TAMPA, Fla.  – Xavier Bell poured in 26 points to lead Wichita State to a 75-70 road win at South Florida Sunday afternoon at the Yuengling Center.

Playing on Super Bowl Sunday for the third straight year, Wichita State (13-10, 3-7) improved to 4-2 all time on the big day.

Bell was a career-best 14-of-15 at the free throw line to record his fifth 20-point game of the season. Quincy Ballard added his eighth double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Corey Washington extended his streak of games in double figures to 12 in a row with 11 points. Ronnie DeGray III finished in double figures for the first time since Nov. 9, totaling 10 points and six rebounds.

Wichita State overcame a slow shooting night where they finished 3-of-13 from three-point range and shot just 39.3 percent overall. South Florida shot 52.2 percent from the field, but missed 14-of-17 attempts from beyond the arc.

The free throw line would prove to be huge in the game. Wichita State connected on 24-of-29 attempts, while the Bulls were 19-of-27.

Wichita State also dominated the glass, outrebounding the Bulls by 20, including 19 offensive rebounds.

Wichita State was able to build a seven-point lead 10 minutes in thanks to dominating the glass. The Shockers grabbed nine offensive rebounds and were outrebounding the Bulls 15-3. Ballard had six of those rebounds himself to go with six early points, including a pair dunks.

USF settled in on the offensive end, putting together an 8-0 run to grab a 22-21 lead with 7:16 left in the half.

Five straight points from Bell put Wichita State back on top, 30-28, nearing the 3:00 minute mark, but another USF 8-0 spurt sent the Bulls into the locker room with a 36-32 lead. A Harlond Beverly floater just before the buzzer snapped a 3:18 drought to end the half.

Wichita State finished the first half shooting 41 percent from the field after a 2-for-11 start from the field. USF shot better than 60 percent over the first 20 minutes. Both teams were just 1-for-7 from beyond the arc.

A couple missed opportunities from USF to open the second half kept the Bulls from grabbing a double digit lead. The Shockers would capitalize behind five straight points from DeGray and two Bell free throws to retake the lead, 43-40.

Wichita State would continue to hold the lead until the 7:00 minute mark on a Jayden Reid three-pointer. That lead would not last long as Wichita State put together a 7-0 run to grab a 67-61 advantage.

At the 1:54 mark, Wichita State held a 69-63 lead, but six straight had the Bulls right back within one and only 53 seconds had gone off the clock.

Needing a stop USF allowed two offensive rebounds, the second leading to Ballard getting fouled with 39 seconds left. Ballard calmly stepped to the line and drained both to make it a three-point game.

A USF turnover on the ensuing possession put Washington at the line where he would convert, making it 73-68. Another USF turnover and two more free throws iced the game in the final seconds.

Up Next
Wichita State plays four of its next five games at home, beginning with UTSA on Feb. 12 at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+.