, 3-3), 119 points
Still doing well despite Scottie Reynold’s nowhere-to-be-found play. — Kerry Klecic, The Oracle

7. West Virginia (14-5, 3-3), 111 points

8. Providence (13-6, 5-2), 108 points
With Syracuse and UConn up next, we will finally find out if the Friars are any good.
— David Cassilo, The Villanovan

9. Georgetown (12-6, 3-4), 107 points
Two words: Seton Hall. Really? — Catherine LaRoche, The Louisville Cardinal

10. Notre Dame (12-7, 3-5), 93 points
In big trouble. — Mike Gladysz, The Pitt News

11. Cincinnati (13-7, 3-4), 76 points
Mike Williams is beginning to emerge as a second option behind Deonta Vaughn after averaging 17.6 points in his last five games. — Bo Jessee/Pete Marx, The News Record

12. St. John’s (11-8, 2-5), 53 points

13. Seton Hall (10-9, 1-6), 51 points
Bobby Gonzalez is a great coach, now if only he could recruit… — Stein

14. South Florida (7-12, 2-5), 40 points

15. Rutgers (9-11, 0-7), 23 points
Fred Hill is a great recruiter, now if only he could coach… — Stein

16. DePaul (8-12, 0-7), 14 points
You know it’s bad when USF does the double on you. — Klecic

-K.K.

 

Bulls adding recruits

Signing day is almost upon us, and USF picked up another big time recruit.

USFBullsEYE.com reported Wednesday that JUCO defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul verbally committed.

Pierre-Paul, 6-foot-6 and 265 pounds, is a four-star caliber and picked USF over Arizona, Kansas State and Nebraska.

Tack him along with Armwood touted defensive end Ryne Giddins and George Selvie should have plenty of talented backup in the fall.
Als0, both the Times and Tribune reported that Grant Gregory, former offensive coordinator Greg Gregory’s son, will transfer from USF after receiving a sixth year of eligibility.

-K.K.

 

Steelers read the Oracle

This photo was passed along to me …

I can’t quite make out who that is for the AFC Champion Pittsburgh Steelers, but it seems while they were on campus they were doing some extra reading.

They were reading the Oracle, of course. I wrote a commentary on Super Bowl media day that day’s paper (at least that’s what I think. It’s kind of blurry).

Now, what does this all mean? Well, it means I know who I’m picking to win Sunday’s big game…..
Have a safe weekend.

-K.K.

 

USF upsets Rutgers

South Florida not only showed its will to survive a late comeback by Rutgers, but to also pull off the programs first win over the Scarlet Knights in a 59-56 upset victory on Saturday at the RAC.

“It was a big win for us,” USF coach Jose Fernandez said. “I was real happy with how our team played.”

Senior guard Shantia Grace’s layup with seven seconds left sealed the win and shocked the 3,821 in attendance.

The Bulls led by 19 with six minutes left in the game. However, a tough Rutgers defense allowed a 17-2 Scarlet Knights run to tie it at 56-56 with less than a minute to play.

“They pressured us real hard,” South Florida guard Janae Stokes said. “They just pressured us, and in those last 4 minutes we kind of panicked a little bit.”

Stokes showed little sign of panic — scoring 20 points and hitting six three-point shots. Stokes said that it was exciting to win against such a prestigious team.

“It’s a fantastic feeling,” she said. “It feels great to be able to come here and beat a top 25 quality team.”

USF (16-6, 3-5) turned the ball over 19 times and went to the free throw line 10 times. Fernandez said it was his own team that allowed the late comeback.

“We just didn’t take care of the ball, and we didn’t make free throws down the stretch,” he said.

The Bulls did, however, play good defense.

Rutgers (12-7, 4-4) were held to 32.8 shooting from the field and were outrebounded 35-28 by USF.

The Bulls played in the absence of freshman guard Jasmine Wynne, who suffered a twisted ankle against Georgetown. Fernandez said the team did a great job of filling in that loss.

“It gave the other kids a great chance to step up,” he said. “Folks like [Melissa] Dalembert and [Allyson] Speed all contributed.”

-Alex Cobb, Correspondent

 

FIU off schedule

Both area newspapers have reported news out of Miami that Florida International is backing out of its series with USF and will not play the Bulls in the 2009 football season.
Obviously, this leaves a gap in USF’s schedule, and with the Bulls already playing big in-state games against Miami and FSU, you would think a “lower profile” school may be in line to replace them. Also, most teams already have scheduling already situated.

In that case, a I-AA opponent might be the safer route. Hey, how about playing Wofford twice!

-K.K.

 

Signing Day extravaganza

At 4 p.m. tomorrow, USF coach Jim Leavitt will step up to the podium at the athletics facility and comment on what could be the highest ranked football recruiting class in school history.

As many as 25+ recruits are expected to sign on the dotted line tomorrow.
www.gousfbulls.com, USF’s athletics page, will have full coverage throughout the day on “Bulls Vision.”

I’m sure I’ll be busy busy busy trekking around town to different signing days. I’ll try and post sometime before 4, when Leavitt goes on the podium.

Following the press conference, USF will host a signing day party at Splitsville in Channelside from 5:30-7 p.m.
Huge day for USF football. See you guys tomorrow and we’ll have full wall-to-wall coverage from around the area in Thursday’s paper.

-K.K.

 

USF to honor Bowers Friday

At halftime of Friday’s game between USF and Marquette, fromer athletics director Richard T “Dick” Bowers will be honored.

Bowers, who died on Nov. 29 2007, will become the only non-player to have a banner on the Sun Dome. He served 16 years as AD at USF.

-K.K.

 

Weekend previews

Greetings folks …

A reminder to you all that I will be live blogging from Friday night’s USF-Marquette men’s basketball game at the Sun Dome at 7 p.m. I hope you all join me for my “audio halftime report,” as well.

There’s plenty of action coming up this weekend. Softball begins tomorrow and a preview of that is in today’s paper. Here are some more from correspondent Alex Cobb and staff writer Kelli Polson.

Women’s Basketball

South Florida heads north this weekend to take on Syracuse at the Carrier Dome Sunday.

The Bulls, coming off a momentous loss against Marquette Tuesday night, have ground to gain if they want to make the NCAA Tournament.

Guards Shantia Grace and Janae Stokes, who have combined for 51 points in their last two outings, will try to increase USF’s offensive production. The Bulls were held to 51 points against the Golden Eagles.

The Bulls were 18-for-34 from the free throw line against Marquette. Coach Jose Fernandez said the team to make free throws down the stretch to be competitive.

Grace said she wasn’t 100 percent before the Marquette game because of an injury to her foot. The source of the pain was unknown, but said that it “started some time after the Rutgers game.”

Grace is still expected to play against the Orange.

Freshman Jasmine Wynne also continues to struggle with a foot injury. She saw limited playing time against Marquette, and missed the upset victory over the Scarlet Knights.

Wynne played 17 minutes Tuesday and is expected to play Sunday.

The Bulls have yet to manage two straight victories since entering Big East league play. They have lost two straight on two separate occasions.

– Alex Cobb

Men’s Tennis

South Florida goes on the road for another dual match this weekend.

The No. 34 Bulls face No. 45 Arizona and No. 55 St. Mary’s in Arizona.

Last weekend, the Bulls missed a chance to advance to the Indoor National Championships after a 1-1 record. The team had to win both matches against No. 35 Texas Christian University, their only season loss so far, and No. 60 UC-Santa Barbara.

The Bulls dropped from No. 28 to No. 34 after the tournament.

Freshman Romain Deridder was sick and unable to play in his last match against Santa Barbara. Coach Don Barr said three players are fighting the flu.

Lucas Jovita, who is No. 27 in the country in singles, will look to carry the team while they miss action.

Sophomore Jay Goldman, who is No. 88 in singles, leads Arizona.

Both Arizona and USF have strong doubles pairings.

The Bulls have No. 15 Jovita and Thomas Estrada while the Wildcats will match up with No. 18 Francois VanderMerwe and Pat Metham.

The Wildcats have a season record of 4-1; their only loss was to No. 7 Florida at the National Spring Kick Off in Gainesville.

Achim Christner leads St. Mary’s, who dropped from No. 48 to No. 55 after two straight losses. They fell to Mississippi State last weekend. The Gaels have a season record of 1-4.

The Bulls are 2-1 on the year.

– Kelli Polson

 

Academic awards roll in

USF men’s soccer forward Zak Boggs was named 2008-2009 Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year, becoming the first South Florida athlete to win the award.

The junior will receive $4,000 towards postgraduate or professional studies because of his academic and on-field performances.

Boggs was the second leading scorer this season (5) and helped lead the Bulls to their first Big East Championship in soccer.

If you remember, we did a podcast interview with Boggs during the season, and I’m sure you guys would be interested in hearing it. Here it is!

zak-boggs-interview

USF also had eight football players named to the Big East All-Academic team today. Wide receiver Marcus Edwards frontlined the names, becoming the first player in school history to achieve the mark four years in a row.

Safety Nate Allen and punter Delbert Alvarado were among some of the names, as well.

A reminder, I’ll be courtside at the Sun Dome tonight live blogging my life away! See you then!

-K.K.

 

USF already losing?

Okay, so maybe I need to get a life, but I thought this is pretty funny …

I’m not sure if you guys can make out the score right there, but I snapped this on my phone about 10 minutes ago.

Apparently even the USF stats people have a lot of confidence about tonight’s outcome. The scoreboard reads “MU: 33, USF: 26 with 55 seconds left.

Perhaps I just looked into the future a bit … or perhaps I need to get back to work or something.

Be back on once the game gets going.

-K.K.

 

Jones gives USF the lead

Dominique Jones just battled near the boards and putback an errant shot into the net, and USF leads Marquette 15-13 at the Sun Dome with 11:42 remaining in the first half.

It’s been Chris Howard, however, for the Bulls who has shined early.

Howard is 2-for-4 and completed the front end of a set of free-throws to give him five points.

Powered by Dominic James’  five points, the Golden Eagles led 11-5 early on, but a 10-0 USF run has swung things around.

-K.K.

 

Live Blog: USF leads Marquette

I smell an upset …

A long ways to go here at the Sun Dome, and I should be careful in claiming things like “upsets” so early with the way USF has not been able to put away games, but nevertheless USF leads No. 8 Marquette 26-22 with 6:21 left in the first half.

A 21-3 run midway through the half has put the Bulls in position to pull off the upset.

Freshman Just Leemow has provided some extra minutes to a depleted USF squad. Leemow only has one point, but has contributed on defense well.

Chris Howard has eight points and Dominique Jones has seven.
Stay tuned for my Podcast at Halftime to break down this game. I’ll post it on here.

-K.K.

 

Live Blog: Halftime Podcast

Here’s the audio halftime podcast folks …

usf-marquette

-K.K.

 

Live Blog: It’s tied

We have a great game brewing on our hands here at the Sun Dome.

It’s all knotted at 40-40 with 11:31 remaining in the game as Marquette has erased a four-point halftime deficit.

It seems that all the plays that usually DON’T happen for the Bulls are happening tonight.USF has fought hard with teams like Pittsburgh and Louisville, but allowed second half collapses to haunt them. However, for instance, it’s been different. Just moments ago, when it looked as if USF would let another posession go out with the shot clock, Dominique Jones rebounded the ball and put it in to give them a three-point lead.

It smells like an upset here at the Sun Dome.

-K.K.

 

Live Blog: Marquette takes a late lead

USF has been in control of almost the entirity of this game, however, it seems as if Marquette is ready to take that control away.

