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Game #23
USF Dons (14-8, 7-3 WCC) vs. Gonzaga Bulldogs (19-3, 9-1 WCC)
Saturday, Feb. 1, 2014 • 7:00 p.m.
Memorial Gymnasium • San Francisco, Calif.
Series Record: Gonzaga leads, 47-22
Last Meeting: Gonzaga 69-41 (Dec. 30, 2013 in Spokane)
Audio Stream: USFDons.com (Pat Olson, Play-by-Play; Jim Brovelli, Analyst)
Television: CSNCA (Glen Kuiper, Play-by-Play; Stan Morrison, Analyst)

Complete USF Game Notes (PDF)

Complete Gonzaga Game Notes (PDF)

Matt Christiansen: In the Day of a Don Video

The Dandy Dons

• Improved to 14-8 overall and 7-3 in the West Coast Conference with Wednesday's 84-71 home victory over the Portland Pilots...Cole Dickerson (21) and Kruize Pinkins (20) combined for 41 points.
• Sit alone in second place in the WCC standings - two games behind Gonzaga and a half game up on third-place Saint Mary's.
• Have won three straight and six out of the last eight and are 11-5 over the last 16 games since a 100-82 loss at No. 17 Oregon on Nov. 24...were 9-13 overall and 3-7 in the WCC after 22 games last season.
• Are 11-4 at home this season after going 8-7 on its home floor a year ago, including 2-6 against WCC foes.
• Dropped a 69-41 decision to Gonzaga in the first meeting of the season between the two schools on Dec. 30 in Spokane...however, have defeated the Zags three of the last four seasons in Memorial Gymnasium, including twice when the Zags were ranked in the Top 25..
• Win over Portland improved USF's record to 91-90 under head coach Rex Walters.
• Averaging 77.7 points per game, which ranks fourth in the WCC...Gonzaga ranks second averaging 79.5 per outing.
• Shot 56.3 percent from the field vs. Portland - the 11th time this season the Dons have shot 50 percent or better from the floor...shooting 48.6 percent on the season, which ranks second in the WCC and 43rd nationally...Gonzaga ranks first in the conference in shooting percentage at 50.3.
• Have made just 11-of-34 three-pointers over the last two games and are now shooting 38.1 percent from beyond the arc for the season - fourth best in the WCC.
• Have made 46-of-61 (75.4) free throws over last two games but still rank last in the conference in free throw percentage at 65.5...shooting 68.5 percent from the line in conference play.
• Have held its last three opponents to 71 or fewer points...rank seventh in the WCC in defense (74.5), eighth in field goal defense (45.7) and 10th in three-point defense (38.9).
• Have held decisive margins on the boards in the last two games vs. Santa Clara (41-24) and Portland (32-24) and are now 12-4 on the season when outrebounding the opponent.
• Balanced scoring column sees the top six scorers averaging between 14.9 and 8.5 points per game...seven different players have taken team high-scoring honors this season...rank as the WCC's fourth-highest scoring team despite not having a player higher than 10th among conference scoring leaders.
• Cole Dickerson scored 21 points vs. Portland, running his career total to 1,083, which ties him with Manny Quezada for 26th on USF's all-time career scoring list...Dickerson also ranks 16th all-time in career rebounds with 657.
• Junior Kruize Pinkins is averaging 3.4 offensive rebounds a game - tops in the WCC.
• Play the next three games on the road starting with Thursday night's game in San Diego

TIP-OFF: USF (14-8, 7-3 WCC) takes a three-game winning streak into Saturday night's game against first place Gonzaga (19-3, 9-1 WCC). Tip-off is slated for 7:00 p.m. in Memorial Gymnasium. Both teams are coming off wins on Wednesday night. The Dons defeated Portland, 84-71 on the Hilltop while the Zags escaped upset-minded Santa Clara, 54-52. Saturday's game will be televised locally on CSNBA with Glen Kuiper and Stan Morrison calling the action from courtside.

SERIES HISTORY: In a series that dates back to the 1961-62 season, Gonzaga leads the all-time series with USF, 47-22, including 42-17 in WCC play. The Zags have also won two of the three games played in WCC Tournament competition. Gonzaga won the first meeting of the season between the two schools, claiming a 69-41 decision in Spokane on Dec. 30. The Zags swept the last year's season series, winning 66-52 in Spokane and 71-61 in San Francisco. USF has dropped 25 straight games to Gonzaga in Spokane dating back to its last victory on Feb. 10, 1989 (67-64). However, the Dons have won three of the last four meetings between the two schools in San Francisco,.

FIRST MEETING WITH GONZAGA: USF shot a season-low 25.5 percent from the floor and dropped a 69-41 decision to No. 24 Gonzaga in Spokane on Dec. 30. 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.

LAST TIME OUT: Cole Dickerson (21) and Kruize Pinkins (20) combined for 41 points to lead USF to a 84-71 win over Portland on Wednesday in Memorial Gymnasium. It was the Dons third straight win as USF completed the season sweep of the Pilots. USF never trailed in the game but led by just six points at 70-64 with 3:13 left before going on 12-2 run to ice the game. The Dons shot 56.3 percent from the floor and outreounded the Pilots, 32-24. Avry Holmes (15) and Mark Tollefsen (12) also reached double-figures for USF.

THE RECORD: At 14-8 overall, USF is five games ahead of last year's pace when the Dons were 9-13 at the 22-game mark of the season. USF won games 23 and 24 last season to improve to 11-13 overall and 5-7 in conference play. USF's 14 wins are tied for third most in the conference with BYU (14-9) behind Gonzaga (19-3) and Saint Mary's (16-6).

