Bulls shooting even higher after UConn upset

So it's off to New York and the Big East Tournament for Coach Stan Heath and those dream weavers of South Florida men's basketball. Has 9-9 in conference ever felt so good? After holding off Connecticut 75-68 at the Sun Dome in the regular-season finale, Bulls senior guard Chris Howard told his coaches to pack heavy.

"Honestly, I think we got to win every game," Howard said. "I told the coaches after the game, 'Pack five suits.' Don't come up here with one saying you got to go the dry cleaner. This team is hungry. I think we're headed straight up the mountain."

They can see the NCAA Tournament bubble from where they are. It's in the distance. Eight Big East teams are probably locks for the large dance. USF aims to be the ninth. They need to win games, beginning Tuesday against DePaul at Madison Square Garden.

If the Bulls win, they need to beat Georgetown on Wednesday. That gets them to 21 wins and to Thursday and the Big East quarterfinals - against top seed Syracuse. Given their RPI, the Bulls probably need to win that one, too. Oh, by the way, USF has never won a Big East Tournament game.

It's quite the mountain.

"But look how far we've already come," Heath said in a Sun Dome hallway after Saturday's win. "We're talking the (NCAA) Tournament and it's March. It surely is."

Whether USF is a one-year phenomenon remains to be seen, but Real Change felt real enough as USF scoring sensation Dominique Jones swept in for a ferocious right-handed jam in the second half. Put that in your brackets.

USF is 19-11, its first winning season in seven years. Saturday's win made the Bulls 9-9 in the Big East. This program won 12 conference games its first five seasons in the Big East. This is no ordinary 9-9. USF winning as many games as it lost in the country's best basketball conference borders on lunar trajectory.

The NIT is a lock.

It would be USF's first postseason since 2002.

These Bulls dream bigger dreams.

UConn legendary coach and grumpy bear Jim Calhoun has been doing this 38 years and has won two national championships. He thinks USF is a tournament bubble team. Maybe that's self-serving, since Calhoun's Huskies are 17-14 and looking to bubble on in, too. Heath is doing some early politicking himself.

"This team has the ability to play in the NCAA Tournament," Heath said.

These Bulls dug deep after getting embarrassed at home by St. John's and mauled up at Villanova. They beat Providence and DePaul and held off UConn after taking a 14-point lead. Calhoun pulled out all stops, replacing his seniors with freshmen. It nearly worked.

In years past, USF would have folded. It didn't Saturday. Jones scored 20, Augustus Gilchrist had 17. Howard scored 11 points before he started packing his coaches' bags - five suits for five wins and a conference tournament title.

"Why say win two and then don't make it?" Howard said. "Don't leave it to chance. Win the whole tournament, be in automatically. ... Go get every win."

I still think there is too much to do and too many teams in the way for USF. By the way, DePaul went 1-17 in the Big East this season and, by the way, DePaul went 0-18 in the Big East last season, but pulled an upset in a tournament game in New York.

Bulls beware.

The Heath household went 1-1 on Saturday. Heath's sons, Jordan and Josh, played for the Tampa Prep squad that lost in the 2A state championship game in Lakeland before USF took the court.

"No losers today. I'm very proud of both of them," Dad said.

Stan Heath and his USF kids are headed for New York.

Look how far they've already come.

We're talking about a bubble in a program that has long been a blister.

It's March. It surely is.