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Gold Out Night
Game #22
USF Dons (9-12, 2-6 WCC) vs. Saint Mary's Gaels (17-4, 6-1 WCC)
War Memorial Gymnasium • San Francisco, Calif.
Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013 • 7:00 p.m.
Series Record: USF leads 103-71 (Since 1947-48)
Last Meeting: Saint Mary's 78-72 (Jan. 12, 2013)
Radio: USFDons.com (
Pat Olson, Play-by-Play; Jim Brovelli, Analyst)
TV/Web: Comcast SportsNet California (Barry Tomkins and Dan Belluomini)
Dons Briefs
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Now 9-12 on the season and 2-6 in the West Coast Conference after splitting a pair of road games last week at Portland (W, 75-72) and Gonzaga (L, 66-52).
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Have won two of its last three games following a five-game losing streak to open conference play.
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Eight of the team's last 11 losses have been by 10 points or less, including four by six points or less...trailed by two points with 31 seconds or less remaining in three of the six conference losses.
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Have dropped 15 straight to Saint Mary's, including a 78-72 decision earlier this month in Moraga...Dons last win in the series came in the 2005-06 season, 53-52 on The Hilltop.
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Shot 45.9 percent from the field (45-for-98) in two games last week, including a 53.2 percent effort at Portland...shooting 39.1 percent (79-for-202) over last six contests...rank fifth in the WCC in field goal percentage at 44.8.
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Made nine three-pointers in both games at Portland (9-for-21) and Gonzaga (9-for-24)...have made nine or more three-pointers in 10 games this season...rank second in the WCC and 30th nationally in three-point field goal percentage (38.1).
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Made 19-of-25 free throws in two games last week, including a 16-for-17 performance at Portland...shooting 73.1 percent (142-for-194) from the line over last 11 games after converting at just 61.1 percent over first 10 contests...rank eighth in the WCC in free throw percentage at 66.8.
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Have been outrebounded in eight straight games and 14 of the last 16 dating back to the St. John's game on Dec. 4...rank eighth in the WCC in rebound average at 33.0.
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Limited Gonzaga to its third-lowest scoring output in a 66-52 loss last Saturday...rank eighth in the WCC in scoring defense at 68.8.
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Junior Cole Dickerson leads the WCC and ranks 19th nationally in rebound average (9.8)...averaging 6.3 boards a game in WCC play after pulling down 11.9 per game in the first 13 contests.
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Cole Dickerson has posted eight double-doubles in 21 games this season and was one rebound away from double-doubles in four other games.
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Cody Doolin has 367 career assists which ranks third all-time on USF's career charts.
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Avry Holmes now leads the WCC in three-point field goal percentage at 47.4...De'End Parker ranks second (46.7) while Chris Adams ranks seventh (41.2).
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Travel to Malibu to face the Pepperdine Waves on Saturday (2:30 p.m.)...will then be off for a week before resuming play on Feb. 9 at BYU.
Dons Return Home to Face Saint Mary's
USF (9-12, 2-6 WCC) returns to War Memorial Gymnasium Wednesday night to face longtime rival Saint Mary's (17-4, 6-1 WCC). Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. and the game will be televised on Comcast SportsNet California with Barry Tompkins and Dan Belluomini calling the action.
The Dons split a pair of road games last week, defeating Portland, 75-72 on a three-pointer by
Cole Dickerson with 0.01 left in the game before dropping a 66-52 decision to 10th-ranked Gonzaga Saturday in Spokane. The Gaels downed San Diego (81-48) and Pepperdine (84-72) last week to run their winning streak to five games.
USF-Saint Mary's Series
Dating back to the 1947-48 season, USF holds a 103-71 advantage in head-to-head meetings with Saint Mary's. However, the Gaels have won 15 straight and 19 out of the last 20 meetings between the two schools dating back to the 2003-04 season. Saint Mary's current stretch of success against the Dons is the longest win streak in the series by either school.
USF's last win in the series came in the first meeting of the 2005-06 season (Jan. 16) when the Dons pulled out a 53-52 victory on The Hilltop.
Saint Mary's won the first meeting of the season between the two schools, claiming a 78-72 decision in Moraga on Jan. 12 (see below for details). The Gaels won all three meetings against USF last season (87-72 in Moraga; 67-60 in San Francisco; 83-78 WCC Tournament).
