USF-WVU: Bulls Can't Replicate First-Half Tenacity, Fall To Mountaineers

USF (10-6) was once again a one-man show during its 69-50 loss to No. 9 West Virginia. Dominique Jones had a game-high 28 points and eight rebounds, but it wasn’t enough, as the Bulls have started conference play off 0-4.

The Bulls need to find some support for their star player; no other player was in double figures. USF shot 33 percent from the field; they had 15 turnovers and two points off the bench.

West Virginia (13-2) shot 43 percent from the field but struggled from three-point range, only shooting 17 percent. The Mountaineers controlled the boards and outrebounded the Bulls 40-32.

Darryl Bryant and Devin Eubanks led a balanced attack, scoring 15 and 17 points, respectively. De’Sean Butler led the second-half charge and finished with 12 points and eight rebounds. West Virginia led by only two going into the half, 32-30, but pulled away, outscoring the Bulls 37-20 in the second half.

Eubanks led the game with 10 rebounds, but more importantly, he was a menace in the paint on both sides of the court. The Bulls didn’t have an answer, as Jarrid Famous did what he could to stop the Mountaineers' best post threat.

If USF couldn’t score in the paint, it certainly wasn’t going to come from its perimeter shooting. The Bulls finished going 1-16 from beyond the arc, a whopping six percent.

USF finally gets a realistic chance at getting its first conference win on the season when it takes on Rutgers (9-6) Saturday. This will be the first time this season the Bulls will be favored against a Big East opponent. Rutgers has been struggling much like USF, considering both teams come into the matchup 0-4.

The key matchup will be Dominique Jones, the Bulls' leading scorer, against Mike Rosario, who is Rutgers' leading scorer. Jones is averaging 18.9 points a game to Rosario’s 16.1 points. This will be another game that goes down to the wire, but the Bulls play tough at home and should finally get one in the win column.