South Florida @ Wichita St. preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 21, 2020 ) Wichita St. 56, South Florida 43

Wichita State rebounded from a three-game losing streak with run-away wins in its last two contests and looks to ride that wave when South Florida visits for an American Athletic Conference matchup Thursday night. The Shockers won by 15 at Central Florida before draining 13 shots from 3-point range and limiting Tulane to 34.5 percent from the field in an 82-57 rout Sunday that left them one shy of their 11th straight, 20-win season.

“I huddled the guys up before the game and said, ‘We’ve only got (four) more games left here, so let’s give the fans everything they pay to see,’” freshman guard Tyson Etienne told the Wichita Eagle. “We had a little dip there and they still supported us, so we had to get them on their feet and give the fans something to cheer for.” The Shockers sit in fifth place in the AAC with three games left against teams above them in the standings and three more versus squads below them, including a USF team they beat 56-43 on Jan. 21 with 13 points from Etienne. The Bulls had won three in a row, including a pair on the road, but dropped the last two at home against Houston and Tulsa by a total of 12 points to reside near the bottom of the league standings. “The guys that we have to count on have some statistical things that we need to get better at, and they’ve proven that they’ve been able to do that,” USF coach Brian Gregory told reporters. “We have to take care of the ball better and you have to be able to make some of those open shots.”

TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: CBS Sports Network

ABOUT SOUTH FLORIDA (11-14, 4-8 AAC): Junior guard David Collins averaged 16 points over the last three games to boost his team-leading mark to 14 and needs 26 to move into the top 10 in program history. Senior guard Laquincy Rideau averaged 16 points over the last five contests and is second behind Collins at 12.6 overall while leading the way for the Bulls in assists (4.0) and steals (2.36, tied for 10th in the nation entering Wednesday). Junior Justin Brown (8.0) is scoring 11.8 per game over the last four and USF is 7-1 when the 6-6 forward has scored in double figures this season after Saturday’s loss to Tulsa.

ABOUT WICHITA STATE (19-6, 7-5): Sophomore Dexter Dennis picked up his production of late, averaging 13.5 points in the last four games to push his season mark to 8.7, and coach Gregg Marshall told reporters: “He’s playing the way we thought he would play. He’s got that fervor back.” Sophomore guard Erik Stevenson, who leads the team in scoring (11.9), had 27 points in the win over UCF but managed seven or fewer in four of his last five outings. Senior Jaime Echenique (10.9 points) tops the team in rebounding (6.4) and blocks (1.3), while Etienne (9.9 points) scored 20 versus Tulane and boasts a team-best 53 made 3-pointers.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. USF sophomore G Ezacuras Dawson III (7.7 points) did not score in 11 minutes Saturday after missing the previous two games with a knee injury.

2. Wichita State sophomore G Jamarius Burton (9.9 points) leads the team in assists (3.3), including seven versus Tulane on Sunday.

3. Collins needs five made free throws to become the third USF player to reach 400 in his career, and the second AAC performer to make that figure.

PREDICTION: Wichita State 76, South Florida 64