TAMPA, Fla. - They stood next to each other, faces set in frustration.

South Florida's Solomon Jones walked over to Melvin Buckley and reprimanded him over his poor execution. Following the broken play, the Bulls couldn't contain their emotions stemming from the Wolverines' defense.

"(Michigan's defensive pressure) was very good," South Florida coach Robert McCullum said. "They're experienced, talented and deep, and we knew that coming in. What's even more frustrating is the number of breakdowns that we had offensively in terms of guys not knowing the plays or not being where they are supposed to be when they are supposed to be there."

During the game, the Wolverines' defense constantly confused and upset the South Florida offense. It caused several five-second violations, forced difficult shots and was instrumental in Michigan's 19-0 run toward the end of the first half that put the game out of reach.

The Bulls stuck with the Wolverines for the first five minutes of the game and only trailed by two. But after that, Michigan altered its defensive scheme from strictly man-to-man defense to a matchup zone.

South Florida adjusted to the different defense, but it took a great shot from James Holmes to save the Bulls from a shot-clock violation.

On the Bulls' following possession, Holmes once again connected on a jumper, and Michigan's zone didn't seem to be working effectively. When the Wolverines were entrenched in the matchup zone, they surrendered five points to the Bulls' leading scorer.

With 12 minutes left in the half, the Wolverines returned to their man-to-man defense, hoping to decrease the number of open looks for Holmes.

Michigan mounted a 19-0 run, utilizing stellar defensive pressure to fluster South Florida's inexperienced backcourt. Bulls point guard Chris Capko - in the lineup for injured guard Chris Howard - often couldn't run the offense due to the defensive pressure of Michigan's guards.

"We were able to pressure without fouling, which was a point of emphasis for us going into this game," Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said. "It allowed us to get some steals and transition buckets. I thought that was the difference in us building a very comfortable margin in the first half."

Toward the end of the first half, the Bulls couldn't find a rhythm offensively. Several times, the shot clock ticked below five seconds, forcing South Florida to shoot contested jumpers. On one incident, forward McHugh Mattis received the ball in the corner with the shot clock running down. His ensuing shot ricocheted off the side of the backboard, no where close to the cylinder.

During the remainder of the game, the Wolverines rotated between a full-court press, man-to-man halfcourt defense and a matchup zone.

"Whether we were picking them up full court or pressuring them, we really didn't feel like they had that good of ball handlers to get them into their offense," junior Lester Abram said.

When the Wolverines gained a double-digit lead, the defensive intensity never let up. Michigan players didn't let a Bull rise for a jumper or drive to the lane without attempting to alter the shot. Maintaining intensity on the defensive side allowed Michigan to collect 10 steals and score 24 points off South Florida turnovers.

"Coach told us to keep the pressure on them and come out of there with a victory," Abram said. "We were just motivated to come out of there with a win, and we felt that keeping pressure on them was necessary."