TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - South Florida coach Jose Fernandez is no different than most coaches when it comes to traveling for the women’s NCAA Tournament. He would prefer not to have to do it.
Fernandez even thought his team would be hosting a sub-regional this year. Instead, the Bulls are a sixth seed for the fourth straight year and though they only have to make a four-hour trip north to Tallahassee - they’re still not thrilled about having to make the trek for the second straight season.
The Bulls (26-7) face No. 11 seed Buffalo (27-5) in an Albany Region first-round game on Saturday.
“I definitely didn’t think we were going to come to Tallahassee,” Fernandez said. “We can’t control that. We’re moving forward and focusing on Buffalo.”
USF has been in the NCAA Tournament five of the last six seasons. This year it had a No. 14 RPI and one of the nation’s toughest nonconference schedules, which included a win over 10th-ranked Ohio State.
If the trek to Florida’s capital leads to a Sweet 16 berth, it would be worthwhile.
The Bulls, who have won 11 of their last 13 games, are led by Maria Jespersen and Kitija Laksa.
Jespersen, a six-foot senior forward, is averaging a near double-double at 18.0 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. Laksa, a 6-0 junior guard, is averaging 20.9 points per game and is the nation’s best free-throw shooter, making 95.5 percent.
“We are playing our best basketball right now. One thing that we have done is holding teams to one shot and out,” Fernandez said. “We continued to do a good job defending the basketball and sharing the basketball without fouling.”
USF is hoping that this year it will get a chance to face host Florida State. The Bulls lost in the first round to Missouri last year on a last-second layup. The third-seeded Seminoles (25-6) face No. 14 Little Rock (23-9) in the first game.
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Some other things to know about this weekend’s games:
EARLY START, NO PROBLEM: Florida State gets the early tipoff time of 11 a.m. despite being the host school. Senior guard AJ Alix said she hasn’t had a morning game since high school, but that it doesn’t matter.
“We just have to go out there and play. We are going to be prepared either way,” she said.
Florida State has won its last 14 games in the first round dating back to 1991. It is the second-longest active streak among ACC teams, only trailing Duke, who has won 23 straight opening games.
ON THE DEFENSIVE: Little Rock enters the tournament sixth in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 52.6 points per game. That has been a big reason why the Trojans have won 19 of their last 20 games and the Sun Belt Conference title. They have allowed opponents to score over 60 points only three times since Dec. 29.
Little Rock also isn’t fazed about facing a Power Five program. It defeated Oklahoma 68-56 on Nov. 28 along with facing Texas A&M, Mississippi State and LSU during its non-conference schedule.
“We have faced those big schools and we know what we have to do, it’s not a guessing game of what is in front of our team,” coach Joe Foley said.
The Trojans will face a Florida State team that is 13th nationally in scoring offense, averaging 81.2 points.
FEELING BULLISH: Buffalo is hoping to repeat what the men did on Thursday against Arizona and get its first NCAA Tournament win.
The Bulls are in the field for the second time in three years and are the first team from the Mid-American Conference since 1996 to get an at-large berth.
“We stayed up late enough to see their defense come out and pound Arizona,” center Cassie Oursler said. “It was incredible to watch. The amount of support they are getting from Buffalo is empowering and now it’s our turn.”
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