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USF Heads to San Diego for Thursday's Key Showdown

USF Heads to San Diego for Thursday's Key Showdown
USF heads to San Diego having won two straight and six of its last 10 games.
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Complete USF Game Notes

Game 29
USF Dons (13-15, 6-9 WCC) vs. San Diego Toreros (13-16, 6-8 WCC)
Jenny Craig Pavilion • San Diego, Calif.
Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013 • 6:00 p.m. PT
Series Record: USF leads, 35-34
Last Meeting: San Diego 70-66 (Jan. 10, 2013)
Radio: USFDons.com (Pat Olson, Play-by-Play; Jim Brovelli, Analyst)
TV/Web: FOX Sports San Diego; CSN Plus (Mike Pomeranz and Jed Buechler) 

Dons Briefs
  • Improved to 13-15 overall and 6-9 in the WCC after a pair of wins last week over Loyola Marymount (61-59) and Pepperdine (64-58)...are 6-4 over last nine conference games after 0-5 WCC start.
  • Are 4-3 in conference road games this year, with wins at Portland, Pepperdine, BYU and Loyola Marymount.
  • Dropped the first meeting of the year to San Diego, 70-66, but have won six of the last seven in the series...USF has won six straight at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
  • Lead the WCC and rank 10th nationally in three-point field goal percentage at 39.8 (221-for-555).
  • Made 16-of-45 (35.6) of its threes last week vs. LMU and Pepperdine but are 60-of-137 (43.7) from beyond the arc in its last six games.
  • Held LMU (59) and Pepperdine (58) under the 60-point mark and a combined 36.8 percent shooting from the floor...USF ranks eighth in the WCC in scoring defense allowing 69.4 points a game.
  • Of the team's 15 losses this season, 11 have been by 10 points or less, including six by six points or less...have trailed by two points with 31 seconds or less remaining in five of the nine conference losses.
  • Have been outrebounded in 20 of the last 23 games and rank tied for eighth in WCC rebound average at 32.4...rank ninth in rebound margin at -2.9.
  • Freshman Avry Holmes ranks fourth the nation in three-point field goal percentage at 49.4 (39-for-79) while De'End Parker (46.7; 28-for-60) ranks 28th.
  • Holmes and Parker, along with Chris Adams (5th; 45.5) and Cole Dickerson (10th; 39.4), give USF four players ranked in the WCC's top-10 in three-point field goal percentage.
  • Junior Cole Dickerson leads the WCC and ranks 35th nationally in rebound average (9.3).
  • Cole Dickerson has 10 double-doubles on the season and has been one rebound or point away from double-doubles in five other games.
  • Redshirt freshman Mark Tollefsen made his first two career starts last week vs. LMU and Pepperdine and averaged 14.5 points and shot 73.3 percent (11-for-15) from the field in the two games.
  • Avry Holmes made his first career start Saturday vs. Pepperdine...he became the fifth freshman to draw a start this season, joining Tollefsen, Tao Xu, Tim Derksen and Matt Christiansen...USF has employed seven starting lineups this season.
  • Dons will be off this weekend and return to action at the WCC Championships next week.


USF Wraps Up WCC Schedule Thursday in San Diego
USF (13-15, 6-9 WCC) will play its final West Coast Conference regular season game on Thursday night when they visit the University of San Diego (13-16, 6-8 WCC) for a 6:00 p.m. tip in Jenny Craig Pavilion.
The Dons will look to avenge an earlier season loss to the Toreros on their home floor, which snapped USF's six-game winning streak in the series.
USF is coming off a pair of wins last week over Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine and have won six of its last 10 games heading into Thursday night's contest. After winning its first four conference games, San Diego is 2-8 over its last 10 games, including losses last week at Portland (67-70) and Gonzaga (50-81).
Thursday's game will be televised on FOX Sports San Diego and CSN Plus in the Bay Area.

USF-San Diego Series History
In a series that dates back to the 1979-80 season, USF leads the all-time series with San Diego, 35-34. The two teams have met seven times in WCC Tournament play, with San Diego holding a 5-2 advantage.
USF had won six straight in the series before the Toreros downed the Dons, 70-66 in The City on Jan. 10 (see below). The Dons have won six straight over the Toreros in Jenny Craig Pavilion dating back to their last loss in the 2005-06 season.