Jerel McNeal has 21 points and the Golden Eagles lead 55-53 with 3:38 remaining in the game at the Sun Dome.

McNeal is 7-for-15 from the floor.

USF senior Jesus Verdejo has awakened from a shooting slump, and has sparked the Bulls in the second half. He has 21 points, as well.
We’ll know shortly if USF can pull off a huge upset. Stay tuned….

 

Live Blog: One point lead, one minute to go

Marquette holds a slim 56-55 lead, and USF has the ball with just over a minute remaining in the game.

The Bulls, trying to pull off a massive upset over No. 8 Marquette, are starting at their best opportunity to make a 7-14 record look oh-so much sweeter.

We’ll find out if they can pull it off in less than a minute….

-K.K.

 

Jones puts USF ahead

After a missed Marquette three point shot, Dominique Jones flew down the court and made an acrobatic layup, while being fouled, to nearly put the Sun Dome crowd out of its socks.

Jones missed the free-throw, but USF leads 57-56 with 10 seconds left. The Golden Eagles have the ball, and a chance to win or tie this thing.

Can USF pull off a monster upset of the N0. 8 team in the country?

-K.K.

 

Undefeated no more

So it happened.

Marquette’s jumper clanged off the rim, Stan Heath gave one big fist pump and the players threw a party at half court.

USF pulled off an unlikely upset of No. 8 Marquette with a 57-56 victory tonight at the Sun Dome.

The hero? Had to be Jesus Verdejo, who scored 21 points on 9-for-16 shooting.

Marquette, who was undefeated in the Big East coming into the game, falls to 20-4 on the season.

-K.K.

 

Lockwood brings in more honors

USF sophomore outfielder Ryan Lockwood has been named to Sporting News’ 2009 College All-America Team.

This just another honor as he’s been named to several preseason national teams and watchlists for awards.

Lockwood was the first freshman in Big East history to lead the conference in batting average during conference play (.454).  He ended the season on a 30-game hitting streak, as well.

The Bulls hit the field on Feb. 20 for the Big East/Big Ten challenge.

-K.K.

 

Spreading the wealth

Former USF standout cornerback Anthony Henry donated $100,000 towards the renovation of weight room and locker room facilities.

Henry worked with Lee Roy Selmon throughout the gifting process.

“Even though I am nine years removed from the program, I thought it was important to give back financially and show the current players how much USF means to me,” Henry said.  “I will always support USF football in every way I can.”

Henry played at USF from 1997-2000 and currently plays with the Dallas Cowboys.

 

Live blog: South Florida v. Providence

Greetings folks …

I’m going to be heading over to the Sun Dome in a couple hours and just wanted to brief you again on tonight’s live blog.

An interesting matchup tonight as USF will host Providence at 7 p.m.

With a win, USF will have two consecutive Big East victories for the first time since joining the conference in 2005 — which should be another telling point that coach Stan Heath is building something positive.

It also seems, however, that a loss would be a significant one, in terms of moral around campus and the program.

I don’t know, just my thoughts. If you’d like to share yours, feel free.

-K.K.

 

Live blog: Minutes until start

Greetings folks …

Live at the Sun Dome and just minutes until tip.
Stay tuned and I’ll be on here to update you by the first media timeout.

-K.K.

 

Live blog: Transition, the name of the game

Not sure if it’s been more of bad transition defense or good transition offense, but both teams are using it to score.

After back-to-back transition baskets, USF leads Providence 9-7 at the 15:23 mark in the first half.

Eladio Espinosa had a beauty of a layup off a fast-break, and Dominique Jones has powered his way to five early points.

Stay tuned for our Halftime Podcast!

-K.K.

 

Live blog: Friars tie it

After a dunk and a layup, Providence has tied things up at the 11:56 mark, 13-13.

Marshon Brooks’ rim-rattling slam sparked a small Friars run to take a 13-9 lead. However, Jesus Verdejo and Dominique Jones teamed up and hit two jumpers.

A good start for Jones as he’s 3-of-4 from the field en route to seven points …

Cheers….

-K.K.

 

Live blog: Providence extends lead

Stay tuned for my halftime podcast coming up next post at halftime.

Less than four minutes to play in the first half, and Providence leads 31-26 after an 8-0 run spanning the past four minutes.

Dominique Jones has been on a tear for USF, going 6-for-9 from the field and adding a free-throw to give him 15 points.

Marshon Brooks and Randall Hanke each have seven points to lead the Friars.

Be back with the p-cast.

-K.K.

 

Live blog: Halftime Podcast

It’s halftime here folks, and this is your update.

providence-usf-halftime-podcast

Second half will begin shortly

-K.K.

 

Live blog: USF will win Big East tournament

The Sun Dome crowd has spoken!

At a full time out taken by Povidence coach Keno Davis, a survey appeared asking who would win the Big East tournament this year.

The voting results?

USF = 68%

UConn = 26%

Marquette = 5%

Rash ……

-K.K.

 

Live blog: Lead getting larger …

History may have to wait a bit longer.

Providence has maintained a nine-point halftime lead and are ahead 46-37 at the Sun Dome over USF with 15:58 remaining in this game.

The Bulls, going for consecutive Big East wins after an upset of No. 8 Marquette, can’t seem to stop the Friar’s hot shooting.

Providence is 57 percent from the field and 55 percent from three-point range.

Sharaud Curry is beginning to heat up as he’s hit a couple baskets at the end of the 1st and beginning of the 2nd half.

That isn’t good news for South Florida.

-K.K.

 

Live blog: 6-0 run keeps it close

USF is in the middle of a 6-0 run here at th Sun Dome, but the Friars still lead 58-49 over South Florida with 7:36 remaining

Aris Williams made two putbacks, and Dominique Jones had a nice mid-range jumper to cut a lead that was growing by the minute.

The Friars led by much as 13 with a little over five minutes prior.

Jones is still leading the way with 20 points and seven rebounds.

-K.K.

 

Live blog: Wrapping things up

3:45 left in the game and Providence leads 65-57 after a huge three-point shot from Brian McKenize just moments ago.

Dominique Jones was on a 5-0 run by himself, and the USF crowd started chanting “U-S-F, U-S-F, U-S-F.”

But just as it seemed as if the Bulls could mount a swift comeback and make this thing a game, McKenzie’s three-pointer changed the complexion of this game.

The Friars have the ball, and it looks like the game too.

I’ll be on, of course, if anything changes. Otherwise, toodles.

-K.K.

 

Big East student writers poll

The top student writers in the conference have spoken again, and here’s how it came out.

1. Connecticut (22-1, 10-1), 192 points (12 first-place votes)
A team that just knows how to win basketball games. — Kerry Klecic, The Oracle

2. Louisville (18-4, 9-1), 175 points

3. Pittsburgh (22-2, 9-2), 173 points
They may finally get past the Sweet 16 this year. — Giuseppe Barone, The Setonian

4. Marquette (20-3, 9-1), 151 points
Out of all the teams in the Big East, they lose to a South Florida team that’s 3-8 in the conference. — Catherine LaRoche, The Louisville Cardinal

5. Villanova (19-4, 7-3), 148 points
They have been absolutely shooting the lights out lately. — Matthew Stein, The Daily Targum

6. Syracuse (18-6, 6-5), 125 points

7. West Virginia (16-8, 5-6), 111 points

8. Cincinnati (16-8, 6-5), 109 points
Who knew they were capable of 90-plus points? Oh, wait, anybody is when they play Notre Dame. — Chris Hine, The Observer

9. Providence (14-9, 6-5), 108 points

10. Georgetown (13-9, 4-7), 85 points

11. Notre Dame (12-10, 3-7), 64 points
Not looking good right now in South Bend at all. — Klecic

12. Seton Hall (13-9, 4-6), 61 points
The Pirates officially have the upper hand in the tri-state area: the only positive to come out of this season. — Barone

13. St. John’s (12-11, 3-8), 54 points

14. South Florida (8-14, 3-7), 39 points
South Florida basketball is like Duke football. Even when they steal some wins, no one seems to care. — Stein

15. Rutgers (10-14, 1-10), 25 points
Words don’t describe the frustration level around the Rutgers campus. This team is terrible. — Stein

16. DePaul (8-16, 0-11), 12 points
Half the high school teams in Chicago can beat DePaul right now. — Barone

Voters: Bailey Heaps, The Hoya; Bo Jesse/Pete Marx, The News Record; Catherine LaRoche, The Louisville Cardinal; Chris Hine, The Observer; David Cassilo, The Villanovan; Giuseppe Barone, The Setonian; Kerry Klecic, The Oracle; Kyle Austin, The Daily Orange; Matthew Stein, The Daily Targum; Mike Gladysz, The Pitt News; Ryan Holt, The Cowl; Tony Dobies, The Daily Athenaeum

 

Gregory takes job at South Alabama

Less than a month after being “realeased from duties” as offensive coordinator at USF, Greg Gregory has accepted the offensive coordinator position at South Alabama, coach Jim Leavitt announced on Thursday morning.

After interviewing for the tight ends job at Florida, Leavitt demoted Gregory on Jan. 18. He remained on staff, but his role “hadn’t been determined.” He spent three years at USF after joining as tight ends coach in 2005.

“Coach Gregory is a tremendous coach, and he did a tremendous job with our offense,” Leavitt said in a statement. “That unit has been very successful under his leadership. South Alabama made a terrific hire, and I firmly believe he will do a great job.”

The offensive coordinator position at USF has not been filled.

-K.K.

 

Prado: Pitching will be the key

Baseball season is almost here, and  I trekked over to USF practice to talk to coach Lelo Prado about the upcoming season. The Bulls, who were picked second  behind Louisville in the Big East, begin  next weekend in the Big Ten/Big East challenge over in Clearwater. After losing some power from last year’s squad Prado said pitching will be a big part of the season. Here is the rest of what he said:

Klecic: How excited are you to get things going?

Prad0: “We’re getting tired of playing against each other. I think the team is ready, but they’re the ones that have to step on the field and produce. I tell you what — I wish I was playing. They just have to focus on going out there and play as a team, though. I think they’re ready to go.”

K: Ryan Lockwood (sophomore) has a lot of expectations put on him. How do you think he’ll handle that?

P: “He’s a pretty easy-going guy. And he doesn’t talk about it much. He’s always working his butt off, and if he doesn’t hit .400, or whatever, it’s not going to be because he didn’t put the work in. He puts a lot of effort into it. If there’s one person on the team to handle it — it’s him.

K: How long will his hitting streak last (currently at 30 straight games)?

P: “I hope it lasts all season. He really doesn’t talk about it at all. If we’re winning, I think the streak continues because he’s a key part of our offense. He’s earned it.”

K: How big will pitching be for you guys?

P: “It has to be there. It has to be the key. It has to be a situation where they carry us. We’re not going to be a team that hits a lot of home runs. This year, we have to be able to pitch and play defense. And if we do that — we’ll be successful.”

K: Are you set in the BULL-pen (I had to do that. Okay, I’ll stop.)

P: “I wouldn’t say we’re necessarily set, but a lot of things will be about this weekend. It’s going to be kind of open and see where we can fit guys in. The good thing is that we’ve got about 14 arms to use.”

K: Being that you used to coach at Louisville, is that on your mind at all?

P: “Well, when we left there, we knew we were leaving a good team. We recruited a lot of the players they have.  They’re a really strong bunch. They have a good team, and they went to the World Series. We have to get the attitude here that we are a top 20 team every season and to have national championship on our minds like they do.”

