# 2018–19 South Florida Bulls men's basketball team

The 2018–19 South Florida Bulls men's basketball team represented the University of South Florida during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The season marked the 47th basketball season for USF, the sixth as a member of the American Athletic Conference (AAC), and the second season under head coach Brian Gregory. The Bulls played home games at Yuengling Center on the university's Tampa, Florida campus. They finished the season 24–14, 8–10 in AAC play, to finish in a tie for seventh place. They lost in the first round of the AAC tournament to UConn. They were invited to the College Basketball Invitational where they defeated Stony Brook, Utah Valley, and Loyola Marymount to advance to the best-of-three finals vs DePaul. They defeated DePaul 2 games to 1 to become CBI champions.

## Previous season

The Bulls finished the 2017–18 season 10–22, 3–15 in AAC play, to finish in last place. As the No. 12 seed in the AAC tournament, they lost in the first round to Memphis.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Stephan Jiggetts | 0 | G | 6'1" | 195 | RS Senior | Forestville, MD | Graduated |
| Isaiah Manderson | 1 | F | 6'10" | 247 | Senior | The Bronx, NY | Graduated |
| Terrence Samuel | 2 | G | 6'3" | 208 | RS Senior | Brooklyn, NY | Graduated |
| Payton Banks | 4 | G/F | 6'6" | 223 | RS Senior | Orange, CA | Graduated |
| Malik Martin | 5 | F | 6'11" | 214 | RS Junior | Miami, FL | Transferred to Tennessee Tech |
| Henry Beard | 14 | G | 6'0" | 177 | Sophomore | Seminole, FL | Transferred |
| Yito Alvarado | 15 | F | 6'7" | 206 | RS Sophomore | San Juan, PR | Left team |
| Tulio Da Silva | 21 | F | 6'7" | 206 | RS Sophomore | Formiga, Brazil | Transferred to Missouri State |
| Joey Coffaro | 22 | G | 5'11" | 170 | Freshman | Arlington Heights, IL | Left team |
| Troy Holston | 25 | G | 6'4" | 200 | RS Junior | Queens, NY | Transferred to Saint Joseph's |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Zach Dawson | 2 | G | 6'3" | 185 | Sophomore | Miami, FL | Oklahoma State |
| Mayan Kiir | 20 | F | 6'9" | 201 | Sophomore | Bradenton, FL | LSU |
| Antun Maricevic | 34 | C | 6'10" | 240 | Junior | Zagreb, Croatia | Casper College |