First Time Around • San Diego 70, USF 66 • Jan. 10 • Memorial Gymnasium • San Francisco, CA
  • Dropped a 70-66 decision to San Diego on Jan. 10 in Memorial Gymnasium.
  • San Diego  shot 60.7 percent from the floor and canned eight three-pointers in the first half and raced to a 46-32 lead at intermission.
  • USF cut the lead to 53-52 with a 20-7 run and trailed by just two points with possession with under a minute left...however, Cody Doolin's potential go-ahead three-pointer missed its mark with :22 left and San Diego finished the Dons off at the foul line.
  • Doolin finished with a game-high 19 points while freshman Tim Derksen added 16...Johnny Dee paced USD scorers with 17 points, 13 of which came in the first half.
  • USF was outrebounded 34-27, including 21-8 in the first half.
  • The loss snapped USF's six-game winning streak over San Diego.
Last Time Out: Takeaways From the Pepperdine Game
  • Mark Tollefsen scored a team-high 18 points while Cody Doolin added 13 and Cole Dickerson 11 in the Dons 64-58 win over Pepperdine Saturday night.
  • USF trailed by nine points at 48-39 with 10:18 left and was still down by five at 51-46 with 6:35 remainining in the game but three-pointers by Tollefsen and Tim Derksen fueled a 14-2 run that gave the Dons a 60-53 lead with 2:50 left.
  • Pepperdine eventually cut the lead to two at 60-58 on a pair of Skouen free throws at the 1:10 mark, but Tollefsen answered with a pair of free throws of his own after he was fouled on a rebound off a Derksen miss and the Dons lead was 62-58 with 26 seconds remaining.
  • USF limited the Waves to 36.7 percent shooting from the floor but were outrebounded, 39-36.
  • Avry Holmes made his first career start in place of Chris Adams, who missed the game with a medical condition.

Three's Company
USF leads the WCC and ranks 10th nationally in three-point field goal percentage at 39.8 (221-555). The Dons are also shooting 40.5 percent (133-for-328) from long distance in conference play.
The Dons current three-point total of 221 ranks third on USF's all-time single-season list and is 18 shy of the all-time single-season mark of 239 set last year. The last time USF shot 40 percent from three-point range was in 1991-92, when the Dons knocked down 41.2 percent (185-for-449) of its long distance tries.
USF has shot at a 43.4 percent clip (86-for-198) from beyond the arc over its last nine games and has made nine or more three-pointers in 12 games this season.
Avry Holmes (49.4) ranks fourth in the nation in three-point field goal percentage while De'End Parker (46.7) ranks 28th. Chris Adams (45.5) and Cole Dickerson (39.4) ranks sixth and 10, respectively, among the WCC leaders.
All but four of Adams' field goals this season has been a three-pointer.

Nice Shootin'
Over his last 14 games, Chris Adams is shooting 51.6 percent (32-for-62) from three-point range while Avry Holmes is shooting 60.7 percent (17-for-28) from beyond the arc over his last nine games.

Lineups
USF employed its sixth and seventh starting lineups of the season last week, with Mark Tollefsen getting his first career start at Loyola Marymount and Avry Holmes getting the nod Saturday vs. Pepperdine.
Tollefsen is the fourth player to start in the post for USF this season, following Frank Rogers (2), Tao Xu (16) and Christiansen (8).
Cody Doolin and Cole Dickerson are the only two players to have started all 28 games this season.
Six underclassmen, including five freshmen, have earned starts at some point during the season.

Tollefsen Terrific
In two starts last week vs. Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine, Mark Tollefen averaged 14.5 points and 4.5 rebounds while shooting 73.3 percent (11-for-15) from the field, including 75 percent (3-for-4) from three-point range. He is now averaging a season-high 6.1 points a game for the season while shooting 52.8 percent (65-for-123) from the field.

