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Dons Open WCC Play Saturday at Portland

Dons Open WCC Play Saturday at Portland
Salem, Ore. native Avry Holmes scored a season-high 15 points last Sunday vs. American.
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Game #13
USF Dons (7-5, 0-0 WCC) vs. Portland Pilots (8-4, 0-0 WCC)
Saturday, Dec. 28, 2013 • 7:00 p.m.
Chiles Center • Portland, Ore.
Series Record: USF leads, 51-26
Last Meeting: Portland 78-76 (Feb. 14, 2013)
Audio/Video Streaming: USFDons.com (Pat Olson, Play-by-Play; Jim Brovelli, Analyst)
Television: ROOT Sports NW

Complete USF Game Notes (PDF)

The Dandy Dons
  • Wrapped up the non-conference schedule with a 77-69 victory over American on Sunday to improve to 7-5 overall...Avry Holmes scored a team-high 15 points while Tim Derksen (13) and Cole Dickerson (11) also reached double figures.
  • Open the 62nd season of West Coast Conference action Saturday night at Portland...the Pacific Northwest trip will conclude Monday night at Gonzaga.
  • A charter member of the WCC, USF has claimed 15 regular season titles and one WCC Tournament title...the 15 regular season crowns are second only to Gonzaga's 16 in league history.
  • Are 21-6 in last 27 contests vs. Portland and 4-27 in last 31 meetings vs. Gonzaga.
  • Averaging 81.5 ppg to rank as the WCC's third-highest scoring team...averaged 88.4 ppg (619 total) over the first seven games and scoring at a 71.8 ppg clip (359 total) over the last five contests.
  • Have allowed 80 points or more in all five losses this season, including a season-high 100 points at Oregon on Nov. 24...allowing 76.7 ppg which ranks eighth in the WCC.
  • Rank 10th in the WCC in field goal defense at 47.5 percent.
  • Shot a season-best 60.9 percent against American and have shot 50 percent or better from the floor in seven of 12 games this season...shooting 50.4 percent on the season, third-best in the WCC.
  • Have made 20-of-40 three-point tries over last three games and are shooting 38.4 percent from long distance on the season - sixth in the WCC.
  • Shooting 60.5 percent (144-for-238) from the line over the last nine games, dropping the season percentage to its present mark of 63.1, which ranks last in the WCC.
  • Have outrebounded seven of its first 12 opponents and hold a 34.4-31.8 advantage on the boards 12 games into the season...were outrebounded by over 2.0 boards a game last year.
  • Top six scorers are averaging between 14.1 and 9.3 points per game...seven different players have taken team high-scoring honors in nine games this season.
  • Averaging 7.0 streals a game which ranks second in the WCC.
  • USF's bench is averaging 25.9 ppg (311 total) this season...the Dons have led in scoring by a non-starer in four games on the year (Kruize Pinkins 3; Chris Adams 1).
  • Sophomore Tim Derksen is 28-for-37 (75.7) from the floor and is averaging 12.5 ppg (75 total) over the last six contests...he has also made 7-of-13 of his three-point attempts during that stretch.
  • Avry Holmes (Salem, OR / South Salem HS), Cole Dickerson (Federal Way, WA / Federal Way HS) and Gavin Hoffmann (Portland, OR / Lincoln HS) have roots in the Pacific Northwest.
  • Return home next week to face Loyola Marymount (Thursday) and Pepperdine (Saturday) in Memorial Gymnasium...Saturday's game vs. Pepperdine is the WCC's Game of the Week.

TIP-OFF: The USF Dons (7-5, 0-0 WCC) open its 62nd season of West Coast Conference basketball Saturday night at Portland (8-4, 0-0 WCC). Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. in the Chiles Center. The Dons are coming off a 77-69 home victory over American on Sunday while the Pilots defeated Princeton, 93-79 on Saturday in Las Vegas. The Dons are 4-2 in their last six games while the Pilots have won five out of their last six contests.

SERIES HISTORY: In a series that dates back to the 1952-53 season, USF leads the all-time series with Portland, 51-26. The Dons are 21-6 vs. the Pilots dating back to the 2000-01 season and had won six straight in the series until Portland claimed a 78-76 victory last season on the Hilltop. USF has won its last three games at the Chiles Center dating back to its last loss in the 2009-10 season.

LAST YEAR'S GAMES VS. PORTLAND: USF and Portland split the season series last year, with each team winning on the other's home court. Cole Dickerson's 3-pointer with 0:01 remaining gave the Dons a 75-72 victory over the Pilots at the Chiles Center on Jan. 24, a game in which saw USF rally from an 11-point, 59-48 deficit with 9:20 remaining. Both teams shot over 50 percent for the game, with USF finishing at 53.2 and Portland at 51.0. USF also made 16-of-17 free throws. Portland avenged the loss on Feb. 14, claiming a 78-76 victory on the Hilltop. The Pilots scored 18 points over their season average heading into the game and managed to score 38 points in the paint and outrebound the Dons, 40-33. Chris Adams and Dickerson paced all USF scorers with 17 points each.

LAST TIME OUT: USF is coming off a 77-69 victory over American last Sunday afternoon. Avry Holmes scored a team-high 15 points while Tim Derksen (13) and Cole Dickerson (11) also reached double-figures for the Dons. USF led by just one at 64-63 with 2:51 left but scored six straight points to gain some breathing room at 70-63 with 1:29 remaining. USF shot a season-best 60.9 percent from the floor, including 7-of-12 from three-point range, to earn the eight point victory.