### 2018 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Rashun Williams SF | Edison, GA | Calhoun County High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Sep 4, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 79 ||||||
| Michael Durr C | Atlanta, GA | Oldsmar Christian School | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Sep 11, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 79 ||||||
| Xavier Castaneda PG | Chicago, IL | Whitney Young High School | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Sep 12, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 78 ||||||
| Madut Akec PF | Bradenton, FL | Victory Rock Prep | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Jun 4, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 6, 2017. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| October 30, 2018* 7:00 p.m. | | Tampa | W 80–52 | | Yuengling Center (1,412) Tampa, FL |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 6, 2018* 7:00 p.m., BullsVision | | Alabama A&M | W 80–63 | 1–0 | Yuengling Center (2,213) Tampa, FL |
| November 12, 2018* 7:00 p.m., BullsVision | | Austin Peay Jamaica Classic | W 74–70 $^{OT}$ | 2–0 | Yuengling Center (2,474) Tampa, FL |
| November 16, 2018* 4:30 p.m., CBSSN | | vs. Ohio Jamaica Classic | W 73–46 | 3–0 | Montego Bay Convention Centre (1,169) Montego Bay, Jamaica |
| November 18, 2018* 12:10 p.m., CBSSN | | vs. Georgetown Jamaica Classic | L 73–76 $^{OT}$ | 3–1 | Montego Bay Convention Centre (1,425) Montego Bay, Jamaica |
| November 21, 2018* 7:00 p.m. | | Florida A&M Jamaica Classic | W 69–59 | 4–1 | Yuengling Center (2,595) Tampa, FL |
| November 24, 2018* 2:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | The Citadel | L 81–84 | 4–2 | Yuengling Center (2,626) Tampa, FL |
| November 28, 2018* 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Stetson | W 75–71 | 5–2 | Yuengling Center (2,415) Tampa, FL |
| November 30, 2018* 8:30 p.m., ESPN3 | | Colgate | W 76–63 | 6–2 | Yuengling Center (4,992) Tampa, FL |
| December 9, 2018* 2:00 p.m. | | at Charlotte Canceled (winter storm) | Postponed | Postponed | Dale F. Halton Arena Charlotte, NC |
| December 15, 2018* 1:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Appalachian State | W 76–69 | 7–2 | Yuengling Center (5,117) Tampa, FL |
| December 18, 2018* 7:00 p.m. | | at FIU | W 82–73 | 8–2 | Ocean Bank Convocation Center (706) Miami, FL |
| December 21, 2018* 7:00 p.m. | | Alcorn State | W 83–44 | 9–2 | Yuengling Center (2,329) Tampa, FL |
| December 29, 2018* 1:00 p.m. | | Fairleigh Dickinson | W 60–54 | 10–2 | Yuengling Center (2,945) Tampa, FL |
| January 2, 2019 8:30 p.m., CBSSN | | UConn | W 76–68 | 11–2 (1–0) | Yuengling Center (3,429) Tampa, FL |
| January 5, 2019 6:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Tulsa | L 75–78 | 11–3 (1–1) | Reynolds Center (4,025) Tulsa, OK |
| January 9, 2019 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Tulane | W 66–48 | 12–3 (2–1) | Yuengling Center (3,115) Tampa, FL |
| January 12, 2019 2:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Temple Saturday Showcase | L 80–82 $^{OT}$ | 12–4 (2–2) | Liacouras Center (6,826) Philadelphia, PA |
| January 15, 2019 7:00 p.m., ESPNews | | at Cincinnati | L 74–82 | 12–5 (2–3) | Fifth Third Arena (10,347) Cincinnati, OH |
| January 19, 2019 8:00 p.m., ESPNU | | No. 21 Houston Saturday Showcase | L 60–69 | 12–6 (2–4) | Yuengling Center (5,563) Tampa, FL |
| January 22, 2019 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Wichita State | W 54–41 | 13–6 (3–4) | Yuengling Center (3,153) Tampa, FL |
| January 26, 2019 4:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at East Carolina Saturday Showcase | W 77–57 | 14–6 (4–4) | Williams Arena (4,610) Greenville, NC |
| February 2, 2019 12:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Memphis | W 84–78 | 15–6 (5–4) | Yuengling Center (4,573) Tampa, FL |
| February 7, 2019 9:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at SMU | W 67–66 | 16–6 (6–4) | Moody Coliseum (5,677) Dallas, TX |
| February 10, 2019 5:30 p.m., ESPN3 | | East Carolina | W 72–68 | 17–6 (7–4) | Yuengling Center (5,707) Tampa, FL |
| February 13, 2019 7:00 p.m., ESPNews | | at UCF War on I-4 | L 65–78 | 17–7 (7–5) | CFE Arena (4,719) Orlando, FL |
| February 16, 2019 6:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Temple | L 69–70 $^{OT}$ | 17–8 (7–6) | Yuengling Center (4,898) Tampa, FL |
| February 19, 2019* 6:00 p.m. | | Florida College | W 95–54 | 18–8 | Yuengling Center (1,060) Tampa, FL |
| February 23, 2019 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at No. 9 Houston | L 59–71 | 18–9 (7–7) | Fertitta Center (7,039) Houston, TX |
| February 27, 2019 7:00 p.m., ESPNews | | UCF War on I-4 | L 63–75 | 18–10 (7–8) | Yuengling Center (7,231) Tampa, FL |
| March 3, 2019 12:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at UConn | L 58–60 | 18–11 (7–9) | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (9,034) Storrs, CT |
| March 6, 2019 8:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Tulane | W 75–70 | 19–11 (8–9) | Devlin Fieldhouse (1,020) New Orleans, LA |
| March 10, 2019 4:00 p.m., ESPNU | | SMU | L 71–77 | 19–12 (8–10) | Yuengling Center (3,548) Tampa, FL |
| AAC tournament ||||||
| March 14, 2019 1:00 p.m., ESPNU | (8) | vs. (9) UConn First round | L 73–80 | 19–13 | FedEx Forum (8,046) Memphis, TN |
| College Basketball Invitational ||||||
| March 20, 2019* 7:00 p.m., Bullvision | | Stony Brook First round | W 82–79 $^{OT}$ | 20–13 | Yuengling Center (1,705) Tampa, FL |
| March 25, 2019* 7:00 pm, Bullvision | | Utah Valley Quarterfinals | W 66–57 | 21–13 | Yuengling Center (1,679) Tampa, FL |
| March 28, 2019* 7:00 pm | | Loyola Marymount Semifinals | W 56–47 | 22–13 | Yuengling Center (1,658) Tampa, FL |
| April 1, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | DePaul Finals – game 1 | W 63–61 | 23–13 | Yuengling Center (2,375) Tampa, FL |
| April 3, 2019* 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at DePaul Finals – game 2 | L 96–100 $^{OT}$ | 23–14 | McGrath–Phillips Arena (1,704) Chicago, IL |
| April 5, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | at DePaul Finals – game 3 | W 77–65 | 24–14 | McGrath–Phillips Arena (1,876) Chicago, IL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
Source: