Howard @ South Florida preview

South Florida continues play in the four-game Hoosier Tip-Off Classic when it hosts winless Howard on Wednesday night. The Bulls led by a point at halftime Sunday before losing the opener of the event to host Indiana 70-53 in the first meeting between the teams.

USF continues to seek consistency in its game, alternating wins and losses since the season tipped off under new head coach Brian Gregory, hoping to get back in the win column against a Howard team that has allowed more than 75 points in each game this season. The Bulls have relied heavily on transfers Payton Banks, Stephan Jiggetts and Terrence Samuel in the opening four games on the season. But as Gregory tries to rebuild the USF program, he is also looking to get underclassmen such as true freshman guard David Collins more playing time. Collins logged a season-high 28 minutes against Indiana and scored a career-best eight points.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN3

ABOUT HOWARD (0-5): Freshman point guard R.J. Cole has come in and made an immediate impact for the Bison this season. The 6-1 native from Union, New Jersey, leads the team in scoring (20.3) and assists (6.0). Cole has led the team in scoring in three of the first five games, registering at least four assists in each contest to date while his 38 free throw attempts are more than double anybody else for the Bison.

ABOUT SOUTH FLORIDA (2-2): Samuel has emerged as one of the Bulls more dependable players in the early stages of the season. The former Penn State and Connecticut guard leads USF in minutes played while averaging 9.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.8 steals and shooting 50 percent from the field. Samuel led the Bulls in points, rebounds and assists against Morgan State on Nov. 13 - becoming the first player to do so in a single game for USF since Jan. 23, 2010.

TIP-INS

1. USF junior F Malik Martin registered his first double-digit scoring game of the season in the loss at Indiana, finishing with 11 points after hitting 5-for-7 shots from the floor.

2. Banks, a transfer from Penn State, has recorded 18 points in each of the past two games for the Bulls after totaling 12 in the first two.

3. This is the sixth of seven consecutive games on the road to start the season for Howard.

PREDICTION: USF 72, Howard 63