No. 24 Louisville has led by as many as 13 points, but the Bulls have the cut the lead to 32-26 at the half, with the crowd getting loud for a long-awaited 3-pointer from guard Jesus Verdejo.
The story for USF so far has been freshman forward Gus Gilchrist, who has been active on both ends of the floor, with a team-high nine points and three blocks. Gilchrist's high this season has been 12 points, so he's playing well against a team with size and athleticism in the post. Junior point guard Chris Howard, who earned his way back into the starting lineup, has also played with confidence, with six points.
Guards Dominique Jones and Verdejo have each hit just one shot from the field, and they'll have to have more of a presence if the Bulls want to keep up with the Cardinals. Earl Clark's having a great game for Louisville, already with 11 points and seven rebounds.
Times sportswriter Greg Auman, who covers USF, will post news and thoughts on the Bulletin and we invite your participation in the comments area.
Gus has looked great tonight. And Howard isn't killing the team, which is a positive. I just don't get why USF is so awful at free throws. Especially the bigs. 30%? Yikes.
Can we hire a FT coach? It's extreme, yes, but at this point, it's necessary. Or bring Solomon Bozeman back to teach these guys something (he shot about 90%).
Posted by: David Weber | January 07, 2009 at 08:01 PM
gilchrist looks very good so far. Where is joe dumars?
Posted by: bull hooper | January 07, 2009 at 07:57 PM