FORT WORTH, Texas — The University of South Florida Bulls returned to the hardwood in style Friday.

The top-seed in the American Athletic Conference men’s basketball tournament, the Bulls (now 24-6, 17-2 in American) pounded East Carolina (now 16-17, 7-12) in a quarterfinal game on Friday.

Kobe Knox scored 17 points for USF, and Selton Miguel added another 17 off the bench for USF, who had four players overall that scored in double figures.

The Bulls coasted to a 44-30 lead at halftime and never looked back, advancing to a Saturday afternoon game.

USF shot an impressive 45.2 percent (14-31) from behind the three-point arc. The Bulls had only nine turnovers, to 13 for ECU, whose ended with the loss.

The Bulls, who fell out of the AP Top 25 poll after last week’s regular-season finale at Tulsa, had defeated East Carolina 71-60 in their only meeting earlier this season.

The loss at Tulsa ended USF’s program-best 15-game winning streak.

The conference championship game is on Sunday at 3:15 p.m.

See the full American Athletic Conference tournament schedule.