Buzzer Beaters
Cody Doolin's game-winning driving lay-up with 0.05 left at Loyola Marymount was the second time USF has won at the buzzer this season.
On Jan. 24, Cole Dickerson hit a three-pointer with 0.01 left to lift USF to a 75-72 win at Portland.
Doolin now has five game-winning lay-ups in his career vs. Louisiana (Nov. 13, 2011), at Montana (Dec. 1, 2011), vs. No. 24 Gonzaga (Jan. 22, 2011) and vs. Hawaii (March 19, 2011) along with Thursday night's heroics at LMU.

That Close
Of USF's 15 losses this season, 11 have been by 10 points or less, including five of the last seven which have been decided by six points or less. In five of USF's nine conference losses, the Dons trailed by two points with 31 seconds remaining in the game.

Deficits
USF has faced double-figure deficits in 10 of its 15 conference games this season.

Home and Road
USF is 2-6 in WCC homes games this season and is 7-7 overall on its homecourt. The Dons are 41-20 (.667) record in its last 61 home games dating back to the 2009-10 season and are 48-25 (.652) in Memorial Gymnasium in five seasons under head coach Rex Walters. The Dons are 5-5 in true road games this season, including a 4-3 road mark against WCC foes.

Leaders in Their Field
Five USF players -- Avry Holmes, De'End Parker, Cole Dickerson and Cody Doolin -- rank in the top-35 nationally in various statistical categories. Holmes ranks fourth in three-point field goal percentage at 49.4 percent, while Parker ranks 28th at 46.7 percent. Doolin ranks 29th in assists (5.6) while Dickerson ranks 35th in rebounding (9.3).

From the Field
USF shot 42.6 percent from the field in two games last week vs. Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine and currently rank fourth in the WCC in field goal percentage at 44.9 percent. 
USF is 8-3 this season when shooting 50 percent or better from the floor, with its only losses in those 11 games coming against Ole Miss (50.9), BYU (50.0) and the first game vs. Saint Mary's (51.0).

Board Work
The Dons have been outboarded in 20 of the last 23 contests dating back to the St. John's game on Dec. 4 and are tied for eighth WCC rebound average at 32.4 per game. The Dons rank ninth in the conference in rebound margin (-2.9) and offensive rebounds (8.1).
USF outrebounded BYU, 38-30, ending a streak of 10 games in which the Dons were outboarded by its opponent.

Charity Stripe Turnaround
USF is shooting 71.3 (229-for-321) percent from the line over the last 17 games after converting on just 61.1 percent (132-for-216) of its charity tries over the first 10 contests. However, the Dons are tied for eighth in the WCC in free throw percentage at 67.2.
USF has shot below 70 percent from the line each of the last five seasons.

Defensive Doings
The Dons held Loyola Marymount (59) and Pepperdine (58) under 60 points last week. USF has held eight opponents under 60 points this season and are 7-1 in those contests, with the only loss coming at Nevada (51-59).
USF is allowing 69.4 points a game, which ranks eighth among WCC teams. Opponents are shooting 43.9 percent from the floor, which is the third highest percentage allowed in the conference. The Dons also rank ninth in the conference in blocks (2.0) and steals (5.3) per game.

Dickerson's Doubles
Cole Dickerson has posted 10 double-doubles in 28 games this season and was a rebound or point away from double-doubles in five other games against Pacific (14-9), Nevada (11-9), East Tennessee State (19-9), BYU (22-9) and Saint Mary's (9-11). 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 in the Top 10
Cody Doolin ranks in the top-10 of the WCC in five statistical categories, including assists (2nd; 5.7), free throw percentage (5th; 81.4), steals (7th; 1.6), assist-to-turnover ration (5th; 2.1) and minutes played (5th; 33.4).

Doolin's Dimes
Junior point guard Cody Doolin ranks second in the WCC and 29th nationally in assists per game (5.6). Doolin's career assist total now stands at 406, which ranks second on USF's all-time list behind fellow Austin, Texas-native Orlando Smart (902).

Dons Ironmen
Cody Doolin is averaging 33.6 minutes per game, which ranks fifth among all conference players, while Cole Dickerson ranks sixth, averaging 32.5 minutes per game. Doolin has started all 97 games in his USF career.

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.
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