K: Is Omaha a goal for you this year?

P: “That’s our goal every year. The Big East is something that is won along the way, but the goal is to get to Omaha and win a national championship — but you have to take care of step one before you can get to step two. We feel we should be a regional team, and we feel we can make a run at things.”

The Bulls will host media day and an open scrimmage on Tuesday, and then it’s off to Clearwater where they’ll face Michigan, Purdue and Indiana next weekend.

 

All these All-Americans

College Baseball Insider selected USF sophomore outfielder Ryan Lockwood to the honorable mention All-American team — his fifth in the preseason award.

Lockwood, one of 95 players named to CBI’s list, has already tallied honors from Sporting News and Louisville Slugger, as well as being named preseason All-Big East.

Today is media day over at Red McEwen field, and I’ll be there with our correspondent Phil Neary for coverage. I’m sure we’ll have an opportunity to talk to Lockwood, and I’ll post some comments from him on here later.

The Bulls begin the season this weekend, starting with the Big East/Big Ten challenge in Clearwater.

-K.K.

 

Burnham leaves USF

Influential defensive coordinator Wally Burnham has left South Florida to take the D-coordinator job at Iowa State, a statement said on Tuesday.

Burnham, who spend nine years at USF, is the second coordinator lost this year, as offensive coordinator Greg Gregory left to take a position at South Alabama last Thursday.

“Wally did a great job for us, we will sorely miss him and his wife Barbara,” said USF coach Jim Leavitt, in a statement.  “I am absolutely proud of everything he has done here and the success he has brought to USF.  We wish him luck at Iowa State and I know that he will always be successful because of his tremendous character.”

Under Burnham, the Bulls have been ranked in the top-30 for defense in six of the last seven seasons.

No word on a replacement.

-K.K.

 

USF completes schedule

More news out of footbal, although this one is less suprising.

South Florida announced Tuesday a one-game agreement to play Charleston Southern, completing the Bulls’ 2009 schedule.

It will be the second FCS opponent on the schedule this year for the Bulls, which means one of the games will not count towards bowl eligibility. USF also plays in-state powerhouses Florida State and Miami.

USF was put in a bind when Florida International bought out of its agreement on Sept. 19 for $200,000. FIU will play Rutgers next season.

“We feel fortunate that a quality FCS opponent was available at this late date and that Charleston Southern was willing to adjust their schedule,” said USF Director of Athletics Doug Woolard.  “We are happy that our fans will be able to see six home games at Raymond James Stadium this season, which was our primary consideration in filling the unexpected void in our 2009 schedule.

 

Shane Burnham: “Iowa State would be double-whammy!”

Elon defensive assistant Shane Burnham said Wednesday an opportunity to coach with his father Wally Burnham, who departed USF Tuesday, at Iowa State is still in discussion.

Burnham, who will take the same role in Ames, told the Times he considered coaching with his son to be “part of my Bucket List.” On Wednesday, Shane Burnham echoed that enthusiasm.

“With the respect that I have for him as a coach and a father, and the program that Iowa State has — it’d be a double-whammy for me,” Burnham said. “If it were to workout, he’d be able to watch his grandson grow, and I could learn a lot personally in a professional sense.”

Burnham said he has discussed the possibilities with his father and head coach Paul Rhoads at Iowa State, but declined to comment any further.

-K.K.

 

Marshall with Galaxy until March 5

Former USF men’s soccer defender Yohance Marshall, who has been on trial with the Los Angeles Galaxy for the past week, said he could be with the team until March 5, and then the club has the option to negotiate a contract.

However, the team has the option to cut him from the squad at any time.

“It’s not all that different from USF with training, but the game is so much quicker,” Marshall said. “I’m just trying to do my best in training and earn a spot on this squad. I’m going to try and impress the coaching staff here as much as I can.”

If Marshall is cut, he said there are still options elsewhere. The 6-foot-2 native of Trinidad said he’s talked to the Seattle Sounders, the MLS’ newest expansion team, and a number of USL (United Soccer League) clubs.

“I’m hoping things work out here, but this isn’t the end of the road for me,” he said.

Marshall, who helped the USF defense to a school-record 12 shutouts last fall, said he was disappointed to be passed up in the MLS draft on Jan 15. He was projected to go as high as 10th in the first round.

“Things happen, and I’m not sure what happened, but I’m happy where I’m at right now,” he said. “I could have hung my head and felt sorry for myself, but I didn’t. I’ve working hard, and I’m OK with where I’m at.”

 

Blog: Haircut

Okay, call it a haircut, a makeover, or whatever you want to call it. I felt it was time for a fresh new look to the Oracle Sports Blog, so I did some designing work on this new layout.
Still the same features: Live Blogs, Podcast posts, comments and pictures … just a little different look. I think it’s a bit crisper and easier to read.
I’ll be live at tonight’s USF-Purdue baseball game in Clearwater keeping you updated on what’s going on.

Keep in mind, as well, that sophomore guard Dominique Jones goes for 1,000 points today when the men’s basketball team faces No. 1 Connecticut on the road at 2 p.m. Jones is 15 points shy of the 1,000 point mark.

Enjoy the games, I’ll be on later with a baseball update.

Enjoy the new look and be safe this weekend.

-K.K.

 

Verdejo sits out, Jones still short of 1,000

Another USF loss was a disappointment for coach Stan Heath, but the concern over senior guard Jesus Verdejo may be even more important.

Verdejo did not dress for the Bulls’ game today against No. 1 Connecticut because of Plantar Fasciitis and Achilles Tendonitis in his right foot. Heath said he wanted to save Verdejo for “the last stretch of the year.”

Dominique Jones had a respectable 14 points in USF’s  respectable 64-50 loss to No. 1 Connecticut Saturday, leaving the Bulls’ sophomore guard just one point shy of 1,000 in his career.

USF junior guard Chris Howard had 11 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, but as it’s been all year, poor shooting buried the Bulls in an upset effort. The Bulls finished with 32 percent shooting from the field.

7-foot-3 junior center Hasheem Thabeet led the Huskies with 21 points, nine rebounds and six blocks.

South Florida will make a tough trip back to Tampa, and then go right back up to Seton Hall for Wednesday night’s game against the Pirates, which could make it much tougher for Verdejo to return. One thing that is almost certain to happen is that Jones will break the 1,000 point mark.

I’ve been wrong before …

We’ll see ….

-K.K.

 

Heath hopeful Verdejo will return for Seton Hall

Despite missing senior guard Jesus Verdejo Saturday because of an injury, the Bulls were able to give No. 1 Connecticut all it could handle. But coach Stan Heath said Monday it is likely Verdejo will return for USF’s game against Seton Hall on Wednesday night.

Verdejo, who is suffering from Plantar Fasciitis in his right foot, remains ‘doubtful’ for today’s practice but is probable to participate in tomorrow’s workout.

USF finished under 60 points for the third consecutive game Saturday and having Verdejo’s 13.3 ppg average would certainly be a boost.

We’ll be monitoring the situation closely …

-K.K.

 

Leavitt interviewing candidates for DC opening

Hey guys …

Just going to pass along reports from the Tribune and the Times on the DC job situation at USF. According to the reports, coach Jim Leavitt interviewed two candidates over the weekend.

Nebraska linebackers coach Mike Ekeler could be an option after his interview. Nebraska coach Bo Pelini, who led the LSU defense to a national championship in 2007, certainly knows how to bring along a defensive staff.

However, Leavitt may stay close to Big East ties after an interview with former Rutgers secondary coach Chris Demarest. Demarest spent for seasons at Rutgers.

Don’t forget, Leavitt still has to fill the OC role, as well. But all roads point to USF passing game coordinator and receivers coach Mike Canales.

— USF baseball sophomores Stephen Hunt and Derrick Stultz were named to the 2009 Big East/Big Ten Challenge All-Tournament team (Honorable Mention).

Hunt batted .400 in three games, and Stultz earned the Bulls’ only win over the weekend, a 7-5 victory over Purdue on Saturday.

- K.K.

 

Illinois coach offered USF DC job

Illinois co-defensive coordinator Dan Disch has been offered the DC job at USF by coach Jim Leavitt, the Champaign News-Gazette  reported Tuesday.

Disch is supposed to make a decision sometime today, but it won’t be an easy one. He’s spent five years with Illini coach Ron Zook carrying over to his time at Florida.

Disch also was a very successful coach in the Florida High School system in Jacksonville.

The Bulls could have a defensive coordinator as soon as tonight. Interesting …..

-K.K.

 

Feb. 25 Big East Student Writer’s Poll

Last week, we had a unanimous No. 1 team for the second week in a row. Now, our student voters (much like everyone else) are having trouble figuring out who the top dog in the Big East is.

Connecticut barely edged Pittsburgh for the No. 1 spot this week. Both teams each have five first-place votes, with one going to Louisville. But UConn had one more second-place vote than Pittsburgh, putting the Huskies ahead.

Clearly, after Pitt’s stumble to Providence last night, the Big East regular-season championship is up for grabs. Plus, Pitt and UConn still meet one more time on March 7.

The rest of the poll looks similar, besides West Virginia leapfrogging Syracuse for the No. 6 spot. After the poll, we ask our voters, how many Big East teams will make the NCAA Tournament?

1. Connecticut (25-2, 13-2), 169 points (5 first-place votes)
2. Pittsburgh (25-3, 12-3), 168 points (5 first-place votes)
3. Louisville (22-5, 13-2), 157 points (1 first-place vote)
4. Marquette (23-4, 12-2), 141 points
5. Villanova (22-5, 10-4), 134 points
6. West Virginia (19-8, 8-6), 116 points
7. Syracuse (20-8, 8-7), 110 points
8. Providence (17-11, 9-7), 102 points
9. Cincinnati (17-10, 7-7), 84 points
10. Notre Dame (15-11, 6-8), 83 points
11. Georgetown (14-12, 5-10), 62 points
12. Seton Hall (14-12, 5-9), 57 points
13. St. John’s (13-15, 4-11), 44 points
14. South Florida (8-18, 3-11), 32 points
15. Rutgers (10-17, 1-13), 26 points
16. DePaul (8-19, 0-14), 11 points

Question of the week: How many teams will the Big East get into the NCAA Tournament?

Eight teams (6 votes)
The top seven teams in the conference should get in with ease. One of either Cincinnati, Providence or Notre Dame gets in, too, but only because of the weak mid-major group this year – not based on their respective resumes. – Tony Dobies, The Daily Athenaeum

Notre Dame is still a dangerous team and has three of the last four at home. With McAlarney and Harangody, the Irish could easily make a run of two or three wins in the Big East tournament. – Kerry Klecic, The Oracle

Seven teams (3 votes)
The Big East has lived up to the hype. It’s just that certain teams haven’t. – Mike Gladysz, The Pitt News

The top five are essentially locks and Syracuse and West Virginia are well on their way to lock status. For an eighth to get in, wins will be needed in the Big East tournament and will go to either Cincinnati or Providence. – Giuseppe Barone, The Setonian

Nine teams (2 votes)
Providence now has a couple of quality wins that voters can’t ignore, and playing in the toughest conference in the country will help them out as well. Notre Dame probably shouldn’t be in the Tournament, but their media bias will transfer into extra votes and put a ninth team in the field of 64. – Matthew Stein, The Daily Targum

Voters: Bailey Heaps, The Hoya; Catherine LaRoche, The Louisville Cardinal; David Cassilo, The Villanovan; Giuseppe Barone, The Setonian; John Borneman, The Marquette Tribune; Kerry Klecic, The Oracle; Kyle Austin, The Daily Orange; Matthew Stein, The Daily Targum; Mike Gladysz, The Pitt News; Ryan Holt, The Cowl; Tony Dobies, The Daily Athenaeum

 

Marquette’s James out with broken foot

Wow,

That was my first reaction when I heard this news. One of the most underrated players in the country, and one of the best in the Big East is out for the remainder of the season with a broken foot.

