South Florida’s men’s basketball team is heading back to the NCAA tournament for the first time in 14 years.
The Bulls beat Wichita State 70-55 in the American Conference tournament championship game on Sunday, claiming the automatic bid that goes with the trophy.
It’s USF’s first conference tournament championship since 1990 – 36 years – when they were in the Sun Belt. And it the program's first NCAA bid since 2012.
The Bulls, on an 11-game winning streak, will learn their seed and opponent during NCAA Selection Show later Sunday. ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi has forecast them as a No. 12 seed.
In Sunday’s American final at Birmingham, the No. 1 seed Bulls used a suffocating defense to shut down the No. 2 seed Shockers and leading scorer Kenyon Giles, who was held to five points.
Wes Enis scored 19 points to lead USF. Enis, one of the nation’s top 3-point shooters, was 0-for-5 from beyond the arc before hitting his first from long range at 13:38 of the second half. It keyed an important 6-0 run for the Bulls and gave them a 43-37 lead.
Enis finished only 3-for-11 from 3-point range.
Backcourt mate Joseph Pinion, another national leader from 3-point range, got into foul trouble early and finished 0-for-3 from outside the arc and five total points.
Conference Player of the Year Izaiyah Nelson contributed 13 points and six rebounds for the Bulls.
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