First Time Around • Saint Mary's 78, USF 72 • Jan. 12, 2012 • Moraga, Calif.
Dropped a six-point decision to the Gaels in Motaga, making the Dons fourth straight loss by six points or less and 15th straight setback at the hands of the Gaels.
Trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half at 27-17 at the 6:25 mark but went on a 19-8 run to take a 36-35 lead at intermission.
Trailed by just four points at 66-62 with 2:03 left but the Gaels made 9-of-10 free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.
Cody Doolin scored 13 of his team-high 16 points in the second half...De'End Parker finished with 15, including a 70-footer as time expired.
Last Time Out: Takeaways From the Gonzaga Game
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Dropped a 66-52 decision to 10th-ranked Gonzaga Saturday at the McCarthey Athletic Center, marking USF's 24th straight loss in Spokane.
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Dons limited the Zags to their third-lowest scoring output of the season...after scoring 43 points in the first half, the Zags managed just 23 after intermission on 29.6 percent shooting from the floor.
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USF's 52 points were the team's second-lowest outut of the season (51 at Nevada).
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USF trailed by just two points at 21-19 with 8:51 left in the first half only to see Gonzaga go on a 22-2 run to take a 43-21 lead at intermission.
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Dons scored the last nine points of the game for the 66-52 final.
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Chris Adams led all USF scorers with nine points while Avry Holmes chipped in with eight off the bench...USF's leading scorer Cole Dickerson was held scoreless.
That Close
Of USF's 12 losses this season, eight have been by 10 points or fewer, including three of the last four which have been decided by six points or less. In three of USF's six conference losses, the Dons trailed by two points with 31 seconds or less remaining in the game. However, USF has faced deficeits of 10 points or more in six of its eight conference games.
Home and Road
USF is 6-4 at home this season and is 40-17 (.702) record in its last 57 home games dating back to the 2009-10 season. The Dons are 47-22 (.681) in Memorial Gymnasium in five seasons under head coach
Rex Walters.
The Dons are 2-5 in true road games this season, with wins at American (Nov. 19) and Portland (Jan. 24).
Lineups
USF has employed four starting lineups this season, with the latest quintent of
Cody Doolin,
Chris Adams, Tim Derksen,
Cole Dickerson and Matt Christiansen being in place since the Loyola Marymount game.
Christiansen has started the last three games in the middle while Adams has made seven straight starts beginning with the BYU game.
Doolin, Dickerson and Derksen have started all 21 games this season, while Tao Xu (16), De'End Parker (14) and Frank Rogers (2) have also earned starting assignments.
Five underclassmen have earned starts at some point during the season.
Leaders in Their Field
Three USF players --
Cole Dickerson,
Cody Doolin and Avry Holmes -- rank in the top-40 nationally in various statistical categories.
Dickerson ranks 19th in rebound average (9.8), Doolin ranks 32nd in assist average (5.6) and Holmes ranks 32nd in three-point field goal percentage (47.4).
From the Field
After shooting just 32.7 percent (34-for-104) from the field in its previous two games vs. Santa Clara (16-for-50) and Loyola Marymount (18-for-54), USF shot 53.2 percent (25-for-47) from the floor in Thursday night's win at Portland.
USF is 6-3 this season when shooting 50 percent or better from the floor, with its only losses in those eight games coming against Ole Miss (50.9), BYU (50.0) and Saint Mary's (51.0).
USF currently ranks fifth in the WCC in field goal percentage at 44.8 percent.
Freshman Tim Derksen ranks sixth in the WCC in field goal percentage at 52.0 percent (65-for-125) while
Cole Dickerson ranks 13th at 44.3.
The Three-Point Story
USF ranks second the WCC and 30th nationally in three-point field goal percentage at 38.1 (153-for-402).
The Dons have made nine or more three-pointers in eight games this season, including five of its first eight conference games vs. Santa Clara (9-for-22), BYU (11-for-24), Saint Mary's (9-for-18), Portland (9-for-21) and Gonzaga (9-for-24).