Here is the full AP story.

What a huge loss that is for Marquette, and it will be the end of James’ college career. He finishes with 1,749 career points.

That certainly won’t helpe the Golden Eagles’s chances at a Big East championship…..

-K.K.

 

Live Blog: USF senior night

I’m not sure whether to call it senior night or senior afternoon, but this is where you’ll find the live blog transcript for today’s women’s basketball game.

USF will honor seven seniors when the Bulls take on Cincinnati at the Sun Dome at 2 p.m.

Once I get situated at the S.D. later, I’ll come back on for a quick briefing session with more information about the senior class.

Until then, enjoy your Saturday folks ….

-K.K.

 

Live Blog: Seniors honored

Shantia Grace, Jazmine Sepulveda, Crystal Ayers, Ashley Sanders, Jessica Lawson, Brittany Denson and Kelsey Varney are all standing at half court here at the Sun Dome with flowers and portraits in their arms.

Today is “Senior Day” for the USF women’s basketball team as seven Bulls end their home careers with Cincinnati providing the opposition.

Grace is the most noteable of the class. With seven points, she will move into second on USF’s all-time scoring list. Another interesting note, which has to do with today’s contest, is that she is the only member of the the 2006 squad that went to the NCAA Tournament.

Obviously, that is a storyline today. The Bulls sit alone in 10th place in the Big East but two wins would put them in good position for an NCAA Tournament bid.

The Bearcats, entering this game at 13-14 and last in the Big East, would be the easiest of the two remaining teams. The Bulls play Villanova (17-11, 9-5) Monday.

Be back with an update in a few….cheers….

-K.K.

 

Live Blog: 43 seconds…

Welp, it took 43 seconds for the Bulls to get out to a good start. Coach Jose Fernandez started five seniors (Sanders, Denson, Lawson, Sepulveda and Grace), and Sepulveda and Grace hit two early 3-pointers.

Cincinnati took an early T.O.

6-0 USF….

-K.K.

 

Live Blog: Seniors remain the theme

All but four of USF’s points have been scored by seniors, and the Bulls lead 22-11 here at the Sun Dome with less than 11 minutes remaining in the first half.

Like it’s been for most of their careers, Shantia Grace and Jazmine Sepulveda lead the team in scoring with five points each.

USF jumped out to a quick 12-2 lead but the Bearcats responded to cut the lead to eight. It was two juniors, however, that pushed the lead back over 11. Porche Grant and Janae Stokes each hit a basket…

-K.K.

 

Live Blog: Lead getting larger

A strong five minute stretch by South Florida, and the Bulls lead 31-14  at the 7:52 mark in the first half.

Shantia Grace is heating up, hitting her second 3-pointer just moments ago. She’s 5-of-6 from the field and on a 6-0 run by herself as we speak…

USF is shooting 63 percent from the floor, which is far better than Cincinnati’s 22 percent.

You can tell Grace is enjoying senior day. She’s thrown up a couple “three” signs after draning some long-range shots today….niccee….

-K.K.

 

Live Blog: Grace leads Bulls charge

Shantia Grace is making the most of her last game at the Sun Dome, churning out a 15-point first half performance to give the Bulls a 46-32 lead over Cincinnati at halftime.

An 11-2 Bearcats run made this thing a little less convincing towards the end of the half, but USF still is in command thanks to Grace’s 6-for-11 shooting.

Senior Brittany Denson is contributing, as well. Denson has 10 points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting performance from the field and 2-of-2 free-throw shooting.

The Bulls are 51 percent from the floor as a team, holding Cincinnati to 38 percent shooting.

Be back on later  with another update…..

-K.K.

 

Live Blog: Cincy makes it interesting

As one-sided this game has been, Cincy is doing a good job of hanging around.

This time, the Bearcats have cut the lead to nine, trailing 62-57 with 11:00 remaining in the game. I can confirm, USF coach Jose Fernandez is HEATED during the media timeout. He was yelling about missed shots or something, but nothing really quoteable.

USF led by as many as 18  in this half, but good defense by the Bearcats has been the key in this second half. I don’t have the official stats in front of me, but the Bulls were shooting somewhere around 60 percent in the first half. Cincinnati has made it a point to conest shots, and have brought that percentage down considerably.

A loss would all but kill USF’s chances at making it to the NCAA Tournament. Verrrryy interesting.

-K.K.

 

Live Blog: USF ups lead

With less than four minutes to play, it seems as if USF will escape a second half surge by Cincinnati and walk out of the Sun Dome with a must-win.

Then again, I’ve been wrong before.

The Bulls lead 75-68 with 3:48 remaining in the game, but it’s been awfully interesting the pat ten minutes.

Cincinnati cut the lead to five less than six minutes ago, but a balanced USF attack has helped the Bulls maitain the lead.

Five players (Grace, Sepulveda, Denson, Lawson and Stokes) have over 10 points …

-K.K.

 

USF escapes

For awhile, it looked like USF’s NCAA Tournament chances were dwindling on Senior Day at the Sun Dome, but four seniors scored in double figures and Jessica Lawson hit a crucial layup with less than a minute remaining, and the Bulls prevailed 84-78.

With about 30 seconds left in the game, and the Bulls leading by four, Shantia Grace was triple-teams in her own half trying to bring the ball up court. However, after a couple failed attempts to break the press, she found an open Jazmine Sepulveda, who found Lawson alone underneath the hoop. Lawson made the easy two — and finished off the game.

The Bulls shot an impressive 55 percent from the floor and kept their chances at getting a ‘Big Dance’ bid. With the win, Monday’s game at Villanova has become the biggest game of the year. If USF can win, it would certainly put the team in a position to be in the top eight in the conference entering the Big East tournament.

We will see ….

-K.K.

 

Live Blog: Set for another round

Greetings …
This is where you’ll find our live blog transcript for today’s game between USF and West Virginia.

I’ll get an official account on whether senior guard Jesus Verdejo will be available for the remainder of the season, but it’s likely he will not return. Assuming USF goes out in the first couple rounds of the Big East tournament, the Puerto Rico native’s career may have already come to a close.

Verdejo is struggling with a right foot injury that has sidelined him the last two weeks.

Bob Huggins and the Mountaineers make their way to the Sun Dome at 4 p.m. I’ll update before tip.

-K.K.

 

Live Blog: Here at the Sun Dome

And, yes, there will be a halftime podcast today

Okay folks, I’m here at the Sun Dome and just sitting to the left of me is WVU coach Bob Huggines — not wearing a pullover jacket!

To the disappointment of many out there, he’s dressed in a stylish blue sport coat. You’ll have to wait one more year for any pullover jackets or sweaters … bummer.

Anyways, let’s focus on the basketball aspect of this game, shall we?

The beginning storyline for the Bulls today is the status of senior guard Jesus Verdejo, who is not participating in warmup stretches right now. We won’t be seeing USF’s second leading scorer today, which will hurt with USF’s effort in trying to stop the Mountaineers (19-9, 8-7).

West Virginia is tied for seventh in the Big East with Syracuse and Cincinnati, but the Orange are up big on the Bearcats right now. For Huggins, a hiccup today at the Sun Dome could prove costly in terms of an NCAA T. bid.

Watch out for Devin Ebanks, who is making a name for himself as a freshman in the Big East. Ebanks was the conference’s ROW for the second consecutive week after averaging a double-double in wins over Notre Dame and Rutgers.

At 6-foot-9 and 205 pounds, he could be an interesting matchup against the likes of Alex Rivas and perhaps even Eladio Espinosa (6-foot-7) … then again, there has to be a reason why I’m not in the coaching business…

Be back on with an update at a stoppage point.

-K.K.

 

Live Blog: All tied up

Junior guard Chris Howard just knocked down his first three-point shot of the day, and the Bulls and Mountaineers are tied 13-13 at the Sun Dome.

In place of senior guard Jesus Verdejo is freshman Justin Leemow, who’s seen his minutes increase substantially since Verdejo’s injury woes. Leemow is bringing good defense to the table for the Bulls.

WVU freshman guard Darryl Bryant has eight points but still no word on Huggins’ choice to wear a blue sport coat today. It is a bit chilly outside …

-K.K.

 

Live Blog: Halftime is coming

West Virginia holds a slender 25-24 lead at the Sun Dome thanks to nine points from Darryl Bryant.

-K.K.

 

Live Blog: Ruoff lighting it up

It looks as if USF’s effort to creat its own March madness will have to wait after WVU guard Alex Ruoff has hit two three-point shots and a layup in the midst of a 10-1 run by the Mountaineers to begin the first half.

After shooting 42.9 percent in the first half, the Bulls are struggling to create open looks and knock down shots.

Chris Howar’ds eight points still lead the way …

-K.K.

 

Live Blog: Heath gets T-ed up

After cutting the West Virginia lead to 42-35 with less than 13 minutes remainin in the game, a controversial call caused Stan Heath to get a technical foul and Alex Ruoff hit 1-of-2 free-throws to help the Mountaineers maintain a steady 47-35 lead.

I believe it was Chris Howard who was called for a hacking-foul nearly 60 feet from the basket, but I haven’t received officla word on who the foul was called on. Nevertheless, Heath flipped and walked onto the court — and mayber rightfully so.

 

Live Blog: Steep climb, Bulls trail

I’m not sure if the Bulls are equipped to climb this nine-point mountain.

With less than four minutes remaining, USF is hanging tough, but it seems as if West Virginia will be too much today, as the Mountaineers lead 59-50 at the Sun Dome.

USF sophomore guard Dominique Jones is trying to pull his weight in a comeback, standing with a game-high 18 points. It seems hard to me that Jones should be leading this game in scoring, considering Alex Ruoff’s performance for the Mountaineers.

Ruoff hit eight of WVU’s first 10 points to begin the second half and has been the difference today. Then again, it always seems like Jones just sneaks up on you with 20 points or s0 — if that’s possible.

We’ll see if USF can mount a comeback … If not, this will conclude the live blog. I’ve got deadline!

-K.K.

 

Live Blog: USF falls

Just wanted to finalize things. USF falls 64-50 today at the Sun Dome.

I’m running around like a chicken with my head cut off! Busy busy busy! Check tomorrow’s paper or Web site usforacle.com for more coverage.

-K.K.

 

I’m back…

It will probably be redundant to update you on the hiring of former Cincinnati defensive coordinator Joe Tresey for the same role at USF, replacing former USF DC Wally Burnham, who left to take the same job at Iowa State.

Tresey will take over the defensive backs.

(I had some mixed up information before…sorry)

————————-

The USF women’s basketball team has put itself in a great position for an NCAA Tournament bid. ESPN.com has the Bulls projected as a 12th seed and barely scraping in.

An interesting opponent USF will most likely face in the second round of the Big East tourney (the Bulls have a first-round bye) is the No. 9 seed Marquette.

The Golden Eagles, who have beaten the Bulls twice this season, just have to get past last place Cincinnati to slot the third matchup this season.

Needless to say, USF wins that game and its punching a ticket to the ‘Big Dance.’

