New Mexico St. @ South Florida preview

Returning all five starters from last year's school-record 24-win squad, South Florida seemed like a strong candidate to outperform its predicted fifth-place finish in the American Athletic Conference. Trying to overcome the loss of promising sophomore Alexis Yetna has proven to be a difficult task thus far, although the Bulls appear to be making strides in that regard ahead of their matchup Tuesday against New Mexico State in the semifinals of the Cayman Islands Classic.

Yetna suffered a season-ending knee injury in early November - just months after being named the AAC Freshmen of the Year - and USF predictably stumbled out of the blocks with home losses to Boston College and IUPUI after a rout of Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The Bulls have picked up their play on defense since then, holding consecutive opponents to 55 points after forcing 20 turnovers for the fourth time in five games in an 11-point victory over Loyola Chicago in opening-round action on Monday. The Aggies kicked off tournament action a few hours earlier, ending a 1-3 stretch since winning their season opener with a 78-70 overtime victory over Colorado State. Sophomore Jabari Rice nearly doubled his season scoring average entering the contest with a season-high tying 21 points, including his team's first seven points in the extra period.

TV: 1:30 p.m. ET, No TV

ABOUT NEW MEXICO STATE (3-3): Rice (12.3 points) scored 12 of his 21 points in overtime and added a career-high eight rebounds Monday, which was a welcome bounce-back effort after he failed to convert a potential game-winning 3-pointer in the waning seconds of Thursday's loss to in-state rival New Mexico. Trevelin Queen (team-high 18.2 points) converted only one of his seven 3-point tries Monday and committed six turnovers, but he finished with 19 points and has reached that mark in all but one game. Junior reserve Johnny McCants tied season highs with nine points and three steals before fouling out in 26 minutes, while C.J. Bobbitt added eight points in 37 minutes of action - both season highs.

ABOUT SOUTH FLORIDA (3-2): David Collins (team-high 15.8 points, 2,4 steals), who was named a preseason All-AAC second-teamer along with Yetna, led all scorers with 21 points and added four steals; the 6-3 junior guard has recorded at least 18 points and two steals in four of five contests. Laquincy Rideau (13.4 points, Division I-best 4.8 steals) has reached double figures in every game and has been even more disruptive than his backcourt mate with 16 steals in the last three contests combined, although turnovers have been an issue for the senior guard with at least five in four of his five outings. Justin Brown led the Bulls' 10-for-21 showing beyond the arc with 3-of-5 shooting from long-range, while Xavier Castaneda nailed both of his 3-point attempts.

TIP-INS

1. USF has shot at least 50 percent from the field in its last two games after failing to top 37 percent in its first three.

2. Queen and Rice are responsible for 24 of the Aggies' 47 3-pointers.

3. The Bulls have at least nine steals in all five games this season.

PREDICTION: South Florida 77, New Mexico State 68