South Florida @ Appalachian St. preview

South Florida continues to seek consistency in its game when the Bulls complete a two-game road trip at Appalachian State on Saturday. USF followed up its first two-game winning streak in nearly a year by dropping the past two contests heading into the matchup with the Mountaineers.

The Bulls are coming off a one-point overtime loss to Elon in which USF had chances at the end of both regulation and overtime to win the game but failed to convert those opportunities. "We did what we wanted to do, we attacked the basket on all three of those plays,'' South Florida coach Brian Gregory told reporters. "We just didn't get to the line, didn't get the finish. I'm disappointed in that.'' USF has relied on its defense, which allows 65.1 points per game, to try to keep games close and will need that again versus Appalachian State. The Mountaineers average 90 points, having reached the 95-point mark four times this season.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, No TV

ABOUT USF (4-4): The Bulls continue to rely heavily on the trio of graduate transfers new to the program this season - Payton Banks, Stephan Jiggetts and Terrence Samuel. The three combined for 58 of the 78 points in the overtime loss to Elon, with Banks and Jiggetts each setting season highs in scoring with 23 and 21 points, respectively. Banks (13.4 points) and Jiggetts (11.5) lead the team in scoring while Samuel tops the team in assists at 4.6 per game.

ABOUT APPALACHIAN STATE (4-4): The Mountaineers thrive off the 3-point shot that fuels their offense. Appalachian State shoots 46.7 percent of their shots from beyond the 3-point line while 37.1 percent of their converted field goals coming from the 3-point variety. Leading scorers Ronshad Shabazz and Justin Forrest have combined for 45 of the team's 88 makes from 3-point range.

TIP-INS

1. USF freshman G David Collins will miss the game with a knee issue that is still being evaluated to determine the extent of the injury.

2. Bulls' F Malik Martin has converted 29-of-48 shots (60.4 percent) on the season, fifth best in the American Athletic Conference.

3. This is only the second meeting between the two schools and first since 1994 when USF beat Appalachian State 86-71 in Tampa.

PREDICTION: USF 78, Appalachian State 77