I’ll try to get something on here on Friday with new D-Coordinator Joe Tresey….Stay tuned.

-K.K.

 

Final Big East Poll

Connecticut remains at the top of the conference in the last Big East Student Writers’ Poll of the year. Pittsburgh was the only other team with first-place votes. Those two teams meet on Saturday to decide the regular-season champion.

With Marquette’s two losses in a row, Villanova has crept up to tie the Golden Eagles for the fourth spot in the poll. And Syracuse moved back in front of West Virginia for the sixth spot.

We asked our voters to pick the Big East awards this week and the results are interesting. Lots of votes across the board for candidates, a sign that there are plenty of choices and few clear front-runners. Results are after the poll.

1. Connecticut (27-2, 15-2), 157 points (7 first-place votes)
2. Pittsburgh (26-3, 13-3), 152 points (3 first-place votes)
3. Louisville (23-5, 14-2), 141 points
4t. Marquette (23-6, 12-4), 125 points
4t. Villanova (24-6, 12-5), 125 points
6. Syracuse (22-8, 10-7), 103 points
7. West Virginia (20-9, 9-7), 99 points
8. Providence (18-11, 10-7), 98 points
9. Notre Dame (16-13, 7-10), 74 points
10. Cincinnati (18-12, 8-9), 72 points
11. Georgetown (15-13, 6-11), 60 points
12. Seton Hall (15-13, 6-10), 51 points
13. St. John’s (15-15, 6-11), 43 points
14. South Florida (9-20, 4-13), 29 points
15. Rutgers (10-20, 1-16), 21 points
16. DePaul (8-21, 0-16), 10 points

Big East Player of the Year
DeJuan Blair, 6 votes
Luke Harangody, 1 vote
Jerel McNeal, 1 vote
Hasheem Thabeet, 1 vote
Terrence Williams, 1 vote

Big East Coach of the Year
Keno Davis, 4 votes
Jamie Dixon, 2 votes
Bob Huggins, 1 vote
Rick Pitino, 1 vote
Buzz Williams, 1 vote
Jay Wright, 1 vote

Big East Rookie of the Year
Greg Monroe, 4 votes
Mike Rosario, 3 votes
Devin Ebanks, 2 votes
Samardo Samuels, 1 vote

Big East Defensive Player of the Year
Hasheem Thabeet, 7 votes
DeJuan Blair, 1 vote

Big East Most Improved Player of the Year
Dante Cunningham, 2 votes
DeJuan Blair, 1 vote
Da’Sean Butler, 1 vote
Weyinmi Efejuku, 1 vote
Jeremy Hazell, 1 vote
Jon Kale, 1 vote
Hasheem Thabeet, 1 vote
Wesley Matthews, 1 vote

Big East Sixth Man of the Year
Corey Fisher, 2 votes
Craig Austrie, 1 vote
Marshon Brooks, 1 vote
Gilbert Brown, 1 vote
Preston Knowles, 1 vote
Kemba Walker, 1 vote

-K.K.

 

Grace named first-team All-Big East

After a stellar senior season, USF guard Shantia Grace was  named first-team All-Big East Thursday. She’s been named second-team All-conference the past two seasons.

Grace led the Bulls with 15.1 points per game and 4.4 assists per game, scoring in double figures in 26 of 30 games this season.

On Nov. 23, Grace dropped a career-high and school record 44 points against Coppin St. Here is my game story of that performance.

The Bulls (21-9, 8-8) , who have a first-round bye in the Big East tournament, will face the winner of No. 9 seed Marquette and No. 16 seed Cincinnati on Saturday at 2 p.m.

-K.K.

 

USF’s final 2009 football schedule

Spring football is almost here, and USF finally has its full schedule set for 2009.

The Bulls will have an interesting five game stretch between Oct. 3 and Oct. 30, including road trips to Florida State, Syracuse and Pittsburgh and home games against Cincinnati and West Virginia.

Seeing a final schedule just makes me more excited about 2009,” said coach Jim Leavitt in a statement. “We start spring ball next week and are already going full bore in preparations for the upcoming season. It’s a great schedule, we are excited to have bye weeks before our Thursday games, and we hope to have the same atmosphere for the West Virginia game on a Friday night, that we had a couple years ago.”

Here is the schedule:

Sat, Sept. 5: Wofford

Sat, Sept. 12: @ Western Kentucky

Sat, Sept. 19: Charleston Southern

Sat, Sept. 26: @ Florida State

Sat, Oct. 3: @ Syracuse

Sat, Oct. 10: BYE

Thurs, Oct. 15: Cincinnati     7 p.m. (ESPN)

Sat, Oct. 24: @ Pittsburgh

Fri, Oct. 30: West Virginia     8 p.m. (ESPN2)

Sat, Nov. 7: BYE

Thurs, Nov. 12: @ Rutgers     7:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Sat, Nov. 21: Louisville

Sat, Nov. 28: Miami (FL)

Sat, Dec. 5: @ Connecticut (ABC, ESPN or ESPN2)

Cheers,

-K.K.

 

Heath: Verdejo questionable

Entering into its final road trip this season, USF could still be without senior guard Jesus Verdejo, coach Stan Heath said Friday.

Before the Bulls left for N.J. on Friday for Saturday’s game against Rutgers, Heath said Verdejo continues to “test out” a lingering Plantar Fasciitis and Achilles Tendonitis injury in his right ankle but remains questionable against the Scarlet Knights.

Despite missing three of the last four games, Verdejo is still second on the team in scoring, averaging 12.8 ppg. The way Heath sounded, it’s probable he won’t play against the Scarlet Knights, but a return for the Big East tournament is possible.

“He’s better than out — I can tell you that,” Heath said.

Depending on the outcomes this weekend, the Bulls will either play Georgetown, Seton Hall or Notre Dame in the Big East Tournament.

MSG

Just an FYI: The Bulls will stay in N.J. after the Rutgers game and then head straight to New York for the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden. I’m sure we’ll have more of this in next week’s paper, but the excitement of some of the players was obvious (for good reason).

Freshman Justin Leemow: “I’ve played in the Garden before for the Nike Super Six in 2005, with Levance Fields and them … just the fact of playing in the Garden, that’s something that will be fun.”

Sophomore Dominique Jones: “I’ve been in there, I’ve seen it on t.v., but I’ve never played in it so it will be a good experience for me. I’m excited about it. I’m trying not to be too excited. I’ve got to try and be calm on the court, though.”

Women’s Note: Bulls to play Cincinnati

Don’t forget about the women’s basketball team, either. USF plays Cincinnati tomorrow after the Bearcats’ surprise upset of No. 9 seed Marquette in the first round of the Big East Tournament. A win for the Bulls and coach Jose Fernandez can basically punch his ticket to the NCAA Tournament.

-K.K.

 

USF falls to Rutgers

Despite two good looks with the clock dwindling, the USF men’s basketball team couldn’t find a way to tie the game with last-second shots, and the Bulls fell 45-42 at Rutgers Saturday in their last regular season game of the year.

Trailing by three with less than 12 seconds remaining, freshman Augustus Gilchrist had a three-point effort go off the rim, but junior Chris Howard grabbed an offensive rebound. Howard then found senior Jesus Verdejo, who launched a three-pointer from the top of the key that clanked off the back of the iron as the buzzer sounded.

USF had only one possession in the final two minutes after two-straight offensive rebounds by the Scarlet Knights that led to Rutgers sophomore Earl Pettis’ tip-in to make it 45-42 with 0:13 seconds remaining. Rutgers finished with 15 offensive rebounds.

Neither team shot well. USF finished 29 percent from the floor, while Rutgers shot 31 percent and scored two points in the final eight minutes after extending its lead to 43-34 at the 8:40 mark.

Verdejo returned from Plantar Fasciitis and Achilles Tendonitis in his right ankle to finish with five points in 22 minutes played. Sophomore Dominique Jones went 0-for-6 from three-point range but finished with a team-high 11 points.

The Bulls will stay in New Jersey on Saturday and Sunday then leave for New York and the Big East Tournament on Monday. USF will practice at the Boys and Girls High School in Brooklyn on Monday to prepare for Tuesday night’s game against Seton Hall at 9 p.m. in Madison Square Garden.

-k.k.

 

Blog shutting down for spring break…

I know all of you are just dying in anguish at the sound of that …

With this week winding down, the elections and various sports events, the blog is officially shutdown until March 21. I’ll be out of town for spring break (YES!), and I hope you all have a safe holiday.

Peace be the Journey.

-K.K.

 

Live Blog: WNIT

Hello all!

Hope you guys are enjoying your spring break. I’m sure most of you were shocked of the news that the USF women’s basketball team was snubbed of a spot in the NCAA tournament.

Meaning…the Bulls will host a second round game (after receiving a first-round bye) at the Sun Dome Saturday night at 7. USF will face the winner of the Florida Gulf Coast-George Washington game, which is scheduled for tonight.

I’m now back in Tampa after a trip to Nebraska, and I’ll be at the WNIT second round game live blogging. Remember students, the first 100 get in free with their student ID’s. Don’t forget those.

Hope to see you there.

-K.K.

 

FGCU wins, set to face Bulls

USF knows who it will face in the second round of the WNIT on Saturday night. Florida Gulf Coast needed two overtimes to take care of visiting George Washington, but the Eagles finally prevailed with a 97-94 victory Thursday night in the first round of the WNIT.

Here’s that game story.

So FGCU (26-4) will make the short trip up from Fort Myers to Tampa for Saturday night’s showdown at the Sun Dome at 7 p.m.

The Eagles won the Atlantic Sun regular season with a 17-3 conference record but because of NCAA transition rules (just joining Division I) they couldn’t participate in their conference tournament.

That raises an interesting question … The Bulls are arguably a NCAA quality team (just missing an at-large bid). Are the Eagles, too? They’ve won 17-straight games and would have been favorites to snag an automatic bid in the A-Sun tournament.

It could be a very interesting contest on Saturday night. I’ll be blogging court side at the Sun Dome. See you then…

K.K.

 

Couple links

We’ll be focusing on basketball tonight as the USF women’s basketball team hosts Florida Gulf Coast for the second round of the WNIT (P.S. I’ll be blogging 7 p.m.) but just wanted to pass along some other stuff.

Everyone on campus will spend this week transitioning back from a nice spring break. That goes for the USF football team, too. USF heads back to spring practices as the Bulls prepare for the Green-Gold spring game on April 11.

We’ll be covering this all week, of course, but just wanted to point out some interesting links from ESPN.com’s Big East blogger, Brian Bennett, who wrote a nice feature on defensive end George Selvie.

Bennett writes about Selvie’s return from a disappointing year (pretty good when you’re all-Big East and it’s a disappointing year…) and that he’s brought in lengthy stretching routines to his workouts after noticing Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison doing so when the Super Bowl champs were using USF’s facilities.

The full story is here.

Also, Bennett ranks the strength of schedules in the Big East — pitting USF seventh out of eight despite games against Florida State and Miami. Thought you might be interested in seeing how everyone else stacks up.

See you guys in a couple hours.

-K.K.

 

Live blog: FGCU-USF

Okay, I’m here and ready for tonight’s 7 p.m. WNIT tip. The Bulls (22-10) are hosting Florida Gulf Coast (26-4) and I’ve got to say, there is a strong following of Eagles fans here at the Sun Dome.

It’s an interesting matchup. The Eagles defeated USF in last year’s WNIT and if it weren’t for NCAA transition rules, FGCU would  to have ben the favorite to win the Atlantic Sun tournament and proceed to the NCAA Tournament.

