The University of South Florida men's basketball team held a watch party for its first round NCAA Tournament game against the Louisville Cardinals on Thursday.
Fans gathered at the Yuengling Draft Haus near the Tampa campus to watch the Bulls' first tournament game in 14 years.
Before the game, anticipation was high among fans.
Some, like Harry Wedding, believed the Bulls could make a deep run in the tournament.
“Absolutely, they can make it to the Sweet 16 if their cards fall right,” he said.
But USF struggled to maintain its regular-season momentum, and their shots didn't fall right.
READ MORE: USF rally comes up short in 83-79 loss to Louisville in NCAA tournament
The Bulls missed 20 of their first 21 three-point shots, and by early in the second half, they found themselves down by as much as 23 points.
While they hit some momentum late in the game, it wasn't enough to overcome that deficit.
And while disappointed by the 83-79 loss, fans like Ken DeCelles praised the team's effort afterwards.
"You admire the fight, you appreciate what they did this year,” he said. “I’ve been following the team since 2003, so to see them in this position and to almost come back and win is heartening to see, and it's a disappointing end to a great season. I wish it would have gone a little bit longer.”
But the biggest concern among fans remains the potential departure of head coach Bryan Hodgson.
Rumors about his future continue to spread.
Anthony Iannelli thinks, no matter who's at the helm, the Bulls are heading in the right direction.
“I don't know, it's hard to say, because I don't even know if our coach will be here next year,” he said. “So if he's back, definitely, if not, I feel confident that we would hire a good coach to get back there sooner than 14 years.”