THE SCHEDULE: After playing nine games in a span of 22 days, USF concluded a stretch on Sunday in which the Dons played just three games in a 22-day period. Including the Pacific Northwest road trip, the Dons have been on the road for 10 of the last 16 days (including travel days). However, the USF will not play a game outside the Bay Area from Jan. 2 to Feb. 1.

DID YOU KNOW...? That former USF and University of San Diego head coach Jim Brovelli's first collegiate coaching position was as an assistant on Jack Avina's Portland staff for the 1970-71 and 71-72 seasons?

CHARTER MEMBERS OF THE WCC: USF is one of four charter schools in the West Coast Conference, along with Santa Clara, Saint Mary's and Pacific, which rejoined the league this season after previously holding membership from 1952-71. USF has won/shared 15 regular season WCC titles, second most in league history behind Gonzaga's 16. The Dons 15 regular season crowns were won during a 27-year period from  1954-81. USF's only WCC Tournament title came in 1997-98.

HOME AND ROAD: USF is 6-3 at home this season and is 14-10 on its homecourt dating back to last season. The Dons were 41-18 (.694) on the Memorial Gym hardwood between the 2008-09 and 2011-12 seasons. USF is 5-2 in its last six road contests dating back to last season. The Dons won their last four road contests of last season and posted a 75-74 victory over Montana on Nov. 22 before falling at Oregon (100-82) and St. John's (81-57).

SAME POINT LAST SEASON: Last year after 12 games, USF had a 6-6 record compared to its 7-5 mark this season. The Dons are also a much better shooting team at this point in the season than last year, clipping the nets at 53.6 percent compared to 44 percent at the same point a year ago. USF is also scoring more than seven points a game (75.8 to 68.0) than last year at this time.

OFFENSIVELY: USF is averaging 81.5 points per game at the 12-game mark of the season, which is the third-best average in the league. The Dons averaged 88.4 ppg (619 total) over their first seven games and have scored at a 71.8 per game clip (359 total) over its last five contests. The Dons opened the season by scoring 90+ points in its first four games - a first in school history.

BALANCED SCORING: USF has three players on its current roster averaging in double figures after 10 games, with senior Cole Dickerson topping the team's scoring chart with a 14.1 point per game average. The top six scorers on the current roster are averaging between 14.1 and 9.3 ppg. With his 15-point outing Sunday vs. American, Avry Holmes became the seventh different player to earn team-high scoring honors this season.

FROM THE FLOOR: USF shot a season-high 60.9 percent against American last Sunday and are now shooting 50.4 percent for the season - which is second best in the WCC behind Gonzaga (54.4). Three starters - Mark Tollefsen (58.1), Cole Dickerson (52.5) and Tim Derksen (55.6) - are shooting 50 percent or better from the field, while junior Kruize Pinkins is shooting 53.7 percent coming off the bench.

THE THREE-BALL: After making just 4-of-27 of its three-pointers vs. Illinois State, USF has connecrted on 50 percent (20-of-40) of its long distance attempts over the last three games. The Dons are now shooting 38.4 percent from beyond the arc this season - third best in the WCC. USF led the West Coast Conference and ranked fifth nationally in three-point field goal percentage a year ago, connecting on 40.1 percent (249-for-621) of its long distance attempts. The Dons have set single-season school records for three-pointers made each of the last three seasons.

ON THE LINE: The Dons are shooting just 63.1 percent (200-for-317) from the line this season, which ranks last in the WCC. The Dons have made just 144-of-238 (60.5) of its free throws over the last nine games.

BOARD WORK: USF has been outrebounded in each of its last two games vs. St. John's (24-35) and American (24-29) but have outrebounded seven of its first 12 opponents by an average of 34.4 to 31.8, quite an improvement from last year when the Dons finished eighth in the conference in rebounding (32.5) and ninth in rebound margin (-2.5), despite having the top rebounder in the WCC in Cole Dickerson (9.8). The Dons rank last in the conference in rebound average (34.4) and ninth in rebound margin (+2.6).

THE BENCH: USF's bench is averaging 25.9 points (311 total) a game thus far this season. In four of the Dons' 10 games this season, a non-starter has taken game high scoring honors (Kruize Pinkins 3; Chris Adams 1). Pinkins is averaging 12.7 points off the bench this season. USF's reserves had had the upper hand in the scoring column in eight of 12 games this season.

DEFENSIVELY: USF is yielding 76.7 points a game, which ranks eighth in the WCC. The Dons rank last in the conference in field goal defense (47.5) and are ninth three-point defense (38.6).

STOP! THIEF!: USF is averaging 7.3 steals per game, which ranks third the WCC. Sophomore Avry Holmes is averaging 1.3 steals per game, which ranks sixth in the conference, while Matt Glover ranks eighth with a 1.2 per game average.

TIM'S TERRIFIC: Sophomore Tim Derksen is averaging 12.5 points (75 total) while shooting 75.7 percent (28-of-37) from the field over his last six games. He has also made 7-of-13 (53.8) of his three-pointers during that span. The Tucson, Ariz.-native scored a season-high 18 points against Illinois State to become the sixth Dons player to take team-high scoring honors this season.

THREE'S BETTER THAN TWO: Of Chris Adams' 78 career field goals, 69 have come from beyond the arc.

DICKERSON'S DOUBLES: Senior forward Cole Dickerson posted his third double-double of the season and 17th of his career against Sonoma State, finishing with 26 points to go along with 10 rebouds. Dickerson finished with conference-high 13 double-doubles (points-rebounds) last season, a figure that ranked 24th nationally among Division I players. He was also a point or rebound away from a double-double in five other games. Dickerson pulled down 10 or more rebounds in 14 games, including a career-high 20 boards against Montana on Nov. 30.
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