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Bulls Excited About Playing No. 1 Panthers

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By BRETT McMURPHY | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 13, 2009

Updated: 01/13/2009 04:03 pm

TAMPA - There are Top 25-ranked teams. And then there is the No. 1-ranked team.

"One is unique," University of South Florida coach Stan Heath said. "The other [rankings] are impressive, don't get me wrong. No. 1 has a little more uniqueness to it."

No. 1 is dead ahead for the Bulls. Wednesday night, USF (6-9, 1-2 Big East) visits No. 1 ranked Pittsburgh (15-0, 3-0) at 7 (ESPNU).

This is only the third time in program history the Bulls have faced No. 1. The other two weren't pretty: North Carolina, with some kid named Jordan, thumped USF 75-39 on Dec. 12, 1981 and Cincinnati, led by Kenyon Martin, dunked the Bulls 89-72 on Jan. 29, 2000.

Heath has never faced a No. 1 team as a head coach, but lost to a pair of No. 2 teams at Arkansas – Kentucky in 2003 and Florida in 2007. This is only Heath's second game against a Top 10 team at USF, but he was 5-10 against Top 10 ranked teams at Arkansas and Kent State.

Heath has never defeated a team ranked higher than No. 8, but said anything is possible.

"You've got to play to win," Heath said. "We've got to go there on a mission to win. That's the beauty of this sport. [An upset] doesn't happen all the time, but you never know."

A USF victory against No. 1 would be "a tremendous step forward, just a huge accomplishment, something that would resonate nationally and even throughout our community," Heath said. "It's a tall order for us, but a great opportunity. Why not embrace it?"

USF has not defeated a team ranked higher than No. 15 – and that was 17 years ago at No. 15 Tulane – but sophomore guard Dominique Jones is looking forward to the challenge.

"It's really exciting, everybody is kind of pumped up for it," Jones said. "I think some people are kind of nervous, but that's only normal. For me, I think it's an opportunity.

"All the ranked teams are good in the Big East. You can never go, 'Oh who's the best out of No. 4 or No. 1.' They're both good. You have to go play your game. We need a win. This would be a good win, a big confidence booster for us and a good lift for the program."

Reporter Brett McMurphy can be reached at (813) 259-7928

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