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Game #15
USF Dons (8-6, 1-1 WCC) vs. Loyola Marymount Lions (10-4, 2-0 WCC)
Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014 • 7:00 p.m.
Memorial Gymnasium • San Francisco, Calif.
Series Record: USF leads, 107-39
Last Meeting: LMU 61-60 (Mar. 7, 2013)
Video/Audio Streaming: TheW.tv (
Pat Olson, Play-by-Play; Jim Brovelli, Analyst)
Television: None
Complete USF Game Notes (PDF)
The Dandy Dons
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Now 8-6 overall and 1-1 in the West Coast Conference afer gaining a split on the Pacific Northwest road trip to Portland (W, 87-81 OT) and Gonzaga (L, 69-41).
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Return to Memorial Gymnasium this week to face Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine, two teams that opened conference play with home wins over BYU and San Diego.
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Swept the regular season series with LMU last season but dropped a 61-60 overtime decision to the Lions in the WCC Championship in Las Vegas...also swept the season series against Pepperdine.
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Are 6-3 at home this season but were just 2-6 at home last season against WCC foes.
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Were held to a season-low 41 points Monday night at Gonzaga, the team's lowest point production since suffering a 61-35 loss at No. 24 Louisville on Dec. 8, 2010.
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Monday night's game dropped the season's scoring average from 81.9 to its present mark of 76.4, which ranks fifth in the WCC...averaged 88.4 ppg (619 total) over the first seven games and scoring at a 69.5 ppg clip (487 total) over the last six contests.
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Entered the week ranked sixth nationally in field goal percentage at 51.1 percent but shot a season-low 25.5 percent (14-for-55) at Gonzaga, dropping the season percentage to 49.3 percent, which still ranks second in the WCC.
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Shooting 37.5 percent from 3-point range, which ranks fifth in the WCC...were 6-for-21 from long distance at Gonzaga after making 25-of-54 (46.2) 3's in its previous four games.
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Still struggling from the free throw line...made just 7-of-17 FTs at Gonzaga and rank last in the conference in free throw percentage at 62.2 percent...shooting 59.7 percent (169-for-283) from the line over the last 11 games.
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Allowing an average of 76.4 ppg, which ranks ninth in the WCC.
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Rank 10th in the WCC in field goal defense at 47.2 percent....opponents are also shooting at a 39.1 clip from 3-point range, the ninth-highest percentage in the WCC.
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Outrebounded Portland 40-22 but lost the battle of the boards at Gonzaga, 47-37...and have outrebounded eight of its first 14 opponents and are averaging 35.0 boards a game, ninth in the WCC.
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Top six scorers are averaging between 13.3 and 8.9 points per game...seven different players have taken team high-scoring honors this season.
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Overtime win at Portland improved the team's record to 10-4 in extra period games under Rex Walters.
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Sophomore Avry Holmes is averaging 15.3 ppg (46 total) over his last three games against American (15), Portland (15) and Gonzaga (16).
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Saturday's game against Pepperdine (1:00 p.m.) has been designated as the WCC's Game of the Week and will be broadcast locally on CSNBA.
TIP-OFF: The USF Dons (8-6, 1-1 WCC) return home to the Hilltop on Thursday to play host to the Loyola Marymount Lions (10-4, 2-0 WCC). Tip time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. The Dons are coming off a split of their Pacific Northwest road trip, defeating Portland in overtime, 87-81 on Saturday before falling to No. 24 Gonzaga, 69-41 on Monday in Spokane. The Lions opened conference play with a pair of home wins over BYU and San Diego.
SERIES HISTORY: USF leads the all-time series with Loyola Marymount, 107-39. The Dons swept the season series last year, claiming a 62-53 victory in Memorial Gymnasium on Jan. 19 and prevailing 61-59 in Los Angeles on Feb. 21. However, the Lions scored a 61-60 overtime decision in quarterfinals of the WCC Championship on March 7 in Las Vegas. USF has won 12 of the last 18 meetings with LMU and is 38-13 vs. the Lions dating back to the 1990-91 season. The two schools have met seven times in WCC Tournament action, with the Dons holding a 5-2 edge.
EXPECT A NAILBITER: The last 12 games between USF and Loyola Marymount have been decided by 10 points or less, including seven which have been decided by four points or less.
LAST YEAR'S GAMES VS. LMU: USF won both regular season contests vs. LMU, claiming a 62-53 decision in San Francisco and a 61-59 victory in Los Angeles. However, the Lions defeated USF, 61-60 in overtime in the quarterfinals of the WCC Championship in Las Vegas. In last year's game in San Francisco, USF limited the Lions to 28.3 percent shooting from the floor, including 2-for-20 from three-point range to claim a nine-point victory.
Cole Dickerson led all scorers with 18 points while
Avry Holmes came off the bench to add 11. In the return game on Feb. 21 in Los Angeles, Cody Doolin's driving layup with 0.:05 remaining lifted USF to a 61-59 victory. Dickerson made three 3-pointers over the last 6:17 of the game, including one that tied the game with 1:00 left, setting up Doolin's game-winner. The Dons led by as many as 20 points in the first half and by 15 at intermission but trailed 59-56 with 2:20 left in the game. USF made 10-of-26 3-pointers but committed 17 turnovers and were outrebounded 37-27. The two schools met for a third time in the quarterfinals of the WCC Championship in Las Vegas, with the 9th-seeded Lions coming away with a 61-60 overtime victory over th 5th-seeded Dons. USF shot just 38.9 percent from the field and 42.1 percent from the line. Dickerson finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds for the Dons.
LAST TIME OUT: USF shot a season-low 25.5 percent from the floor and dropped a 69-41 decision to No. 24 Gonzaga in Spokane on Monday night. The Dons never led in the game and trailed by 18 points at the half and by as many as 30 points with 9:22 left in the game.
Avry Holmes led all USF scorers with 16 points as the Dons dropped their 25th consecutive game to the Zags in Spokane
