2010 Big East Basketball Tournament: USF vs DePaul

The suddenly emergent South Florida Bulls reached twenty wins in a season for the first time in two decades and extended their quest for their first NCAA Tournament bid since 1992 with a 58-49 win over the floundering DePaul Blue Demons in the opening game of the 2010 Big East Conference Men's Basketball Tournament. DePaul and interim head coach Tracy Webster, the lowest seed in the tournament pool and winners of only one conference game in two seasons, saw a painful season that included the midseason firing of Jerry Wainwright and only one win in conference play come to an end with an 8-23 record.

The Bulls (20-11) pulled out to an early first half lead that they would never surrender with sixteen of their first seventeen points coming in the paint and a defense that held DePaul to only seven points in the first twelve minutes of the first half. The first half was marked by a dominant Bulls transition that game, including a 13-3 run that resulted in a 30-15 halftime score. USF star and first team All-Big East point guard Dominique Jones nearly outscored the Blue Demons single-handedly, tallying 14 first-half points.

Following the disastrous first half, DePaul closed the lead to as little as five points at the 12:30 mark, but South Florida soon regained control with an 8-0 run that lead to a thirteen point lead with 9:32 remaining. USF never looked back. James finished with 20 points and 9 rebounds while teammate Mike Mercer finished with 14. DePaul’s Will Walker led the Blue Demons with 20 points in the losing effort.

After only nine wins a year ago, South Florida’s postseason ticket has already been punched, be it in the Big Dance, the NIT, or the recently founded CIT. With twenty wins but a relatively weak RPI, the Bulls seemingly remain at least two wins away from an NCAA Tournament bid but their dream is still well within reach.

WHAT’S NEXT

South Florida’s first Big East Tournament win in program history advances the surging Bulls to the second round where they will meet the eighth-seeded Georgetown Hoyas, who were granted a first round bye as one of the top eight seeds in the tournament. In their only regular season matchup, South Florida traveled to Georgetown and upset the Hoyas 72-64 on February 3, just three days before Georgetown’s win over conference favorite Villanova. South Florida and Georgetown will tip-off second round action at noon on Wednesday, with television coverage provided by ESPNU. The winner will meet top-seeded Syracuse.

BIG EAST CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT

WHAT’S NEXT