Bulls aiming to keep focus

In his three seasons at USF, Stan Heath has rarely been able to utter the following sentence: "Anything less than a victory would have been a downer."

That was Heath following USF's 99-93 victory against Providence on Saturday.

The same can be said tonight when USF plays at DePaul, a program in disarray after the dismissal of Coach Jerry Wainwright earlier this season. DePaul, once one of the nation's top independent programs, is now the Big East's doormat.

The Blue Demons enter tonight's game on a 10-game losing streak and one win in their last 34 conference games. Meanwhile, USF can finish with a .500 record in the conference and perhaps earn a first-round bye in next week's Big East Tournament if the Bulls can win their final two games.

"We've just learned so many different things about playing in this league, and one of the things is you better throw all of the records out of the window," Heath said. "We've got DePaul next. And DePaul is not an easy out. We've got to make sure that we have total focus."

While an NCAA berth is unlikely for the Bulls, they want to finish strong and win 20 games in a season for the first time since 1990, and also go to the postseason for the first time since 2002.

In Saturday's victory, USF looked like a team capable of both by closing out the Friars with a 26-11 run over the final 7:30. Before rallying, the Bulls trailed 82-73 and appeared headed to their fifth loss in six games.

Instead, Dominique Jones regained his scoring magic - he finished with a team-high 26 points - and four players scored 18 or more points, including 21 from forward Augustus Gilchrist.

Senior Mike Mercer, who scored 18 against the Friars, called the Providence game a must-win after USF's dismal performance in a 74-49 loss at Villanova six days ago. Following Saturday's win, Mercer's attitude was more upbeat about the team's prospects entering the Big East Tournament.

"We've faced so many things, so we all just bonded together and got it done," he said. "We have to keep playing like that."

The Bulls (17-11, 7-9) are in a four-way tie for ninth in the Big East standings, fighting Cincinnati, Connecticut and Seton Hall to move up to eighth and earn that first-round bye. Notre Dame (19-10, 8-8) is currently eighth and holds the tiebreaker with USF - the Irish swept the season series.

But first, USF must play DePaul. And like Heath said about Providence, anything but a win would be a downer.

"We're playing at their place and I'm sure that they'd like to get us," he said. "We've got to stay focused game by game and possession by possession."