For the Bulls, it was a disappointing selection Sunday as they were snubbed of an at-large bid.

My thoughts? Well I think it’d be fitting, considering the make up of these two teams, to take a look at both team’s resumes before we begin.
FGCU:

Record: 26-4    RPI: 58

Key Wins: Florida (by two), Central Florida (by 13) and George Washington (in 2 OT).

Key Losses: @ Stetson (by nine), @ Belmont (by five)

USF:

Record: (22-10)    RPI: 57

Key Wins: Iowa ( in OT), Texas Tech ( by 10) and @ Rutgers (by three)

Key Losses: Marquette (twice)

- In terms of RPI (according to RealTime), very similar. Just minutes away from the tip, I’ll be on in a bit.

By the way, “Azul” (FGCU’s mascot) and “Rocky” (USF’s mascot) are having a three-point shooting contest right now …

-K.K.

 

Live blog: FGCU leads scoring barrage

If you wanted offense, you’re getting it right now.

USF jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the opening minute and a half, but FGCU has since gone on an 11-2 run to lead 11-6 at the first media timeout here at the Sun Dome.

The Eagles, who have brought a strong crowd following (no word on how much, yet), are led by Chelsea Lyle’s four points.

USF, who has a size advantage in this game, have four points in the paint.

-K.K.

 

Live Blog: Post helping Bulls

All-Big East senior Shantia Grace has been quiet (like two points quiet) but USF’s post has been making up for things. Still, the Bulls trail the hot-shooting Eagles 20-17 at the 11:21 mark in the first half.

USF forwards Brittany Denson and Jessica Lawson have a combined 10 points, but it’s been FGCU’s shooting that’s impressed most. Unfortunately, I don’t have a stat sheet in front of me, but I would guess 50-60 percent.

For the Eagles, freshman Kelsey Jacobson has come into the game in the last four minutes and really given a boost, hitting two three-pointers.

-K.K.

 

Live Blog: USF takes lead, FGCU takes it back

Just as I was about to post USF’s first lead of the night when junior Janae Stokes hit her first three-point shot, FGCU’s Emma Beddome went back-door on the Bulls and gave the Eagles the lead back, 28-27, at the Sun Dome.

The Bulls have been doing things on the inside with good performances from Lawson and Denson. However, it’s on the outside where they’ve faltered. Jazmine Sepulveda has only one three-pointer, Stokes has only one and senior Shantia Grace has two points.

Still, we’ve got a one-point game.

-K.K.

 

Live Blog: USF takes the lead

Freshman Jasmine Wynne has come along with a steady nine-point performance and the Bulls have regrouped to take a 36-33 at the Sun Dome over FGCU.

USF, which trailed up until the eight minute mark, has been leading for the past four minutes.

A minor storyline has been senior Shantia Grace, who has only two points. Minutes ago, USF coach Jose Fernandez replaced her with Wynne (who exploded on offense). When Grace was walking off the court, Fernandez asked “Are you alright?” Grace just shook her head yes and sat on the bench.

She’s in right now and USF is able to sustain the lead without her offensive production right now.

 

Live Blog: Eagles flying high in offensive battle

Back and forth and plenty of offense, FGCU has taken leads — and blown them — in this first half. But as halftime approached, the Eagles went on their most impressive run yet.

Powered by Brittany Brown’s three-point shooting, FGCU, which ended the half on a 12-3 run, has a 48-40 lead at the break.

Brown has nine points and all-Atlantic Sun forward Chelsea Lyles has 10 to lead the Eagles.

The main question coming ino this game: Could USF prove to the committee that they were in fact an NCAA tournament team?

Right now, the answer seems to be now. Senior Shantia Grace finished the half with two points, but it’s been her replacement off the bench, Jasmine Wynne, who has impressed. Wynne finished with 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting.

We’ll see if USF can turn this thing around.

-K.K.

 

Live Blog: Floor burning FGCU

Here’s shooting for you: 19-for-33 from the field and 10-for-18 from three-point range.That’s what FGCU is rolling with right now.

The Eagles, helped by all-Atlantic Sun forward Chelsea Lyles’ 15 points, hold a 56-48 lead thanks to their stellar shooting.

Right now, the FGCU mascot and cheerleaders just got done doing a cheer and dance session on USF’s court — and the Eagles women’s basketball team is doing a simlilar number.

USF got a good signal when senior Shantia Grace hit the first basket of the second half but since then she’s been scoreless (still with just four points).

-K.K.

 

Live Blog: Quick hit

A short 30-second timeout for FGCU as the Bulls have cut the lead to 60-56 at the 14:08 mark in the second half.

I think it’s funny: Remember last post when I said FGCU’s cheerleaders and mascot were doing a dance on the court with a steady lead? Okay, USF has that going on now.

Perhaps a good sign for the Bulls? Then again, what do I know?

-K.K.

 

Live Blog: More on the FGCU shooting performance

A couple posts ago, I highlighted FGCU’s team shooting performance. Very impressive.

The Eagles are shooting 59 percent from the floor and 57 percent from three-point range. So, on the individual side, FGCU has been helped by these three shooting performances:

Chelsea Lyles: 6-for-11 from the field, 3-for-7 from behind the arc and 15 points.

Kelsey Jacobson: 4-for-6 from three-point range, 12 points

Brittany Brown: 4-for-5 from the field, 2-for-3 from the three-point line, 11 points

Still, despite the hot shooting of the Eagles, the Bulls have things tied up at 63-63.

-K.K.

 

Live Blog: It’s got to be nice

I just said this a moment ago: “It has to be nice when you can sit an all-Big East guard and atill get 18 points from the replacement.”

Actually, right now, freshman Jasmine Wynne is sitting the bench and Shantia Grace is in. But Wynne has come in and helped the Bulls hold a 67-66 lead because of her 18 points.

Quick 30-second timeout. Be back soon.

-K.K.

 

Live Blog: FGCU back on top

Typical of this game, FGCU has retained the lead.

Kelsey Jacobson, who is 5-for-7 from outside, has 15 points and has led the Eagles to a 68-67 lead with 7:17 remaining.

FGCU has cooled down, a bit. Now shooting just over 50 percent from the field and outside. USF’s difference? Rebounding. The Bulls are on top of the boards by a commanding 33-18 margin.

-KK

 

Live Blog: Quick hit

FGCU leads 70-67 with 6:18 to play in the second half.

Just an important note: Brittany Denson, who has 18 points and nine rebounds, remains on the bench with four fouls. Huge loss for the Bulls. It will be interesting to see when she goes back in. I’ll let you know.

KK

 

Live Blog: Bank is open

Jasmine Wynne did a cross over dribble and launched a shot from the top of the key — Bank.

Wynne’s two-point shot has given USF a 75-74 lead with 3:06 on the clock. More coming with a media timeout soon.

KK

 

Live Blog: Update time

With 1:05 remaining and Shantia Grace at the line to take two free-throws, USF leads 75-74, still, at the Sun Dome.

Nothing big has changed since last times quick hit except Brittany Denson has played two minutes since sitting out for a majority of the second half with four fouls. Denson is in right now and has 18 points.

Also a weird thing: A minute ago, Jessica Lawson looked at coach Fernandez and gave him a weird look and then tugged on her jersey. I’m not sure if that means anything, but she’s out right now on the bench. Remember: She has battled a knee injury all season.

KK

 

Live Blog: USF leads with seven seconds

Freshman Jasmine Wynne, who leads the Bulls with 22 points, sliced down the lane with less than 10 seconds left and has given the Bulls a two-point lead, 79-77, with seven seconds remaining.

An interesting turn of events. Just seconds before, FGCU’s Chelsea Lyles tied things up with a three-pointer.

FGCU’s ball with a chance to tie.

 

Live Blog: Overtime

Just after Wynne had slashed through the lane to give USF a dramatic two-point lead with seven seconds remaining, FGCU junior Adrianne McNally did an almost identical feat.

McNally drove down the left side and made a left-handed layup to tie the game at 79 with two seconds left. USF then took the rebound and chucked a half-court shot that didn’t make the rim, resounding a sigh from the home crowd.

Overtime.

-K.K.

 

Live Blog: Overtime quick hit

A tough loss for Florida Gulf Coast as Adrianne McNally, who hit the shot to send this game into overtime has fouled out.

Since then, no team has been able to find offense, but Jasmine Wynne’s jumper has given USF a slim 81-79 lead with 2:15 remaining…

-KK

 

Live Blog: Lawson’s huge play

Jessica Lawson just completed a huge three-point play and the Bulls lead 86-81 in overtime with 44 seconds on the clock.

Lawson, who has 19 points, got the put back to go in despite being mauled by FGCU defenders.

USF has the ball and a five point lead. Is this thing over? I’m not ready for that. Also a note: Jasmine Wynne has a career-high 26 points.

KK

 

USF wins, moves on in WNIT

FGCU had the shot it wanted, with all-Atlantic Sun standout Chelsea Lyles at the top of the key alone for an open three-pointer. With the Eagles trailing by six, however, Lyles couldn’t capitalize, and the Bulls escaped with an 88-81 overtime victory at the Sun Dome in the second round of the WNIT.

As it had been all game, Jasmine Wynne capped off a good performance with four points in OT to lead USF (23-10). The freshman guard finished 10-for-16 from the field and had a career-high 26 points.
With two seconds remaining in regulation, FGCU’s Adrianne McNalley drove to the lane and hit a left-handed layup to send the game into overtime. Despite trailing by as many as eight at one point, the Bulls, helped by points in the paint, were able to claw back in the second half.

The Bulls finished with a commanding 56-24 lead in points inside and 46-26 on the rebounding end. For FGCU, it was hot shooting that kept them in the game, going 46 percent on the game.

The Eagles shot 61 percent from the field in the first half.

Aside from Wynne’s performance, Brittany Denson, who sat out for a portion of the second half with four fouls, finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds on 7-for-13 shooting.

With the win, the Bulls bounce back  from last year’s loss in the WNIT to FGCU (26-5) and move on to the third round to face either Ole Miss or Murray St, which play tomorrow at 5 p.m.

The third round is scheduled to take place Wednesday-Friday and the Bulls should know soon who and when they are playing.

KK

 

Fun Q&A with ‘Q’

He goes by ‘Q,’ but his talent is hard to question.

After a freshman season that saw Quenton Washington play in 12 games, the USF
cornerback is looking to settle into a starting role in the defensive back field for new defensive coordinators Joe Tresey and David Blackwell.

Got to talking with the Fort Myers native and we talked about last season, bracketology and what he does in his free time.
KK: If someone looked at your mp3 player, who would be on the most-played list?
Washington: That’s a tough one, but probably Plies. I like hip-hop.

KK: This a big one: Coke or Pepsi?
W: Without a doubt it’s Pepsi, though I don’t drink a lot
of soda.

KK: Is that because coach Jim Leavitt drinks a couple Pepsi’s a day?
W: No man, it just tastes better.

KK: What’s the one movie you’re embarrassed to let people know
you like?
W: Oh, man, you’re kidding me. And this is going to be public, but I like Shrek a lot.

KK: What’s your favorite sport other than football?
W: Basketball. I played it in high school.

KK: Who do you think will make the Final Four?
W: Oh, UNC for sure, I think the Tar Heels will win it. After that, I’m going to have to take Memphis, Louisville and Pittsburgh.

