USF vs. San Diego – Game Advance
By Scott Bergen, USFDons.com
ADDITIONAL MEDIA
Michael Williams on WCC's Road to Las Vegas | Coach Walters on Radnich
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SAN DIEGO GAME NOTES
(San Francisco) – Coming off of a season-sweep of rival Santa Clara, the Dons (12-11, 6-2 WCC) continue their homestand Thursday against the San Diego Toreros (5-19, 1-8 WCC), who are bringing up the rear in the West Coast Conference.
Tip-off between the Dons and Toreros will be at 7:30 PM at War Memorial Gym in a game televised by Comcast SportsNet California and aired on KDIA (1640 AM).
USF struggled in the preseason this year, but since the calendar flipped to 2011, it has been a different story. The Dons have won eight of their last 10 and are off to their best WCC start since 1981, when they matched this year's 6-2 record.
Junior guard Rashad Green has helped fuel the Dons during their hot streak. Green has led USF in scoring since entering WCC play, dropping in 15.3 points per game, which is sixth in the conference. Green was named WCC Player of the Week for last week, thanks to his game-high 18 points against Santa Clara on Saturday.
The Toreros have struggled in Coach Bill Grier's fourth season at the helm, already suffering through losing streaks of eight and six games this season. They have played their best ball of the year in their last five games, beating Cal State Bakersfield and Loyola Marymount (their only WCC win this season) before losing a heartbreaker to Pepperdine. The Waves' Mychel Thompson hit a 40-footer at the buzzer to send the game into overtime, where Pepperdine pulled away for a 70-63 win.
USD and USF are last and second-to-last in the WCC in scoring, assist/turnover ratio, and free-throw percentage, but USF's greatest advantage will be on the glass. The Dons are second in the WCC with 37.9 boards per game, whereas the Toreros struggle on the glass, scooping up just 29.5 rebounds per game.
Green is 10th in the conference with 5.7 rebounds per game in WCC play, but teammates Perris Blackwell and Angelo Caloiaro are tied for third at 7.0 each. San Diego does not have a rebounder among the top 15 in the conference.
USF has won the last three meetings between the two schools, including a 65-55 win in San Diego on January 15, in which Green led all scorers with a career high 21-points.
San Diego's Probable Starters (as of 2/9/11)
G #0 Darian Norris, 6'0", 180 Jr. (10.3 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 3.0 apg)
G #20 Matt Dorr, 6'4", 194, Sr. (9.0 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.4 apg)
G #3 Devin Ginty, 6'2", 190, Sr. (8.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.8 apg)
F #32 Ken Rancifer, 6'5", 215, So. (8.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg, .8 apg)
C #42 Chris Gabriel, 6'11", 285, So. (7.4 ppg, 3.5 rpg, .2 apg)
Series Record/Streak: USD leads 33-32/ USF won 3
Last Three Meetings
1/15/11 USF 65, at USD 55
2/4/10 USF 72, at USD 70, ot
1/10/10 at USF 87, USD 71
TV/Radio/Web Broadcasts:
Television: Comcast SportsNet California
Radio: KDIA 910 AM
Internet Audio: USFDons.com
Live Stats: USFDons.com
Live Chat: USFDons.com
Up Next for the Dons: USF will take on the WCC-frontrunners, Saint Mary's (20-4, 8-1 WCC) at home on Saturday to close out its current three-game homestand. Tip-off against the Gaels is set for 7:30 PM in a game televised live by Comcast SportsNet California. The Dons then head to the Pacific Northwest next week to play the last two road games of the 2011 league campaign, including a nationally televised game at Portland next Thursday on ESPNU.