Avry Holmes leads the WCC and ranks 32nd nationally in three-point field goal percentage at 47.4 percent, De'End Parker ranks second in the conference at 46.7 percent (25-for-54) and
Chris Adams ranks seventh at 41.2 percent (18-for-45).
All but one of Adams' field goals this season has been a three-pointer.
Board Work
USF has been outrebounded in all eight conference games vs. Santa Clara (33-42; 29-42), BYU (34-38), San Diego (27-34), Saint Mary's (23-31), Loyola Marymount (38-43), Portland (17-28) and Gonzaga (33-37).
The Dons have been outboarded in 14 of the last 16 contests dating back to the St. John's game on Dec. 4 and rank eighth in the WCC in rebound average at 33.0 per game and ninth in rebound margin (-1.1). USF also ranks ninth in the WCC in offensive rebounds at 8.4 per game.
The Dons opened the season by outrebounding its first five opponents by a margin of 11.4 per game but lost the battle of the boards in its next six games vs. St. John's (34-37), Pacific (25-36), Nevada (30-45), Holy Cross (34-41), San Diego State (25-34), Ole Miss (27-33).
Charity Stripe Turnaround
USF made 19-of-25 16-of-17 of its free throw attempts Thursday night at Portland and is shooting 74.7 (139-for-186) percent from the line over the last 10 games after converting on just 61.1 percent (132-for-216) of its charity tries over the first 10 contests. However, the Dons still rank ninth in the WCC in free throw percentage at 67.4.
Defensive Doings
The Dons are allowing 68.9 points a game, which ranks eighth among WCC teams. Opponents are shooting 43.9 percent from the floor, which is the highest percentage allowed in the conference. The Dons also rank ninth in the conference in blocks (1.9) and eighth in steals (5.5) per game.
Dickerson's Doubles
Cole Dickerson has posted eight double-doubles in 21 games this season against Stanford (11-19), Cal State-East Bay (14-15), Columbia (10-14), Montana (19-20), Holy Cross (17-17), San Diego State (15-12), Dominican (30-10) and Santa Clara (17-12) and was a rebound away from double-doubles in four other games against Pacific (14-9), Nevada (11-9), East Tennessee State (19-9) and BYU (22-9).
The last USF player to average a double-double for an entire season was Darrell Tucker, when he scored 18.9 points and grabbed 10.1 rebounds a game in 2001-02.
Doolin Climbing USF's Career Assist Chart
Junior point guard
Cody Doolin ranks third in the WCC and 31st nationally in assists per game (5.8). Doolin's career assist total now stands at 367, which ranks third on USF's all-time list behind Orlando Smart (902) and Gerald Walker (400).
USF's All-Time Assist Leaders
1. Orlando Smart (1990-94) 902
2. Gerald Walker (1992-96) 400
3.
Cody Doolin (2010-Present) 367
Christiansen in the Middle
Matt Christiansen became the Dons fifth first-year player to earn a start when he was inserted into the starting lineup vs. Loyola Marymount on Jan. 19, joining De'End Parker, Tim Derksen, Tao Xu and Frank Rogers.
Christiansen has averaged 18.4 minutes a game over his last 11 contests after averaging 7.0 minutes a game over his first seven games. He is 14-of-22 (63.6) from the floor over his last five contests and is shooting 56.8 percent (21-for-37) on the season, including 61.5 percent (16-for-26) in conference action .
Dons Ironmen
Cody Doolin is averaging 34.2 minutes per game, which ranks third among all conference players, while
Cole Dickerson ranks fourth, averaging 33.5 minutes per game. Doolin has started all 90 games in his USF career.
Winning Ways
USF is 43-32 (.560) in their last 75 games following a 5-9 start to the 2010-11 season. USF has also made back-to-back postseason appearances under
Rex Walters, competing in the CIT in 2010-11 and the CBI last season.
Last season, the Dons finished with an overall record of 20-14, marking the program's first 20-win season since 1981-82 (25-6).
USF Impressive in Overtime Under Walters
USF boasts an 8-1 record in overtime games under head coach
Rex Walters. The Dons only overtime loss came at Colorado State, 91-75 in the 2009-10 season.
Staff Changes
Head coach
Rex Walters has announced
Brent Crews has been promoted from video coordinator to assistant coach. Michael Lee will assume the title of special assistant to the head coach
