TAMPA, Fla. – Playing their first home game as a ranked team in program history, the No. 24 USF Bulls once again gave a packed Yuengling Center many reasons to cheer.
The American Athletic Conference regular-season champs and Tulane were in a tight battle for most of Tuesday evening’s game. A 69-67 nailbiter with six minutes remaining turned into an 85-72 victory thanks to clutch shooting at one end of the floor — the Bulls hit six of their final eight shots — and outstanding defense at the other.
A 15th consecutive win gave the Bulls, who got a career-high 29 points from Chris Youngblood, a sweep (9-0) the home portion of their conference schedule. At 23-5, USF has the second-most wins in program history, trailing the 24 recorded by the 2018-19 squad.
The announced attendance was 10,354, a third straight sellout for a program that never had more than two in any one of its previous 52 seasons.
Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim and the Bulls hoisted the conference championship trophy after the game, and players cut down the net in front of the student section.
Read: Start Of Spring Football Brings Expectations USF Needs To Guard Against
The Bulls close the regular season at Tulsa on Saturday afternoon. The conference tournament gets underway next Wednesday, March 13, in Fort Worth. The Bulls’ first game will be Friday at 1 p.m. ET (ESPN 2) against the winner of Thursday’s No. 8 seed vs No. 9 seed.
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