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Game #16
USF Dons (9-6, 2-1 WCC) vs. Pepperdine Waves (10-5, 3-0 WCC)
Saturday, Jan. 4, 2014 • 1:00 p.m.
Memorial Gymnasium • San Francisco, Calif.
Series Record: USF leads, 70-50
Last Meeting: USF 64-58 (Feb. 23, 2013)
Audio Streaming: USFDons.com (
Pat Olson, Play-by-Play; Jim Brovelli, Analyst)
Television: CSNBA, ROOT, TWC SN (Barry Tompkins, Play-by-Play; Jarron Collins, Analyst)
Complete USF Games Notes (PDF)
The Dandy Dons
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Improved to 9-6 overall and 2-1 in the WCC with Thursday night's 75-61 home win over Loyola Marymount...Cole Dickerson led the Dons in scoring with 20 points while Avry Holmes added 16.
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Have won three straight and five out of the last six meetings with Pepperdine, including the last four contests here on the Hilltop.
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Are 7-3 at home this season after going 8-7 on the Memorial Gymnasium hardwood last season, including a 2-6 home mark against WCC foes.
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Bounced back from a 28-point loss Monday at Gonzaga in which the team shot just 25.5 percent to hand LMU its first conference loss of the season in wire-to-wire fashion...have lost back-to-back games just once this season...dropped its first five league games a year ago.
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Employed its third starting lineup of the season on Thursday, with junior Kruize Pinkins starting in place of sophomore Tim Derksen, who had started the previous 10 games.
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Averaging 78.7 points per game, which ranks fourth in the WCC...averaged 88.4 ppg (619 total) over the first seven games and scoring at a 70.2 ppg clip (562 total) over the last eight 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...currently shooting 49.2 percent from the floor, which still ranks second in the WCC.
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Shooting 37.9 percent from 3-point range, which ranks fourth in the WCC...are 14-for-39 (35.8) from long distance in the last two games after making 25-of-54 (46.2) 3's in its previous four contests.
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Still struggling from the free throw line...made 17-of-28 FTs vs. LMU and rank last in the conference in free throw percentage at 62.1 percent...shooting 59.8 percent (186-for-311) from the line over the last 12 games.
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Allowing an average of 75.4 ppg, the third-highest opponent scoring average among WCC teams.
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Rank 10th in the WCC in field goal defense at 46.7 percent....opponents are also shooting at a 38.4 clip from 3-point range, the second-highest percentage in the WCC.
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Have outrebounded two of its first three WCC opponents and have outrebounded nine of its first 15 opponents on the year...averaging 35.2 boards a game, eighth in the WCC.
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Top six scorers are averaging between 13.7 and 9.1 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 15.5 ppg (62 total) over his last four games against American (15), Portland (15), Gonzaga (16) and LMU (16).
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Team won't play outside the Bay Area (Stockton included) again until Feb. 6 at San Diego.
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Bus to Stockton on Thursday to meet the Pacific Tigers at the Spanos Center.
TIP-OFF: USF (9-6, 2-1 WCC) looks for its second consecutive win this afternoon when the Dons play host to the first-place Pepperdine Waves (10-5, 3-0 WCC) in Memorial Gymnasium. The Dons are coming off a 75-61 win Thursday night over Loyola Marymount while the Waves remained unbeaten in conference play with a 70-61 victory at Santa Clara.
WCC GAME OF THE WEEK: This afternoon's USF-Pepperdine game has been designated at the WCC's Game of the Week and is being broadcast over the Time Warner Network (CSNBA, ROOT and TWC SN) with Barry Tompkins and Jarron Collins on the call from courtside.
SERIES HISTORY: In a series that dates back to the 1955-56 season, USF leads the all-time series with Pepperdine, 70-50. The Dons have won three straight and five out of the last six games in the series, including four straight over the Waves on the Hilltop. The two schools have met seven times in the WCC Championship tournament, with the Pepperdine holding a 6-1 advantage.
LAST YEAR'S GAMES VS. PEPPERDINE: USF won both regular season contests vs. Pepperdine, claiming a 86-78 victory in Malibu and a 64-58 triumph on the Hilltop. USF connected on 14-of-24 three-pointers and shot 51.7 percent from the field to defeat the Waves 86-78 on Feb. 2 at Firestone Fieldhouse.
Cole Dickerson posted his ninth double-double of the season wth 27 points and 11 rebounds while
Avry Holmes made all four of his 3-point attempts and finished with 15 points. USF trailed 64-57 with 8:20 left in the game before going on a 16-4 tear to take a 73-68 lead with 4:24 remaining. In the return game in San Francisco,
Mark Tollefsen scored a team high 18 points as USF rallied from a nin-point second half deficit en route a six-point victory. USF limited Pepperdine to 36.7 shooting from the floor.
LAST TIME OUT: USF bounced back from a 28-point defeat at Gonzaga to down Loyola Marymount, 75-51 Thursday night at Memorial Gymnasium.
Cole Dickerson scored a team-high 20 points while
Avry Holmes added 16 to pace the Dons to a wire-to-wire victory over the Lions. USF scored the first six points of the game and quickly built a 10-point lead at 13-3 with 15:45 remaining in the first half. The Dons lead was never fewer than 11 points the rest of the way. USF shot 48.1 percent from the field and outrebounded the Lions, 38-27.
Matt Glover recorded his first career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds
