USF Dons Set to Face No. 6 Pepperdine/No. 7 San Diego Winner in 2011 Zappos.com WCC Tournament
3/2/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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USF OPENS WCC TOURNAMENT SATURDAY: San Francisco opens the 2011 Zappos.com West Coast Conference Tournament in the quarterfinals Saturday, March 5 when it takes on the winner of Friday's No. 6 Pepperdine/No. 7 San Diego first round game. Tip-off is set for approximately 8:30 PM in the second game at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. The contest will be broadcast live on the flagship station of Dons Basketball, Green 960 and will be televised nationally on BYUtv and be streamed live online at ESPN3 and WCCSports.com. The winner will advance to take on No.2 Gonzaga Sunday in the second semifinal televised nationally on ESPN2. Game time is set for 7:30 PM.
SINCE 1982: USF capped a strong league season with the program's first 10-win West Coast Conference campaign since 1982 (11-3). The Dons finished the league slate at 10-4 after outlasting Loyola Marymount 77-75 in the 2010-11 regular season finale last Saturday. The Dons have won 12 of their last 16 games.
FOUR DONS EARN ALL-WCC HONORS: Junior guard Rashad Green and sophomore guard Michael Williams were named to the All-West Coast Conference First Team, while sophomore center Perris Blackwell was named Honorable Mention. First year Don Cody Doolin was tabbed for the all-freshman team.
- First time USF has had two First Team picks since 2000 (Kenyon Jones, WCC Player of the Year & Darrell Tucker)
- USF extends its WCC record to 56 players earning All-WCC first or second team selection with a total of 96 honors
- Doolin is first Don freshman tabbed since 2008 (Myron Strong)
DONS SECURE NO. 3 SEED: USF finished the 2011 West Coast Conference season a full game behind regular season co-champions Gonzaga (11-3) and Saint Mary's (11-3). The Dons third place showing is the best for the program since 2007 and the No. 3 seed in the Zappos.com WCC Tournament matches the highest for the Green and Gold in the event's 25-year history. USF also captured the No. 3 seed in 1994, 1997 and 2003.
USF AT A GLANCE - 2010-11 Regular SEASON BULLETS
- USF is one of the youngest teams in Division I basketball this season with just seven years of returning Division I experience. The Dons' 2010-11 roster features nine newcomers, seven freshmen, one redshirt freshman and one transfer
- Dons underclassmen average 41.0 ppg accounting for .597 of the team's scoring
- USF underclassmen have started 86 times in 145 opportunities through 29 games
- USF leads the West Coast Conference in 3-point defense at .320 (204-637)
- USF rates third in the WCC in scoring (72.1 ppg), field goal percentage defense (.414) and fourth in field goal percentage (.434) during 2011 league games
- USF trailed at halftime of 10 of 14 WCC games and has gone 6-4 when trailing at intermission in league contests
- USF posted 18 double-doubles in 29 games. USF tallied just four in 2009-10.
- USF averaged 71.8 points and 37.5 rebounds per game in WCC contests
- USF has won 16 of its last 21 contests at War Memorial Gym including OT wins vs. No. 13/8 Gonzaga 81-77 (1/30/10), Colorado 83-81 (11/20/10) and Montana 50-48 (12/12/10)
USF DONS BASKETBALL ON GREEN 960 AM: All USF games in the 2011 Zappos.com West Coast Conference Tournament will be broadcast live on the radio home of Dons Basketball, Green 960. Now in his 20th year calling the Dons, Pat Olson will team with USF Hall-of-Famer Jim Brovelli as USF makes its tournament run.
SCOUTING PEPPERDINE: After closing the first half of the West Coast Conference season with a 94-88 home win against USF, Pepperdine closed with just two wins in its last seven league contests. The Waves took a 70-63 overtime win at San Diego (2/5/11) and downed Portland 66-64 at Firestone Fieldhouse (2/10/11). Pepperdine lost its last four WCC games and fell 79-78 in overtime at San Francisco and dropped a 71-68 setback at Santa Clara in the final week of the WCC campaign.
SCOUTING SAN DIEGO: The Toreros enter the 2011 Zappos.com West Coast Conference Tournament with a 6-23 overall record, 2-12 in league play. San Diego has been playing better of late and has posted two wins in its last seven WCC games, highlighted by a stunning home victory against Saint Mary's (2/16/11) at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. USD also dispatched Loyola Marymount 66-63 to open the second half of league play. The Toreros suffered a sweep in the season series to USF.
