CBI Tourament: South Florida @ DePaul

Who will WIN this matchup?

South Florida Bulls (23-13)

@ DePaul Blue Demons (18-16)

Current odds:

South Florida Bulls: (+190)

DePaul Blue Demons: (-230)

• The line for this game is DePaul by 5 points.

David Collins hit the game-winner in the closing seconds as South Florida won the first game of the College Basketball Invitational best-of-three championship 63-61 over DePaul on Monday. The Bulls look to sweep the CBI when they travel to Chicago on Wednesday to play a Blue Demons team that needs to win the next two games on their home floor to take home the tournament title. USF seemed to have Game 1 under control leading by 11 points with 10 minutes, 21 seconds to play after back-to-back 3-pointers by Collins, but DePaul battled back and tied the contest on a 3-pointer by Eli Cain with 12 seconds left. Collins then converted a runner down the lane with 1.6 seconds left to give him 23 points for the game and the Bulls their record-setting 23rd win of the season.

• Perhaps a bigger story than the shot was the USF defense which held DePaul to 38.5 percent shooting from the field and 15 3-point attempts, forcing the Blue Demons’ lowest scoring output of the season – 17 below their average.

• Collins (15.9 points, 3.0 assists) connected on 4-of-7 from long range, raising his shooting percentage from deep to 31.9 on the season, and the 6-3 sophomore moved into 10th place on USF’s all-time season scoring list with 556 points. Junior guard Laquincy Rideau (12.8 points, 5.3 assists, 3.7 rebounds) scored nine of his 15 points after halftime, and the school’s season steals leader moved within six thefts of triple digits for the season. Sophomore forward Alexis Yetna (12.0 points, 9.6 rebounds) had 10 points and eight rebounds to move into second on USF’s season rebounds list with 327.

• Senior guard Cain (13.4 points, 3.4 assists) led the way with 19 points and three assists while leading scorer Max Strus tallied 17 points on just 8-of-19 shooting, including 1-of-6 from the arc despite hitting at a 36.9 percent clip on 287 attempts this season. The 6-6 senior, who needs 43 points to join Mark Aguirre as the only players in program history with 700 in a season, is the key for the Blue Demons, averaging 19.9 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 3.2 3-pointers – second most in the Big East. Senior forward Femi Olujobi (12.7 points, 5.4 rebounds), who is shooting 61 percent – second best in school history – shot 3-of-9 for 11 points as the Blue Deacons played without point guard Devon Gage (8.8 points, 4.0 assists) for a second straight game (concussion).

• If DePaul wins, Game 3 will be played Friday.

• Both games are being played at McGrath-Phillips Arena on the DePaul campus rather than Wintrust Arena in downtown Chicago.

• DePaul holds a 15-13 edge in the series, but USF has won nine straight. The teams have not met since 2013.