South Florida will take on Cal in one of the First Four games on Wednesday night in Dayton, an interesting matchup between a pair of teams that could use the momentum from the first game to make some noise when the field of 64 opens up Thursday. The Bulls have won 11 of their last 16 games.

Stan Heath joined WDAE in Tampa with Dan Sileo to discuss his expectations heading into the season, a turning point coming when the team was blown out by Georgetown, preparing for the First Four, taking on Cal and Mike Montgomery, if winning the Big East tournament is harder than winning the NCAA tournament and the difference in preparing for those two tournaments.

Could you have seen a tournament bid coming for this team when the year started?:

“If I didn’t have confidence in my players, I don’t think they could perform at the level they need to. So I did believe that this team could achieve some very good things this year. I didn’t know how much, but I felt we could have a good season. As time went on and we had the injuries … I did get concerned, I must admit. But we were very fortunate once we did, the guys came together and we figured out a way to have a little success. We’re very excited about where we are right now.”

You guys were blown out by Georgetown in early February but lost just three times since. Was that a turning point?:

“I do, I think that was definitely a key moment in our season. Things could have went either way. You have to give your seniors and your leaders in that locker room a lot of credit for putting things behind us. As a coach, you hate to be in those situations, you don’t want to lose. But you do have to put losses behind you and move forward and learn from them, but sometimes as a player you just dwell on things. Fortunately those guys had maturity, had good leadership in the locker room and put things behind them.”

What is it like to have to prepare for the First Four and such a quick turnaround?:

“From a tournament standpoint, it seems like it’s a quick turnaround, but really and truly, for the most part, we do play Saturdays and Wednesdays, so we’re really only leaving a day earlier [to start the week]. … So we’re actually on a normal regular-season schedule. We won’t have any problems making that adjustment and playing California on Wednesday.”

On preparing for Cal and coach Mike Montgomery:

“Mike is one of the premier coaches in college basketball and he’s done an outstanding job since taking over that Cal program. Just watching a little film on them, their guard play is excellent. They really can shoot the ball from three different positions on the floor. All the guys can put the ball on the floor and make plays. They’ve got a solid inside game as well and they score at a very efficient level. Our defense will really get tested in this game.”

Do you think it’s tougher to win the Big East championship than the NCAA tournament?:

“You know, I think obviously the NCAA tournament is the prize. It’s what we all shoot for. … The way UConn did it last year, it would’ve been tougher — winning five games in five days where four of those teams had byes before you played them. I think that’s a lot harder than winning six games over a three-week period. Does that make sense? That’s where I would give the edge to our conference tournament. … In our tournament, if you had the double-bye and just had the three games to win it, then I’d have to go with the NCAA tournament.”

What’s the difference in preparing for the two tournaments?:

“Two things, obviously the time is different. It’s a three-week period and you have two games in each week and, in our situation, the First Four game, we have three, possibly. But the officiating is a little bit different. Some of our officials in our league have actually come to me during games and mentioned, ‘Hey, I really like your team and I like how hard you play, but be aware of this, this and this, because if you get to the NCAA tournament, they really look at these things here.’ So we’ve got a little bit of a brief education. … At the same time, I don’t want my guys overthinking that. I think players adjust.”

Listen to Stan Heath on WDAE in Tampa here

On if the success that ‘backs like Marshawn Lynch and others have had in the past has enabled Tedford to continue to recruit bigtime ball carriers like Jahvid Best:

“Yeah, I think the history of what our backs have done and the production they’ve had, I think they can all see themselves as a guy who wants to carry the ball, who wants to have some production and things like that.  So yeah, I think the success that we’ve had at the tailback position has enabled us to recruit some pretty good players.”

On just how big this three game stretch for Cal is – @Oregon, USC, @UCLA:

“Well it starts this week…We can kind of take these last three games and throw them out the window because a whole new emphasis gets put on conference play.  And going up to Oregon to play one of the better teams in our conference, very difficult to be successful in Autzen Stadium.  So, huge test this week and it’s going to take a lot of concentration, focus and preparation.”

On why Tedford has remained at Cal rather than jumping to what many might consider greener pastures for head coaches:

“Well, we enjoy it here.  We love the place, we’ve created some great friendships, relationships in the community, alumni.  Love our players.  You know, I think this has the potential to be a special place and a lot of times, quality of life is a little bit more important than chasing some big paycheck somewhere.  And we have found that the quality of life here is great.  We love the Bay Area and enjoy the kids that we coach every day.  And our staff – I really appreciate our staff – and so it’s exciting times here.  New facilities being built and so we’re really happy.  And the bottom line is my wife’s happy and you know, that’s the real reason – my wife’s happy.”

On just how special running back Jahvid Best is:

“Well he is.  He’s really special, and you’re right, we’ve had a lot of great backs.  And the difference with Jahvid is he has that break away speed, he’s such a versatile player.  He’s a guy who can run inside, he has great lateral movement, he has the speed in the open field, you can put him out at receiver, he can catch the ball as well as a receiver, and he’s a good pass protector.  So, you know besides that, he’s just an average guy.  So he’s got it all and on top of that, he’s a great young man. He’s very focused, he’s very team oriented, and he has a great deal of respect for his teammates, his teammates respect him, and you know, he’s just an awesome kid and I’m happy he’s on our team.”

Listen here to Tedford with Fitz and Brooks on KNBR in San Francisco