KK: What was your favorite moment from last season?
W: It probably would have to be the Tennessee Martin game. It was my first game, and it was good to be out there playing.

KK: Who are a couple famous people you’d like to meet?
W: I’d really like to meet Deion Sanders. He went to my high school. I’d also like to meet (Cleveland Cavaliers forward) Lebron James.

KK: Who’s the hardest hitter on the team?
W: Probably Kion Wilson.

KK: Who’s the hardest receiver you’ve had to cover?
W: I think the toughest one is from our school, Carlton Mitchell.

KK: Last question: Who is the fastest defensive back?
W: Without question it’s me.

 

Live Blog: Wrong

Nope. Live tweeting.

I’ll be at the Sun Dome for tonight’s third round WNIT game between USF and Mississippi, but I won’t be live blogging here. Instead, I’ll be using the Oracle’s twitter account to give more frequent updates!

The Oracle launched a twitter account about a month ago, and we’re hoping to use that more in our sports coverage.

Here’s the link. I’ll be there around 6:30. See you there.

-K.K.

 

Twitter feed

Greetings tonight’s followers.

The Bulls enter tonight’s game after an 88-81 defeat of Florida Gulf Coast. The Rebels made things a bit easier, pounding Murray State 87-49.

The interesting story line for USF last game was the size advantage. The Bulls beat FGCU considerably on the inside in rebounding and point in the paint. Tonight? Don’t expect it to be as easy.

Ole Miss has four players over 6-foot-3, including senior Shawn Goff, who averages 13.7 ppg and 6.6 rpg.

If you remember from last game, USF’s first-team all-Big East guard Shantia Grace had a tough time getting involved on offense, scoring just eight points in 40 minutes played. It was freshman Jasmine Wynne, however, who made up for it, scoring a season-high 26 points.

There’s really not much of a comparison when it comes to the resume. USF holds a 23-10 record while Ole Miss is 18-14, finishing tied for ninth in the SEC.

In the regular season the Rebels defeated UCF, No. 18 Vanderbilt an lost two games to No. 6 Auburn by less than eight points.

OK, I’m goin back to Twitter for the game. Thanks for joining us.

-KK

 

For live blog

Just a reminder that I’m on Twitter tonight for the USF women’s basketball game.

You can find my live transcript here with an account

http://twitter.com/USFOracle

 

Bulls progress in WNIT

Alex Cobb, Correspondent

Despite a slow start, the University of South Florida women’s basketball team progressed into the quarterfinals of the WNIT with a 74-57 victory over Mississippi (18-15) at the Sun Dome on Thursday night, giving the Bulls a matchup with St. Bonaventure in the fourth round.

The Rebels began on an 11-4 run but the Bulls came back, putting together a 20-10 run to tie the game with 8:20 remaining in the first half.

The Bulls trailed Ole Miss 40-38 at halftime, and coach Jose Fernandez told senior Jazmine Sepulveda to help the team get energy back.

“I told Jazz to tell the team: Don’t let this be your last 20 minutes of your career,” Fernandez said.

The Bulls came out with the energy it needed, stringing together an 11-4 run of its own to begin the half. The Rebels tried to rally but never got within five points for the remainder of the game.

Junior Janae Stokes helped the Bulls with outside shooting, scoring 13 points.

“That’s (Stokes),” Fernandez said. “She’s a shooter. She’s the type of kid that can just get on a roll and think that basket is four-feet wide.”

All-Big East guard Shantia Grace struggled in the second round against FGCU, scoring eight points. Thursday, however, she put up a game-high 18 points, going 6-for-12 from the field.

“We just came out with heart and said we weren’t going to lose,” Grace said. “Once one person stepped up, the rest of the team stepped up.”

The Bulls shot 3-for-3 from the free-throw line, taking their season record to 11-0 when shooting 70 percent or higher from the stripe.

The Bulls advance to the quarterfinals of the WNIT and are scheduled to face St. Bonaventure in New York at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

 

Marve to USF?

He was standing there at USF’s scrimmage on Saturday, wearing a Cincinnati Reds cap backwards without a care in the world.

Robert Marve and his father were in attendance of today’s workout amidst hundreds of fans and potential recruits,  and Tom Edrington of the USF Examiner writes that he’ll soon announce his decision to become a Bull.

Marve talked to many USF players — as well as exchanging coversation with coach Jim Leavitt and offensive coordinator Mike Canales.

His father, Eugene, said that a decision, however, won’t come until sometime in May. Eugene said Marve has narrowed things down to about four schools, with the Bulls included.

“It’d be a good fit for Robert because of Grothe being a senior,” he said. “It really works out for us in that sense. We really enjoy the coaching staff and what they’re bringing to the table at South Florida.”

 

Leavitt ready to run

Someone finally convinced USF coach Jim Leavitt to apply the fitness he’s earned with all the sprinting he does before football games.

When Leavitt takes the field on Aprill 11 for the spring game, he will have a chance to square off against a USF student in the 40-yard dash.

There has been talk of it around spring practice, but USF finally announced today that the race plans are final. When the Bulls host a student combine on Saturday, there will be a preliminary round for the event. Then, at the spring game, the finals will be against Leavitt and if the finalists beat him, they’ll receive a t-shirt.

According to Leavitt, he thinks he can run a “5.9″ 40-yard dash. No word yet on whether someone will be clocking the runners.

Students interested in entering the combine must visit the USF athletics facebook page. Let the games begin.

-K.K.

 

Crown Em’

With the biggest win in USF basketball history, the women’s basketball team defeated Kansas 75-71 at Allen Field House today to win the WNIT Championship, capping off a program best 27-win season.

Shantia Grace, who scored 16 points, was named WNIT MVP, USF coach Jose Fernandez walked up and down the bench giving high-fives to his players while pumping his fist and a crowd of 16,113, which is second all-time in tournament history, was eerily silent.

HERE IS THE FULL STORY

USF athletics also wants to pass along that the Bulls will arrive in Tampa at the airport at 10:40 a.m. Sunday morning and fans are encouraged to greet the team. USF will arrive on Southwest Airlines Flight 2714.
USF finishes 27-10 on the season and graduates seven seniors.

(AP Photo)

-K.K.

 

Grace adds to legacy with WNIT title

Shantia Grace’s career ended in silence.

Not the usual solemn atmosphere that many times filled the USF basketball locker room at the end of a season — this was a different sound for the senior guard.

She stood before more than 16,000 quieted Kansas fans who made Allen Field House a raucous environment for nearly 38 minutes of basketball on Saturday.

“I remember, entering those last three minutes, those fans were so loud,” Grace said. “We just stayed focused and afterward it wasn’t loud anymore, but I honestly don’t remember what the sound was really like. We were too busy jumping up and down.”

USF coach Jose Fernandez walked up and down the bench giving high-fives and pumping his fist. Junior Porche Grant did a cartwheel on the court and there was a team dance party as the Bulls celebrated a 75-71 victory to claim the WNIT crown.

Then, Grace and Fernandez exchanged a hug.

“It was such a long, tough road for us, not getting into the NCAA tournament, which was our focus all season,” Grace said. “To win the games on the road in the tournament and come in and beat Kansas with its fans there was special.”

Grace, who is the only senior on the roster to have spent four years at USF, has made quite a journey, too. Long gone is the wide-eyed freshman who stepped in for the injured Tristen Webb nearly four years ago and helped the Bulls make the NCAA tournament, thrusting great expectations on the remainder of her career.

Since that first season, Grace has met those expectations by earning All-Big East honors every year, including first-team All-Big East this season.

“It’s really hard to think about how far I’ve come. It’s hard to put it in perspective,” Grace said. “When Tristen (Webb) went down my freshman year, I had to step in. Since then, I’ve grown as a person. As a player, though, coach Fernandez has been there by my side the whole time. To help win this championship means so much to me.”

The Sarasota native is one of seven seniors on USF’s roster who played their last college basketball game Saturday, and starters Jazmine Sepulveda, Jessica Lawson and Brittany Denson have created a strong bond together, Grace said.

“We’ll never forget how we stuck with each other and how we came together on the court,” she said. “This team is special. We’ve made a great friendship. I’ll remember it the rest of my life.”

Together, they carried the Bulls to a 13-1 nonconference record and a .500 mark in the Big East. They felt the heartbreak of being left out of the NCAA tournament together — and together led USF to its first national postseason championship in school history.

On Saturday, Grace stood on the court after the game, waiting to cut down the nets for the first time in her career and wearing a USF jersey for her last. She sported a straw hat and a smile.

“Yeah, I kept a good piece of that net, too,” she said.

(AP Photo)

-KK

 

Big East Champions add coach

University of South Florida men’s soccer coach George Kiefer named former MLS goalkeeper Bryheem Hancock as a volunteer coach Monday.

Hancock, a former captain of the American  U-17 National Team, will work primarly with the goalkeepers.

“I am very excited to have Bryheem join our staff at USF,” Kiefer said in a statement. “He has firsthand experience in winning a National Championship and I believe he brings a lot of experience for the program and to our goalkeepers. He is going to be a great addition to our program.”

Hancock helped Connecticut win a National Championship in 2000, and he earned Big East Goalkeeper of the Year in 2001.

He was selected in the 2001 MLS Draft by the LA Galaxy and spent three years playing professionally in the United States.

 

Jordan and Dumars at Sun Dome?

I thought this was really interesting … wanted to pass it along.

The son of basketball legend Michael Jordan has committed to play at UCF, which means with Detroit Pistons legend Joe Dumars’ son coming to USF — the recognizable duo could unite at the Sun Dome next season.

Greg Auman of the St. Pete Times posted it, it’s pretty cool. Take a look here.

-K.K.

 

Selvie won’t play in spring game

USF defensive end George Selvie will not play in Saturday’s spring game, according to area reports.

I wasn’t able to make it out to the last part of practice for interview, but both the Times and Tribune have confirmed it with coach Jim Leavitt.

Selvie was fully fit and participating in Wednesday’s practice, and the move is just precautionary, Leavitt said.

-K.K.

 

Bulls get honors

Everyone knows about what USF coach Jim Leavitt’s done in the coaching field, but how about in the education realm?

Missouri knows.

Leavitt will receive the Citation of Merit for Outstanding Achievment and Meritorious Service from the University of Missouri College of Education on April 18 at the 41st Annual Recognition Awards Banquet.

I’m humbled by this recognition,” Leavitt said in a statement. “I was fortunate to attend and receive an education at Missouri. I can’t say enough about the influence it had on my life. I’m just a football coach who never envisioned being in a position to receive an honor from a prestigious and historic institution like University of Missouri.”

Leavitt received a bachelor’s degree in education in 1978 and his master’s in counseling in 1979 from Missouri.

While attending, Leavitt will visit Mizzou coach Gary Pinkel and watch the Tigers’ spring game.

Rey Honored

USF senior outfielder Chris Rey was named to the Big East honor roll today after an offensive week that included three home runs. Rey was 6-for-13 with a double, triple and 1.385 slugging percentage in four games last week.

 

USF cancels football practice

Rain rain go away, come again another day. Well just don’t come back Wednesday or Thursday, please.

B.J. Daniels scrambles during Saturday's spring game.

USF canceled today’s scheduled football practice  because of severe thunderstorm conditions that should continue throughout the afternoon.

The Bulls, coming off an exciting 21-20 finish at Saturday’s spring game, still have two spring practices left, which were originally scheduled for today and Wednesday.

USF has moved practice back to Wednesday and Thursday.

Here’s a snippet from our Monday edition, as our staff selected Saturday’s top performers.

