Central Florida @ South Florida preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 18, 2020 ) South Florida 54, Central Florida 55

South Florida snapped one long losing streak last time out and hopes to put an end to another Saturday afternoon when it hosts I-4 rival Central Florida for an American Athletic Conference contest. The Bulls had dropped five straight overall before putting it together in a 66-52 win at Tulane on Wednesday, and look to ride that momentum to their first win over UCF in 10 meetings.

‘We got a little confidence shooting the ball tonight, which is always good,” USF coach Brian Gregory told reporters after his team connected on 49 percent from the field at Tulane. “When you make a couple of shots, life is just so much better. … I’m a defensive guy, but I love teams that are aggressive offensively, and we have to stay aggressive offensively and we have to stay confident. Hopefully today will give us a little bit of a boost.” The Bulls, who won 22 of the first 31 meetings in the series, lost their ninth straight against the Knights 55-54 on Jan. 18 as they allowed the final six points of the contest. That was the last victory for UCF as it dropped an 87-79 decision to Wichita State one week later and fell 59-57 to Memphis on Wednesday for its seventh loss in nine games to settle into a four-way tie for last place in the AAC along with South Florida, Temple and Tulane. “Just disappointing,” Knights coach Johnny Dawkins told reporters. “We’ve been in a lot of ballgames and we have to find a way to win them.”

TIME: 4 p.m. ET. TV: ESPNU

ABOUT CENTRAL FLORIDA (11-9, 2-6 AAC): Junior forward Collin Smith leads the team in scoring (12.7) and registered his fourth double-double of the season against Memphis with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Junior guard Ceasar DeJesus averaged 13.3 points the past three games to boost his season mark to 11.1 on 50.9 percent shooting from the field while senior swingman Dazon Ingram chips in with 9.1 points along with team highs of 7.5 boards and 3.8 assists. Freshman guard Darin Green Jr. averaged 14.5 points the last two contests - more than six above his season mark.

ABOUT SOUTH FLORIDA (9-12, 2-6): Junior guard David Collins (team-high 14.2 points) scored 14 to go along with eight rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block to lead the way in the win at Tulane. Senior guard Laquincy Rideau, who averages 11.9 points with team highs of 4.1 assists and 2.4 steals (second in the AAC), was 6-of-10 from the field Wednesday after connecting on just 8-of-38 in the previous four contests. Freshman forward Madut Akec got his first start against Tulane and responded with season highs of 10 points, eight rebounds and three assists in 21 minutes.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. UCF junior G Brandon Mahan had eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds in the win over USF last month.

2. Bulls sophomore G Ezacuras Dawson III scored 13 points against Tulane to boost his season mark to 7.8.

3. The Knights are sixth in the AAC in free-throw shooting (70.6) and USF is last (61.6).

PREDICTION: South Florida 62, Central Florida 60