By Kenneth Cross
TAMPA – VCU and South Florida put on a tremendous battle for a spot in the NIT’s Elite Eight, VCU’s Sean Bairstow and Tobi Lowal made two free throws each in the last 21 seconds, and the Rams edged the Bulls, 70-65, in an interesting game at Yunegling Center on Sunday evening.
The Bulls were staring at the opportunity after Chris Youngblood and Selton Miguel made a pair of layups to cut the deficit to 66-65 with 21 seconds remaining.
“It was a fun game to be a part of hats off to VCU,” said Bulls head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim. “They have had two really good wins. You go to ‘Nova, beat ‘Nova and they come here and get the best of us.”
Youngblood was a force as he led all scorers with 28 points and he connected on 10-of-16 field goals and was 7-of-7 from the line with a three-pointer. He scored 21 of the Bulls’ 35 points in the second half as he took the teams on his shoulders and took them to the crest of a potentially strong win over the Rams, who won their 24th game of the season.
“This man right here beside me and my teammates just spacing the floor out,” said Youngblood. “We have been shooting the mess out of the ball lately, so there is a lot of space on the court. The ball just went in tonight. The game was going my way.”
South Florida got to within one point on three different occasions in that final 4:25, but two turnovers, and four missed field goals where they trailed by only one combined for tough possessions when the Bulls were looking at opportunities to go ahead.
“South Florida is such and excellent team,” said Rams boss Ryan Odom. “We knew it was going to be an extreme battle for us to have a chance to win here. They know where the ball needs to go. They get it there and you just have to try your best to stop it.’
Being 1-of-11 in the first half from three created an impact although USF trailed on 32-30 at the break. The Bulls made an average of 9.0 three per game and shot 36.7 from behind the arc and that consistency ranked them 30th in college basketball.
“I thought in the first half for the first time in a long, long time, we got selfish,” explained Abdur-Rahim. “We didn’t move the ball as we normally do. We took rushed threes in the first half.
As USF followed with a 3-for-9 mark in the second 20 minutes, Abdur-Rahim saw some positives that helped the Bulls pick up their three-point shooting.
“It’s because we got ball energy,” noted Abdur-Rahim. “If we would have gotten the ball movement that we had, I think the outcome would have been different.”
Kasean Pryor was solid in the middle once again as he finished with a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds. Pryor and Youngblood ignited the Bulls from the beginning as they scored 13 of USF’s first 15 points in taking a 15-12 lead with 13:48 to play in the first half.
“It’s always a privilege to play this late in the season, this time of the year,” Pryor commented. “We were the only American team left standing. That was a great team – VCU. Coach said in the locker room that this was how a March Madness game would feel.”
The Rams finished by making 10-of-26 triples as Jackson led with four of those makes. VCU’s three-point makes were similar to USF’s triples as the Rams made 8.6 per game and shot 35.8 percent (80th, CBB).
Midway through the second half Tobi Lawal gave VCU it’s biggest lead at 58-50 with a pair of free throws with 7:24 remaining. From there, the Bulls made pushes, but could never take the lead.
“Regardless of the outcome, I am really proud of this team,” said Abdur-Rahim. “They didn’t give us a chance to start the season and they never took enough time to figure out who was on our roster. They picked us where they were going to pick us and said what they were going to say.”
Both Youngblood and Pryor noted in the press conference that it didn’t seem real that the season ended.
“If you respect this game as a team, as a unit, it will give you a lot of good stuff.and that’s what happened this year,” summarized Youngblood. “We made history through all this year with this group of guys.”
Winning the most games (26) in a season, the 15-game winning streak and winning the tough AAC with a 16-2 record that netted a two game finish at the top of the league solidified this Bulls team as a top team that will continue to improve under Abdur-Rahim’s tutelage.
“As I told the guys in the locker room, nobody should be here hanging their heads,” added Abdur-Rahim. “I told them that in a few weeks they will get their championship rings because they are champions.”
This was the 38th meeting between the two schools as they met in Sun Belt Conference play and VCU holds a 26-12 advantage in the series.