FABULOUS IN FEBRUARY: In the last four seasons dating back to the 2009-10 campaign, USF has posted a 17-10 record in the month of February, including a 5-2 mark

FIVE-GAME HOMESTAND: Saturday's game is the last in a stretch of five consecutive home games for USF. The Dons opened the homestand with a 83-76 loss to BYU on Jan. 16 but have since won three straight over San Diego, 64-62 (1/18), 75-66 Santa Clara (1/25) and Portland 84-71 (1/29). The Dons are 11-4 at home this season after going 8-7 on its home floor last season, including 2-6 against WCC foes.

OFFENSIVELY: The Dons are averaging 77.7 points per game this season, which ranks fourth in the WCC. USF's 84 points against Portland was its highest output since the Dons scored 87 points in an overtime win over the Pilots in the first conference game of the season on Dec. 29. It marked the team's highest point total in a regulation game since a 96-73 win over Sonoma State on Nov. 27. The Dons opened the season by scoring 90+ points in its first four games - a first in school history.

BALANCED SCORING: USF has four players on its current roster averaging in double figures after 22 games, with senior Cole Dickerson topping the team's scoring chart with a 14.9 point per game average. The top six scorers on the current roster are averaging between 14.9 and 8.5 ppg. Seven different players have taken game-high scoring honors at some point this season.

FROM THE FLOOR: The Dons shot 56.3 percent from the floor against Portland, marking the 11th time in 22 games this sason USF has shot 50 percent or better from the floor. USF ranks second in the WCC and 43rd nationally in field goal percentage at 48.6 percent. If the season ended today, the Dons current shooting percentage would be the 10th-best single-season mark in school history. USF is shooting 46.4 percent from the field in conference games, despite an icey 25.5 percent (14-for-55) effort at Gonzaga. Mark Tollefsen (57.3) and Cole Dickerson (53.3) rank sixth and 10th respectively in WCC field goal percentage.

SPLASH CITY: USF is shooting 38.1 percent from three-point range this season - fourth-best in the WCC. USF averaged 28.7 three-point attempts through its first four games but are averaging 16.0 (289 total) long distance tries over its last 18 games. 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: USF has made 73.1 perent (128-of-175) of its free throws over the last seven games. However, the Dons are shooting just 65.5 percent from the line this season, which ranks last in the WCC. USF has attempted 565 free throws this season, which are tied for 26th among Division I teams.

BOARD WORK: USF has outrebounded each of its last five opponents and rank sixth among WCC teams in rebound average at 35.2. Opponents are averaging 31.3 boards a game, the second-lowest average in the conference. USF is 12-4 this season when outrebounding the opponent and 2-4 in all other games. Four players - Cole Dickerson (7.4), Kruize Pinkins (6.7), Matt Glover (5.8) and Mark Tollefsen (4.0) - are averaging at least 4.0 rebounds per game. Last season, 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).

MORE BOARD TALK: Since Kruize Pinkins joined the starting lineup on Jan. 2 vs. LMU, USF has outrebounded its last eight opponents by an average of 35.5 to 29.8 and are 6-2 during that stretch.

SECOND CHANCES: USF is averaging 12.0 offensive rebounds a game, third-best in the WCC. Kruize Pinkins leads the conference in offensive rebounds with a 3.4 per game mark

DEFENSIVELY: USF has held its last three opponents to 66.3 points a game (199 total). The Dons are yielding 74.5 points a game, which ranks seventh in the WCC. The Dons rank eighth in the conference in field goal defense (45.7) and ninth in three-point defense (38.9) and blocks per game (2.8). USF's 6.0 steals per game average ranks seventh in the conference.

DONS IN OVERTIME: USF is 2-1 in overtime games this season, losing to Idaho State 93-90 while defeating Portland 87-81 and Pacific 81-72. USF is 11-4 in overtime games under head coach Rex Walters.

DICKERSON'S SIX PACK: Following a seven-point outing vs. Pepperdine on Jan. 4, Cole Dickerson is averaging 19.1 points (115 total) and is shooting 59.2 percent (48-for-81) - including 63.6 percent (14-for-22) from three-point range - over the last six games. He matched his season-high with 28 points Saturday vs. Santa Clara and now has seven 20+ scoring games on the season. He has raised from 13.3 ppg to its present mark of 14.9 during the six-game stretch.

TOP 10 GUY: Cole Dickerson ranks in the WCC's top-10 in three categories, including rebounding (7.4; t-8th), scoring (14.9; 9th) and field goal percentage (53.3; 10th).

DICKERSON CLIMBING REBOUNDING CHARTS: With 657 career rebounds, senior Cole Dickerson currently ranks 16th on USF's all-time rebounding list. He needs 29 more boards to tie Marlon Redmond for 15th. Here's a look at where Dickerson stands on USF's all-time career rebonding chart...

11. Joe Ellis (1963-66) 737
12. Erwin Mueller (1963-66) 717
13. Johnny Burks (1968-71) 701
14. Mike Farmer (1955-58) 698
15. Marlon Redmond (1973-77) 686
16. Cole Dickerson (2010-14) 657

DICKERSON'S DOUBLES: Senior forward Cole Dickerson posted his fifth double-double of the season and 19th of his career against BYU, finishing with 26 points and a season-high 14 rebounds. 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.