South Florida @ Connecticut preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 2, 2019 ) Connecticut 68, South Florida 76

Already assured of ending a string of six straight losing seasons, South Florida's drive to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011-12 has stalled in the past two weeks with four losses in five games. The Bulls will look to get back on track and complete a season sweep when they visit Connecticut on Sunday.

South Florida seemed well on its way to a 20-win campaign after ripping off five consecutive victories but is coming off back-to-back 12-point losses to Houston and Central Florida. The Bulls had lost all 10 meetings against UConn since both schools joined the AAC before knocking off the Huskies 76-68 in the conference opener for both teams on Jan. 2. Connecticut has not won since leading scorer Jalen Adams hurt his knee on Feb. 6 and takes a six-game losing streak into Sunday's matchup, although its last two defeats came by a combined six points. “We’re trying to break through to get a win, man - road win, home win,” first-year coach Dan Hurley said. “We’ll take a win wherever we can get one right now."

TV: Noon ET, CBS Sports Network

ABOUT SOUTH FLORIDA (18-10, 7-8 American): Guard Laquincy Rideau (13.1 points, 5.6 assists, 2.9 steals) matched Adams for game-high honors with 25 points and also added eight rebounds, four assists and three steals in the first matchup as the Bulls erased an early 13-point deficit. Rideau, who was held to a combined nine points in the past two losses, has a chance to make history by becoming the first player to lead the AAC in both assists and steals in the same season. Leading scorer David Collins (15.1 points) has reached double figures in 15 of the last 16 games, including 17 versus UConn.

ABOUT CONNECTICUT (13-15, 4-11): Guard Alterique Gilbert, who scored 18 points in his third game back after missing five due to a shoulder injury, exited Thursday's loss with just under a minute to play with what turned out to be cramps. He returned to the contest with just over one minute remaining and knocked down a pair of huge 3-pointers. "That’s what the leader of your program should look like at the end of the game, playing himself to exhaustion," Hurley said. "If we can get everybody in the program to follow his lead, we’ll be in great shape in short order.”

TIP-INS

1. Rideau has missed all nine 3-point attempts in the past two games and is 3-for-26 from long range in the last five.

2. The Huskies are 20-3 all-time against South Florida.

3. Bulls F Alexis Yetna averages a league-best 9.5 rebounds but has not scored in double figures in six games in a row.

PREDICTION: Connecticut 70, South Florida 68