Greg Auman, the St. Pete Times reporter, also selected his top storylines here.

Enjoy the rain!

-K.K.

(Oracle Photo/Mike Wilson)

 

Baseball doubleheader, Tennis championships

The USF baseball team had its contest with FIU canceled last night after a day of downpour in Tampa, pitting a doubleheader today, which is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. at Red McEwen Field.

Also, both the men’s and women’s Big East Championships are being held this weekend at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts, starting Thursday morning and running through Sunday. The Bulls captured No. 3 seeds in both men’s and women’s. We’ll have a full preview of all of that in tomorrow’s paper, and I’ll post some preview on the blog tonight.

Assistant Sports Editor Kelli Polson featured men’s tennis coach Don Barr today. Here’s the link to that story.

Enjoy the games today.

-K.K.

 

Burwell Jr. Signs LOI

The guards just keep on coming for Stan Heath.

The USF basketball coach received his third guard signing of the 2009 class when prep-school star Mike Burwell Jr. signed his letter of intent Wednesday.

Burwell led South Kent prep school in Connecticut with a team-high 16 points per game last season. He averaged 81 percent from the line and will boost USF’s last-place free-throw shooting in the Big East.

“We’re excited to add Mike to the Bulls basketball family,” Heath said. “We really feel we’ve addressed our need to improve our shooting. Mike has more versatility than just being a shooter.”

Burwell helped South Kent to a 26-7 record — and a top-10 national ranking — by shooting 41 percent from the three-point line. Heath said, however, that Burwell can help in other areas, too.

“He puts the ball on the floor, he has good size, he can rebound, he runs well and he has been a part of winning programs his last three seasons,” Heath said. “He will do whatever he can to help his team be successful.”

Before attending South Kent, Burwell, who’s listed as 6-foot-6 and 210 pounds, attended Cardinal McCarrick High School in New Jersey and was named Associated Press first-team all-state as a senior.

He joins Jordan Dumars and Shaun Noriega in the 2009 class. Guard Anthony Crater, who transferred last semester from Ohio State, will also be eligible to play next season.

“He will fit in very well with our program and we look for him to be a guy who can step on the floor and contribute right away,” Heath said. “We struggled with our depth last season and we certainly felt we needed to improve our shooting skills, but we also have players we can bring in that can continue to allow us to produce on the floor.”

 

Men’s tennis advances to Big East title match

USF coach Don Barr had the venue he wanted, playing at home at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts. Now, he’s one win away from the title he wants.

Led by strong doubles play, the No. 3-seed Bulls clinched a spot in the Big East Championship match with a 4-1 quarterfinal  victory over No. 2 Notre Dame.

After a season filled with ups and downs in doubles competition, Wael Kilani and Yannick Yoshizawa clinched the doubles point, 8-4, for the Bulls. Jamal Adderly clinched the win with a tiebreaking 6-4 singles victory.

Barr has won five C-USA titles and one Metro Championship, but never a Big East trophy.

The Bulls will play the winner of Lousiville and DePaul tomorrow at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts at 9 a.m.

Additional reporting by Kelli Polson

 

Home sweet home

The Bulls win a Big East Championship in men’s tennis

Oracle Photo/Ferdie Garcia

Senior Mahmoud Hamed ran to freshman Mark Oljaca and embraced him, lifting him in the air on the USF Varsity Tennis Courts.

Moments later, the South Florida men’s tennis team raised a “Big East Champion” sign for the first time in program history.

In its third year in the Big East, the No. 3 seed South Florida men’s tennis team won the school’s third Big East postseason championship with a 4-0 victory over No. 5 seed DePaul on Sunday.

“It’s the best feeling,” Hamed said. “I cannot ask anything more from my teammates. It’s the best thing they can give me. We worked very hard for it … we have closed the season very well.”

For USF coach Don Barr, it was the sixth conference championship in his 18 years at USF. Barr has won four Conference USA titles and one Metro Conference Championship.

“These last two weeks, (the team) knew we lost a little ground losing (the last two matches in the regular season),” Barr said. “We knew that we really had to step it up. They worked extra hard and it paid off. It shows you hard work will pay off for sure.”

Junior Thomas Estrada, sophomore Lucas Jovita and freshman Romain Deridder clinched the title with their singles victories. Jovita, in the Bulls’ No. 1 position, defeated DePaul’s Austin Doerner 6-1 and 6-4.

“It was amazing,” Jovita said. “I worked hard the whole season. I’ve been looking forward to it. I’ve struggled a little bit with injuries, and it was harder for me. I played great tennis this whole week, fighting hard all the time.”

Jovita injured both wrists mid-season, but the No. 90 singles player in the nation finished with a 23-10 regular-season record and reached as high as No. 27 in the nation this season.

Estrada joined the Bulls’ lineup this weekend after missing the last three regular-season matches because of a wrist injury. He won both singles matches this weekend.

“There was pressure on me, but at the same time I was so excited to be in the Big East,” Estrada said. “I was dreaming of this time the whole year since I got here. I (told coaches) I don’t care if my wrist is hurting. I’m going to go there and get the point for our team.”

Oracle Photo/David Downs

Jovita and Estrada — the No. 40 doubles team in the nation — had a 2-1 doubles record this weekend.

DePaul, the No. 5 seed, defeated No. 1 Louisville on Saturday in the semifinals. Last year, the Bulls placed second after a loss to Notre Dame, who the Bulls defeated on Saturday.

“That’s one thing I reminded the kids before we started the match (Sunday),” Barr said. “(I said) ‘remember when they started handing out trophies last year … you want to stand on the sideline, or you want to get something.’ They all came out and put it all on the table.”

The Bulls tied Notre Dame 3-3 when sophomore Jamal Adderley clinched a 4-3 match victory with a 6-4 singles tiebreaking win.

“I played my best tennis at the end,” Adderley said. “That’s when they needed me. It was just great. It’s a great feeling.”

Freshmen Wael Kilani and Yannick Yoshizawa clinched the doubles point with an 8-4 victory. Kilani and Yoshizawa clinched another doubles point with an 8-4 victory in Friday’s defeat of St. John’s.

USF struggled mid-season to find consistent doubles players, especially in the No. 3 position, but Kilani and Yoshizawa earned the spots and have won their last six matches.

“Wael and I are just getting closer every single match,” Yoshizawa said. “We are getting more comfortable with each other and can talk more on the court.”

The Bulls have their sights set on the NCAA tournament now. Barr said they should find out about NCAA qualifications this week.

“I’m anxious to see where they’re gong to send us,” Barr said. “I don’t know if it’s Gainesville or if we’ll go somewhere else.”

USF assistant coach Mike Henderson has coached with Barr for 16 years and got to share the excitement of winning the team’s first Big East title. USF also has Big East Championships in women’s tennis and men’s soccer.

“It feels good,” he said. “It felt good in the Conference USA. It’s been a few years, but you don’t forget the feeling.”

Oracle Photo/Vince Delmonte

-Kelli Polson

 

Hipsher leaving Heath’s staff?

According to the Tampa Tribune, it’s true.

USF basketball assistant Dan Hipsher hasn’t returned phone calls this morning, but the Tribune reported late last night that he’s heading to Alabama to join Anthony Grant on the Crimson Tide staff.

Hipsher interviewed with Grant last week, according to the Tribune.

Calls to Hipsher were not returned in the report, either.

-KK

 

Big baseball matchup, USF leads 1-0

I’m sitting here at Red McEwen field watching USF and West Virginia battle for the first place spot in the Big East. This is the opener of a three-game series on campus this weekend.

The Mountaineers hold a 11-4 record. USF, which sits atop the standings, are 12-3 in the conference.

Sophomore Ryan Lockwood led  off with a double in the bottom of the first for the Bulls, and Jonathan Koscso brought him in with a fielder’s choice grounder.

1-0 USF here in the top of the second.

I’ll be on here keeping you updated on the action all night.

-K.K.

 

Mulling through the Big East

We know one thing: this weekend’s series between USF and West Virginia is big in terms of the conference shakeout.

There is a similarly big series in the conference this weekend, too. Louisville and Notre Dame are squaring off in a three-game series. Keep an eye on that because if the Mountaineers can take two of three, and the Cardinals sweep ND, it would put U of L in first place.

Also interesting, USF still has its series with Notre Dame and Louisville yet to come.

WVU has a runner on first in the top of the third with one out. If anything happens, you can be sure I’ll post it.

SIDE NOTE: There is a guest in appearance here tonight. Don Zimmer is sitting in the third base bleachers. Interesting!

-K.K.

 

Hunt, Brazeal open it up

That WVU situation I was talking about fizzled. USF took advantage of its, though.

Stephen Hunt singled in a run, and the Todd Brazeal went deep to left-center field, giving the Bulls a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the third here at Red McEwen field.

Hunt reached and then moved to second on a passed ball. And Brazeal made WVU pay with a big swing. My guess? Probably a good 390-400 feet.

-K.K.

 

Fontanez’ luck runs out

USF starter Randy Fontanez put himself in a tough situation in the fourth when he put two runners on with no one out. He escaped, though.

In the fifth things were different.

Fontanez walked Jedd Gyorko to load the bases with two outs remaining in the top of the fifth, and Vince Belnome made things interesting with a three-run gapper into left-center field, slicing USF’s lead to 5-3 entering the bottom half of the fifth.

USF currently Koscso on first after an infield single. Zero outs.

-K.K.

 

Leavitt comments on Pupello arrest

I haven’t seen a police report on this issue, but area reports say USF tight end Trent Pupello was arrested Friday and charged with four felony counts of aggravated assault and aggravated battery.

Here are the full stories on those from the Times and Tribune.

Pupello has been away from the team because of injury and academic issues. It prompted coach Jim Leavitt to make a statement.

“We have not been involved with Trent Pupello since the beginning of the semester,” he said via email. “He was not going to play for us in 2009 because of an injury and academic issues. I am just learning of the situation. However, if the charges were true, we would never allow anyone that is involved in behavior of that nature to be part of the USF football program.”

 

Home run. Nevermind.

A bit of controversy here at Red McEwen Field as Trey Manz looked to have given the Bulls a 6-3 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning with a solo home run to center field.

However, the ball hit the tarp behind the centerfield wall. It was clearly a home run, but the umpired decided it did not go over the fence.

Lelo Prado was not happy. He was ejected shortly after. Well, he’s still on the field going nuts right now. To be fair, it’s for good reason.

It was initially signaled a home run by the umpires, so Manz jogged around the bases. Yet, the centerfielder tossed the ball in after it came back into play, relayed to the catcher and Manz was tagged out.

Still 5-3. Prado tossed. Big East baseball at its finest.

-K.K.

 

Fontanez still rolling

Randy Fontanez just recorded his sixth strikeout of the game, and the Bulls lead 7-3 heading to the bottom of the eighth inning.

With USF’s bullpen consistently giving up late leads this season it will be interesting to see if Fontanez will go the distance.

Bet on that not happening, as two Bulls are in the pen warming up right now. USF is three outs away from perhaps its biggest win of the season.

-K.K.

 

Big win, Bulls top West Virginia

Randy Fontanez pitched a complete game, and USF walked off with an 8-3 victory tonight at Red McEwen Field.

The Bulls play WVU Saturday night at 7 p.m. Join us on here Sunday for more blog updates from the series finale at 1 p.m.

-K.K.

 

Bulls complete sweep of West Virginia

USF kept itself in prime position to win the Big East regular sea