USF tops DePaul, advances in Big East tourney

NEW YORK The University of South Florida Bulls played like a team out to prove something in the first half of Tuesday's 58-49 victory over DePaul in the Big East Tournament opener.

The Bulls created turnovers, sprinted up and down the court for easy baskets and basically followed the lead of All-Big East guard Dominique Jones. In leading USF to its fourth consecutive win, Jones scored 20 points, grabbed nine rebounds and had four assists.

At one point late in the first half, Jones had more points (14) than the entire DePaul team (13) as USF built a 30-15 halftime lead in front of a late-arriving crowd at Madison Square Garden.

"Everybody just wanted to get our first win at Madison Square (Garden) and to start the Big East Tournament," Jones said. "We came out there with a lot of energy."

USF's next challenge: play that way for the whole game on Wednesday against Georgetown. Tipoff is at noon.

"We've never been here before," Coach Stan Heath said after the Bulls won a Big East Tournament game for the first time in school history. "I don't think there is a lot of pressure on us. It's just doing some things that we really want to do. We all really want to go to the NCAA Tournament."

The Bulls (20-11) took another step in that direction by knocking off DePaul (8-23) for the second time in seven days. Mike Mercer scored 14 points and Chris Howard chipped in nine points and six assists.

The victory marked the first time in 20 years the Bulls have reached 20 wins, and only the third time in the program's 39-year history.

More than that, however, USF kept alive a chance at its first trip to the NCAA Tournament in 18 years. Since 1983, of the 123 Big East teams to win 20 games by the end of the conference tournament and be eligible to play in the NCAA Tournament, only the 2002 and 2007 Syracuse teams and 2007 West Virginia team failed to make the NCAA field.

For the Bulls to get there, though, they likely still have to beat Georgetown in a rematch of USF's most significant win of the season. On Feb. 3, USF used a second-half avalanche to knock off then-No. 7 Georgetown, 72-64. Jones led the way that day, too, scoring 29 points and shooting his way onto the national radar.

"That was a time when we had our chemistry flowing and we were hitting on all cylinders," Mercer said Tuesday. "We played a really good game. They are going to be pumped for us (today), and we're going to be pumped also."

Said Heath: "We can't leave things to chance. The best thing you can do is win and control your own destiny."

USF won Tuesday despite a non-existent perimeter game. The Bulls scored 50 of their points in the paint and hit six free throws, but missed all eight of their 3-point attempts.

That can't happen Wednesday.

"It will be totally different," Heath said. "We're going to have to knock down some shots. It didn't happen (Tuesday); if we had lost, it would be a big deal to me, but since we won it's not a big deal."

Playing with the kind of urgency a team in its predicament should, USF quickly seized control after DePaul's Will Walker scored on an offensive rebound to cut USF's lead to 8-6.

During the next 11 minutes, USF outscored DePaul 22-5 to take a 19-point lead on Mercer's basket. The closest DePaul could get the rest of the game was 36-31 on Jeremiah Kelly's 3-pointer with 12:34 left.

The Bulls celebrated their historic win by going back to the team hotel to relax and prepare for Round 2. They know they still have work left before putting on their dancing shoes.