San Francisco Dons (3-0, 0-0 WCC) vs. Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (4-0, 0-0 Atlantic Sun)
Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2014 • 5:30 p.m. (PT)
Germain Arena • Estero, Fla.
Series Record: First Meeting
Last Meeting: First Meeting

Complete USF Game Notes (PDF)

The Dandy Dons

• Are 3-0 on the season after last night's 88-73 victory over Hawaii in the first round of the Gulf Coast Showcase.
• Are 3-0 for the first time since the 1992-93 season...last 4-0 start came in 1986-87.
• Face Florida Gulf Coast for the first time in program history...Dons have faced only one other team from the Atlantic Sun Conference, defeating Northern Kentucky, 73-68 in the final game of the 2012-13 season.
• Have outscored its first three opponents by an average of 21.3 points per game...the 15-point win over Hawaii was the Dons' closest call of the season to date.
• Shooting 52.7 percent from the floor after three games...last year the Dons finished second in the WCC and tied for 28th nationally in field goal percentage at a 47.3 percent...all five starters are shooting 50 percent or better from the floor.
• Have held the first three opponents to 33.7 percent shooting from the floor and own a 48.3-29.0 advantage on the boards.
• Senior Kruize Pinkins is averaging a double double after three games, scoring 20.3 points and hauling down 10.3 boards...he is also shooting 60.6 percent from the field.
• Junior guard Tim Derksen scored a career-high 21 points in last night's win over Hawaii, boosting his scoring average to 15.3 ppg.
• Prior to the Gulf Coast Showcase, USF had played only one game in its basketball history in the state of Florida, falling to Rick Barry's Miami Hurricanes, 95-83 on Dec. 17, 1963.
• Dons with Florida ties include Rex Walters (former head coach at Florida Atlantic), assistant coach Brent Crews (Florida Atlantic / Chipola), Pinkins (Marianna / Chiploa College) and Montray Clemons (Pensacola State College)
• The win over Hawaii was Rex Walters' 101st coaching victory at USF...six other Don coaches have reached the 100-win milestone.
• Coming off a 21-12 record and an NIT appearance last season...21 wins were the highest total since the 1981-82 season...also tied for second in the WCC with a 13-5 record, posting its highest conference win total since 1976-77.
• Signed Dont'e Reynolds of Kinston, NC (Odessa College) to a national letter of intent on Monday...he joins Cedric Wright (Fort Lauderdale, FL / Dillard HS) in this year's recruiting class.
• Will player either Green Bay or Evansville in the championship game (8:30 p.m. ET) or the consolation game (6:00 p.m. ET) of the Gulf Coast Showcase on Wednesday.
• Return home to face Montana on Sunday afternoon in Memorial Gymnasium...general admission tickets start as low as $7.00.

Notables
Opening Tip
USF (3-0, 0-0 WCC) looks for its fourth straight win to open the 2014-15 season tonight when the Dons face the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles of the Atlantic Sun Conference in the second round of the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla. The Dons are coming off an 88-73 victory over Hawaii while the Eagles ran their record to 4-0 with a 58-43 victory over Marist. The winner of tonight's game advances to tomorrow night's championship game against either Green Bay or Evansville.

Series History with Florida Gulf Coast
Tonight's game marks the first ever meeting between USF and Florida Gulf Coast. The Dons have faced only one other team from the currently aligned Atlantic Sun Conference, defeating Northern Kentucky, 73-68 in the final game of the 2012-13 season. Rex Walters is 1-0 all-time vs. Florida Gulf Coast, picking up a 69-55 win during the 2007-08 season as the head coach of Florida Atlantic.

Gulf Coast Showcase Field
USF is joined in the Gulf Coast Showcase field by Evansville, East Carolina, Fresno State, Green Bay, Hawaii, Marist and host Florida Gulf Coast. The Dons are a combined 27-12 all-time against teams in this year's Gulf Coast Showcase, including Hawaii (11-4), Fresno State (13-7), Marist (2-0), and Green Bay (1-1). USF has never faced East Carolina, Evansville or Florida Gulf Coast.

The Start
USF is off to its first 3-0 start since the 1992-93 season, when the Dons defeated Humboldt State, Hofstra and Monmouth out of the gates. The last time USF was 4-0 to start a season was in 1986-87, when the Dons opened the campaign with wins over St. Thomas (Minn.), Nevada, Pacific and California.

Florida Ties
Several current and future Dons have ties to the state of Florida. Head Coach Rex Walters served two seasons (2006-08) as the head coach at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, where he coached current USF assistant coach Brent Crews, who is a native of Chipola. Senior Kruize Pinkins is a native of Marianna and played two seasons at Chipola College before transferring to USF for his junior season. Junior Montray Clemons played last season at Pensacola State College. USF also signed Cedric Wright, a 6-6 forward from Dillard HS in Fort Lauderdale and Dont'e Reynolds, a native of Kinston, NC, who played last season at Chipola (Fla.) College before transferring to Odessa College, to national letters of intent.

Rare Appearance in the Sunshine State
Prior to Monday night's game against Hawaii, USF had played just one game in its history in the state of Florida, falling to Rick Barry's Miami Hurricanes, 95-83 on Dec. 17, 1963. Former USF head coach and current broadcaster Jim Brovelli was a senior guard on that Dons team and finished the contest with eight points. The game was the last of a three-game road trip that took the Dons to Oklahoma City, Loyola-New Orleans and eventually, Miami.

Last Time Out
Tim Derksen scored a career high 21 points to lead USF to a 88-73 victory over Hawaii in the first round of the Gulf Coast Showcase. Derksen was one of four Dons in double-figures, along with Kruize Pinkins (19), Matt Glover (15) and Mark Tollefsen (11). Pinkins also pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.

Doubling Up
Senior forward Kruize Pinkins is averaging a double-double after three games, scoring 20.3 points and pulling down 10.3 boards a contest. He has recorded double-doubles in each of the last two games against Notre Dame de Namur (26-13) and Hawaii (19-12). Pinkins had five double-doubles last season.

USF Basketball Under Rex Walters
USF is 101-94 in six-plus seasons under head coach Rex Walters, including 48-45 in WCC play. After going 23-37 over his first two seasons, Walters has guided the Dons to a 78-57 (.574) record and three postseason appearances over the last four-plus seasons (2010-11 College Insider.com; 2011-12 College Basketball Invitational; 2013-14 NIT). Last season, Walters was named the the WCC's Coach of the Year in a vote of his peers, becoming the first USF coach to win the award since Pete Barry in 1980-81.