Hodgson has USF playing its best basketball at the right time

By PAUL GOTHAM

BUFFALO — Brian Hodgson has been in his current role as head coach of University of South Florida for less than a year.

And the Jamestown, New York native has wasted little time in raising the program’s bar.

USF held Wichita State and Charlotte to a combined 33.9 field-goal percentage in taking the recent American Athletic Conference championship.

The postseason title was the second in program history and first since winning the Sun Belt in 1990.

With that, the Bulls punched their fourth ticket to the NCAA Tournament in program history and first since 2012.

“I’m just a firm believer that’s just what good teams do,” Hodgson said Wednesday at the Key Bank Center. “They get better and they play their best basketball in February and March…I said it after some losses early on in the non-conference. We don’t want to lose. We’re not volunteering to take an L in any games. But if you can learn from them and become better, you truly want to play your best basketball in February and March.”

USF (25-8) brings an 11-game winning streak into action. The Bulls’ last three losses have been a combined five points including overtime setbacks to Wichita State (86-85) and UAB in double OT (109-106).

“It’s not by coincidence,” Hodgson said of his squad’s recent success. “Our guys have been locked in. They’re very process driven. They’re extremely selfless, and they wake up every morning with an intent to get better. That’s really showed on the court.”

The 11th-seeded Bulls match up with No. 6 Louisville (23-10) in East Region first-round action.

Louisville holds a 29-4 advantage in the head-to-head series, but the two programs haven’t met since February 18th of 2014. The Cards won that game 80-54.

“They’re a great team,” junior guard Wes Enis said of Louisville. “They’ve got great coaches, great players. But we’re really excited to be here. We’re going to come up with a great game plan that we’ve been working on. We’re excited to get out there and execute it.”

USF’s current win streak is the fourth-longest in the nation.

Enis referred to the Bulls’ last loss (a 79-78 defeat at the hands of Temple on January 31st) as a turning point of the season.

“After we lost that game to Temple, I think we all came together and knew we needed a better effort defensively. I thought we got punked out of that game.”

Hodgson played two years at Jamestown Community College where he was captain. He followed that with two more years at Fredonia State.

“First and foremost, God is good. Very fortunate to be back home in western New York, see a lot of familiar faces. I’m going to have 38 family members at the game. It’s amazing. This is home. So embracing being back here and preparing the guys for the weather a little bit. We’re eating some good local food.

“But most importantly, just honored to have the opportunity to coach in the NCAA Tournament and give these young men in my locker room a chance to experience something that I’ve been able to experience as an assistant. It’s obviously the best sporting event in the world, and they deserve that opportunity.

Just icing on the cake to be able to do that back here at home in western New York in front of friends and family, and really looking forward to the opportunity of playing against a very good Louisville team.”

A 1:30 PM tipoff is scheduled at the Key Bank Center. The game will be televised on TNT.