TAMPA, Fla., (Nov. 6, 2022) – South Florida opens the 2022-23 men’s basketball season against Southeast Missouri (SEMO) Monday night at the Yuengling Center.
Tuesday the Bulls defeated Division II Tampa an exhibition game.
SEMO, who was picked to finish fourth in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) preseason coach’s poll, won two exhibition games against Division III opponents. The Redhawks have two returning players – point guard Phillip Russell and guard Chris Harris – on the preseason All-OVC Team.
BullsInsider.com has your quick facts and what to watch for against Southeast Missouri:
Quick Facts
Matchup: USF (0-0) vs. SEMO (0-0)
Date: Monday, Nov. 7
Time: 8:00 p.m.
Location: Tampa, Fla. | Yuengling Center
Watch: ESPN+
Radio: 102.5 HD-2 & Bulls Unlimited
History: This is the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
The Opponent: The Redhawks return five players from last season and added 10 newcomers, four of them were NCAA Division I transfers – Aquan Smart (Florida International), Josh Earley (Tulsa), Gavyn Elkamil (Tulsa) and Kobe Clark (Georgetown).
Going off of our scout from games SEMO played last season, the Redhawks have good guards and like to get up-and-down the floor. They like to play in transition. Last season the Redhawks ranked No. 14 in the nation with an average of 71.8 possessions per game, per Kenpom.com.
Defensively SEMO played almost exclusively man last season (98.0%). When they were in zone it was typically a 2-3 matchup zone.
Harris, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound guard is a capable driver both ways but prefers left. Will pull-up in the mid-range for a jumper. He is a good three-point shooter and likes wing threes. Last season Harris almost shot as many threes (90) as he did twos (111). Harris is also good at drawing fouls and is a solid free throw shooter.
Russell earned Second-Team All-OVC and All-Newcomer honors last season. He is an aggressive scoring point guard who wants to shoot threes. He has good quickness and toughness. Russell ranked second on the team in scoring (13.4 ppg) last season. The 5-foot-10, 165-pounder was also second on the team in three-point attempts (133) last season. He has a good jab/shot fake. USF must locate him in transition, stay disciplined defensively and make him take tough shots.
Redshirt freshman Adam Larson is a reserve who can stretch the floor with his shot making ability.
Kobe Clark is a long, athletic 6-foot-6, 180-pounder. He only played in consecutive games once last season for Georgetown. Motor was an issue there but when he is dialed in, Clark is an effective rebounder and play maker.
Combo Guard Aquan Smart has some play-making ability. With good speed and quickness, Smart looks to push tempo. However, Smart often doesn’t play smart so it depends which Aquan Smart the Bulls get on Monday night. SEMO is Smart’s third school in as many seasons.
Something is telling me to mention 6-foot-7, 242-pound Tulsa transfer Josh Early. If you don’t remember the name it is probably because Early only saw five minutes of action in one of the four games he could have played in against USF. He did, however, grab four defensive rebounds in those five minutes in Feb. 2020.
Last season SEMO played almost exclusively man defense (98 percent). We expect to see that tomorrow night. When SEMO went zone last season it was a 2-3 matchup.
KEYS TO A WIN
On offense USF must get out, run, and get some easy baskets. Share the ball, play inside-out, attack the paint and make shots. Defensively the Bulls must defend the perimeter, SEMO is going to shoot a lot of threes, guard the ball, dominate the glass and play excellent ball screen defense.