South Florida Preview

After the Cincy win, you have to feel a bit more confident going into Sunday. However, the Bulls (our second-easiest opponent left) are riding a four game winning streak and just knocked off Georgetown on the road.

South Florida-
Pomeroy Ranking- 67th
Record- 15-7 (5-5)
Best Win- Georgetown (ranked 16th)
Worst Loss- Central Michigan (ranked 186th)
Pomeroy Prediction- ND 76-73

Key Players-
#24 Augustus Gilchrist- 18.8 PPG, 7.4 RPG- Out with an ankle sprain for most of the year. Could be a huge difference-maker down the stretch if he gets healthy and plays to his potential.
#20 Dominique Jones- 22.4 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 4.2 APG, 36.2% 3PA- 26 points in the first contest. Hasn't scored less than 20 in a game since December. Dropped 46 in an overtime win against Providence.
#31 Jarrid Famous- 11.3 PPG, 7.7 RPG- Has filled in admirably in Gilchrist's absence. 6 double-doubles this year. Could create a very dangerous tandem down low if #24 comes back.

Last Game- ND 74-73

-South Florida shot 53% from the floor, but the Irish survived by turning the ball over a little less and picking up extra points from beyond the arc and the charity stripe.
-Luke Harangody scored 36 points, including a 4-5 night from three-point land.
-#2 scoring threat Gilchrist was out with injury. He might be back for the first time since December 2nd.

Watch this team as the season goes on. They are favored by Pomeroy in 5 of their remaining games and could get much better with a healthy Gilchrist. If the Bulls go 10-8 in the conference, the committee will give them an at-large bid and ignore the losses without their second-best player. The fact that Stan Heath has been able to coach his players to a win over Georgetown shows that everything is pointing up right now.