COMPLETE RELEASE
USF MARCHES ON IN 2011 POSTSEASON: After posting a thrilling 77-74 triumph at Hawaii in the second round of the 2011 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT), San Francisco continues its march Tuesday when it welcomes ancient Bay Area rival Santa Clara to War Memorial Gym. The 208th all-time meeting in the series will be the first postseason match-up between the Dons and Broncos. The contest will be carried live on the official radio home of Dons Basketball, Green 960.
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. The Dons have won 15 of their last 20 games.
A PEEK AT THE BRONCOS: Santa Clara won its opening game in the CIT with a 68-63 win against Northern Arizona and followed with a 88-75 victory against Air Force Friday at the Leavey Center. Tuesday's game against San Francisco will be Santa Clara's first road game since February 19.
WILLIAMS DECORATED: Sophomore guard Michael Williams earned two more postseason accolades to go along with his First Team All-West Coast Conference selection. Williams was named to the NABC All-District 9 Second Team and the Zappos.com WCC All-Tournament Team.
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 MOVING ON UP: USF's 81-73 CIT win against Idaho gave the Dons 18 wins on the year, the most since posting a 19-12 record in 2000 under head coach Phil Mathews. Other first-time-since notes...
- USF wins first round postseason game for the second time in its last two postseason berths. Dons defeated Denver 69-67 in 2005 NIT play-in game at War Memorial.
- Dons win against Idaho was the 13th home triumph for the Green and Gold this season, the best home slate since going 14-2 in 1981-82.
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 41.3 ppg accounting for .594 of the team's scoring
- USF underclassmen have started 98 times in 165 opportunities through 33 games
- USF leads the West Coast Conference in 3-point defense at .317 (225-710)
- USF rated 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 went 6-4 when trailing at intermission in league contests
- USF posted 21 double-doubles in 33 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 17 of its last 22 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 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) 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 CIT run.
After defeating Hawaii 77-74 in the second round of the 2011 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament…
- USF (19-14) is playing for its first 20-win season since 1981-82 (25-6)
- San Francisco has played the most games (33 and counting) in a single season in program history. The previous mark was 31 set most recently in 2008.
- USF improved to 29-18 overall in the program's 22nd overall postseason appearance (NCAA – 16; NIT – 5; CIT – 1)
- Dons have won two games in a postseason tournament for the first time since the 1957 NCAA Tournament. USF reached the Final Four, falling to Wilt Chamberlain's Kansas Jayhawks.
- San Francisco's Tuesday CIT Quarterfinals showdown against Santa Clara marks the first time the Dons have faced a Bay Area opponent in the postseason since 1957 when the Green and Gold knocked off Cal 50-46 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
- USF improved to 5-8 on the road this season, the best for the program since posting a 5-10 slate in 2006-07. The Dons' .385 road winning percentage is the best since going 8-5 (.615) in 1999-00.
- The win against Hawaii marked the ninth time USF has won a game after trailing at halftime and USF improves to 9-11 when trailing at intermission
- With seven years of Division I experience, USF was the seventh least experienced roster in Division I this season and is one of two teams (Idaho) to:
- a) post a winning record
- b.) reach the postseason
- The Dons improve to a remarkable 11-5 in games decided by seven points or less.
- USF upped its record in games decided by three points or less to 7-2 with the only setbacks coming against Loyola Chicago (63-62) and IUPUI (69-68).
- San Francisco has won 15 of its last 20 games after opening the season at 4-9
- USF has pulled down at least 40 rebounds in 16 games this season, including two with 49 - vs. Seattle (11/12/10) and Pepperdine (2/24/11)
SCOUTING SANTA CLARA: The Broncos advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2011 CollegeInsider.com Postseason tournament after downing Air Force 88-75 Friday at the Leavey Center. Santa Clara opened its first postseason in 15 years and its 16th overall with a 68-63 win against Northern Arizona last Tuesday in the South Bay. SCU plays its first road game since February 19 when it faces San Francisco Tuesday night on the Hilltop. Winners of six of their last 10 outings, the Broncos own a 5-6 record on the road. Sophomore guard Kevin Foster leads the nation in 3-pointers per game (3.7) and has a whopping 129 this season. Kerry Keating is in his fourth overall season as the head honcho and owns a 64-68 overall record as a Division I head coach - all coming at Santa Clara. Last season, Keating directed the Broncos to a 3-11 WCC slate.
USF IN THE JESUIT BASKETBALL SPOTLIGHT: USF is proud of its rich Jesuit heritage and the Dons will compete in no fewer than 10 games against fellow Jesuit schools during the 2010-11 season. The Dons beat Loyola Marymount 77-75 in the regular season finale February 26 on the Hilltop. With the win against the Lions, USF improved to 6-2 against Jesuit foes during the 2010-11 campaign. USF takes on Jesuit opponent Santa Clara in the 2011 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament quarterfinals Tuesday. San Francisco is taking part in the Jesuit Spotlight Project for the third consecutive season, using Jesuit basketball to raise awareness of the outstanding education available at the nation's 28 Jesuit colleges and universities. For more information, log on to www.ajcunet.edu/jesuitbasketball.
