Tigers Take Aim at League-Leading Bulls

Thursday, February 19

Tampa, Fla.

6:00 PM

University of Memphis

South Florida

Feb 18, 2026 | Men's Basketball

Watch Live Stats Listen Memphis Game Notes (PDF)

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Memphis heads south Thursday night for a swing through Tampa, where first-place South Florida awaits in a game that could shift the shape of the American Conference race.

Tipoff comes at the Yuengling Center, where the Bulls have built momentum during one of the most productive stretches in program history. South Florida enters at 18-8 overall and 10-3 in league play, holding the top spot in the standings while riding a four-game winning streak. Victories over UTSA, Tulsa, Wichita State and Florida Atlantic have helped push the Bulls' NET ranking into record territory for the program.

The numbers back up the surge. South Florida leads the conference in seven major categories, including scoring (88.8 points per game), rebounding (42.7), assists (17.2), free throws made (20.6) and three-point attempts (29.1). The Bulls' ability to crash the glass and get to the line has fueled their climb to the top of the league table.

Memphis arrives in Tampa at 12-13 overall and 7-5 in conference play, part of a tight cluster of teams battling for position in the middle of the standings. With the regular season entering its final stretch, every result carries weight in the race for a top-four finish and a favorable draw in the conference tournament.

The Tigers continue to lean on their athleticism and scoring bursts, with several key contributors driving the offense.

Sincere Parker has provided an offensive spark off the bench, highlighted by a 40-point performance at UAB earlier this month. Over his last four outings, he is averaging 23.0 points and 5.3 rebounds while shooting better than 48 percent from the field and 50 percent from three-point range.

Seven-footer Aaron Bradshaw has anchored the frontcourt over the last month, averaging 11.5 points and a team-best 6.4 rebounds per game while scoring in double figures six times in the last eight contests. In the backcourt over that span, Dug McDaniel, Julius Thedford and Curtis Givens III have handled much of the playmaking load, combining for 56 percent of Memphis' assists while helping push the tempo in transition.

Thursday marks the 43rd meeting between the programs. Memphis has historically controlled the series, though South Florida has narrowed the gap in recent seasons. The Tigers won the most recent matchup, an 84–68 decision in Memphis last March.

Now the stage shifts to Tampa, where the conference leader awaits and the standings remain crowded behind them. For Memphis, it's another chance to chip away at the top of the table. For South Florida, it's an opportunity to protect its place at the summit as the calendar turns toward March.

GAME DETAILS
Memphis Tigers (12-13, 7-5 American) at South Florida (18-8, 10-3 American)
Thursday, February 19, 2026 | 6 p.m. CT
Yuengling Center (10,500); Tampa, Florida
Television: ESPN2 (Rich Hollenberg, pxp; Jon Crispin, analyst)
Radio: 98.9 THE ROAR OF MEMPHIS (Dave Woloshin, pxp; Dan O'Brien, analyst)

BY THE NUMBERS

1^st: Aaron Bradshaw is shooting 56.5 percent from the field and 77.6 percent at the free-throw line this season. He is the only American Conference player meeting those marks (minimum 100 FGA). In league play he's been even better, averaging a conference high 61.5 percent clip from the floor.
16: Dug McDaniel carries the longest active streak in Division I having recorded at least three assists and a steal in 16-straight contests. It is also the longest streak by a Memphis Tiger in the last 30 seasons.
18.0: Over the last month since Jan. 18, Sincere Parker leads all of Division I in scoring off the bench (min. six games played) with 18.0 points per game. He is also the first Tiger with back-to-back 20-point games off the bench since Landers Nolley II (Dec. 2020) after scoring 21 (USU) and 20 (UNT).
25: Dug McDaniel is currently on one of the longest steal streaks in American Conference history. He enters Thursday with a steal in 25-straight games, which is the 4th-best streak ever in the league and the longest by a Memphis player since Chris Garner in 1996-97 (29 games).
26.5: Sincere Parker is the nation's fifth-leading scorer in points per 40 minutes played when coming off the bench this season at 26.5 points per game.
33.7: Memphis leads the American and ranks 14th nationally with 33.7 bench points per game, on pace for the highest bench scoring average in American Conference history - topping the league's all-time mark (UTSA, 32.2 in 2023-24).
34-8: Thursday is the 43rd meeting all-time between the programs with Memphis leading 34-8. Memphis has won seven of the last eight overall against USF and are outscoring the Bulls by
10.8 points in that stretch.
35: Sincere Parker enters Thursday having made 35-straight free throws after a 10-for-10 night last weekend at Utah State. His last miss came on Jan. 18 vs. UTSA.

SCOUTING THE BULLS

Under first year head coach Bryan Hodgson, South Florida enters Thursday at 18-8 overall and 10-3 in conference play, sitting alone in first place in the American.
The Bulls lead the conference in scoring at 88.8 points per game and are on pace to become the highest-scoring team in program history.
USF also tops the league in rebounds (42.7; 4^th in DI) and offensive rebounds (15.3; 3^rd in DI) per game.
The Bulls lead the nation in free-throw attempts (28.1) and rank second in free throws made (20.6), while their 17.2 assists per game are 33^rd.
Forward Izaiyah Nelson averages 16.0 points and 9.8 rebounds, leading the conference in rebounding and field-goal percentage (59.2).
- He is third in the country with 16 double-doubles this season.
Wes Enis (15.9 PPG, 3.5 made threes per game) and Joseph Pinion (14.3 PPG, 3.3 made threes per game) form one of the nation's most productive 3-point tandems.
- They both rank in the top-18 nationally in three pointers made per game and in total three-point attempts.
Enis and Pinion have combined to make 171 three-pointers this season. In comparison, Memphis' entire team combined had made 170.

UP NEXT
Memphis returns home this Sunday to host UAB at 11 a.m. for the annual Stripe out the Retro Game.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE TIGERS:
For complete information on Memphis Tiger Men's Basketball, visit www.GoTigersGo.com and follow the team's social media channels on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.