Connecticut meets USF in AAC tourney

No. 9 seed Connecticut (15-16, 6-12) vs. No. 8 seed South Florida (19-12, 8-10)

American Athletic Conference Tournament First Round, FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee; Thursday, 12 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: Connecticut is set to take on South Florida in the first round of the AAC tournament. The teams split the regular season series at one win apiece. The teams last met on March 3, when the Huskies shot 38.5 percent from the field while holding South Florida’s shooters to just 32.8 percent en route to a 60-58 victory.

SAVVY SENIORS: Connecticut’s Christian Vital, Jalen Adams and Tarin Smith have collectively accounted for 47 percent of all Huskies scoring this season, though that figure has dropped to 34 percent over the last five games.

FACILITATING THE OFFENSE: David Collins has been directly responsible for 41 percent of all South Florida field goals over the last three games. The sophomore guard has 11 field goals and 16 assists in those games.

PERFECT WHEN: The Bulls are 11-0 when they block at least four opposing shots and 8-12 when they fall shy of that mark. The Huskies are 6-0 when at least five of their players score in double-figures and 9-16 on the year otherwise.

ASSIST DISTRIBUTION: The Bulls have recently used assists to create buckets more often than the Huskies. South Florida has 38 assists on 66 field goals (57.6 percent) across its previous three outings while Connecticut has assists on 39 of 74 field goals (52.7 percent) during its past three games.

DID YOU KNOW: South Florida has attempted the most free throws in all of Division I. The Bulls have averaged 27.7 free throws per game.