The Sun Dome was rocking last night as the USF Bulls beat their bubble opponent Cincinnati 65 to 57 in front of the largest home crowd to date this season, over 6,00 came to cheer on their Bulls that are fighting to make the dance, something they have not done since 1992. USF and the athletic department worked hard to advertise for this game and it paid off as the home crowd energy fueled the Bulls as they dominated defensively, holding a powerful Cincinnati game to only 9 points in the first 9 minutes of the game. Jones was quite with only 12 points but made key free throws and assists all night long to help the Bulls find offense from players like Mike Mercer, who had 12 points.
The Bulls were without center Jarrid Famous who is battling a knee sprain, he could return by Saturday so the Bulls went with Rivas who is still not in shape after surgery in the off season and mixed in Fitzpatrick the freshmen to add size down low. Even with Famous out, USF dominated the boards and forced Cincinnati to take bad shots all night.
This win is huge, USF is now 6-7 in the Big East and tied with Cincinnati and Notre Dame now, with tie breaker over Cincinnati now. Cincinnati is a bubble team and this is a huge win on our resume as we now move in front of them for tournament consideration. The next game at home Saturday against St. John's is a must win for USF. St. John's is a scary team, pushing West Virginia and Louisville to the breaking point. If the Bulls take care of business and gain a win they will be 17-9 and 7-7 in the Big East. They need this to convince the selection board to get into the tournament. The crowd needs to be electric again and it was great seeing the student section full and many fans coming in to cheer on the team. The community is enjoying it, even CF BJ Upton of the Tampa Bay Rays was in attendance, great to see but let's keep it going. GO BULLS!
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