3 things Louisville basketball fans need to know about the USF Bulls

Louisville basketball is set to start its March Madness journey on Thursday afternoon against the South Florida Bulls. The Cardinals are the projected favorite as the six seed, after a season in which they have been in and out of the top-25. But South Florida is not a team the Cardinals can just look past. 

3 stats Louisville basketball must fix ahead of the Cardinals' NCAA Tournament run

The Bulls punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament after winning the American Conference in both the regular season and postseason tournament. They will not be an easy team to beat and are looking to be this year’s next Cinderella story, are are looking to start the journey against the Cardinals. 

Louisville must know what its upcoming opponent does best in order to stop USF’s hopes just as they are getting started. So, let’s take a look at three things Louisville fans need to know about South Florida, before Thursday’s matchup.

3. The Bulls can score

South Florida is one of the best scoring teams in the nation, and they thrive in shootouts. The Bulls average 87.7 points per game, ranking them in the top 10 in the country. They love to run the floor, put up shots and get to the foul line. 

South Florida shoots 65.7 shots per game. Although they don’t have the highest shooting average at just 43.9%, the sheer number of shots taken allows the Bulls to put up plenty of points. 

They also put up points by getting to the free-throw line. The Bulls average the third most free throws per game in the country with 27, and average the most made free throws per game with 21. South Florida’s ability to get to the line offers them more opportunities for easy points in a game where they are already taking most of the shots. 

Louisville will have to be ready and realize that a shootout is not the game they want to be in.