Game 2
San Francisco Dons (1-0, 0-0 WCC) vs. Rice Owls (0-1, 0-0 Conference USA)
Monday,  Nov. 16, 2015 • 7:00 p.m.
War Memorial Gymnasium • San Francisco, Calif.
Series Record: 1-1
Last Meeting: 1981-82 (Rice 78-66)
Audio/Video Streaming: TheW.tv (Pat Olson, Play-by-Play; Jim Brovelli, Analyst)
Television: None

Complete USF Game Notes (PDF) | Complete Rice Game Notes (PDF)

USF at a Glance

• Play the first of 17 home games in War Memorial Gymnasium Monday night against the Rice Owls of Conference USA.
• Stand 1-0 on the season after Friday night's 78-75 win at Illinois-Chicago...four Dons scored in double-figures led by a 17-point, 12 rebound performance by senior Tim Derksen...Devin Watson added 15..Rice dropped a 97-65 decision at Cal Friday night in its season-opener.
• Tonight's game marks the first meeting between USF and Rice since the 1981-82 season, when the teams split a pair of games played in 10-day span...Dons downed the Owls 85-69 in the Golden Gate Invitational on Dec. 18 only to see the Owls upset 7th-ranked USF 10 days later at the Rainbow Classic in Honolulu, 78-66.
• Four players -- Dont'e Reynolds, Nate Renfro, Ronnie Boyce III and Matt McCarthy -- saw their first Division I action on Friday night in Chicago.
• Were just 22-of-39 from the free throw line Friday night...shot just 62.9 from the line last year, which ranked last in the WCC.
• Were picked seventh along with Pacific in the WCC's Preseason Coaches Poll...both teams received 32 points...Gonzaga was picked to finish first followed by BYU and Pepperdine.
• Now in his eighth season as head coach, Rex Walters has compiled a 113-112 record on the Hilltop, including a 55-56 record in WCC games...he has guided the Dons to three postseason appearances and a pair of wins over nationally-ranked teams.
• Return just five players including two starters from last year's squad...welcome 11 newcomers to this year's roster, including seven freshmen, including three walk-ons.
• Departed players accounted for 67 percent of the rebounding, 78% of the scoring, 70.9% of minutes played and combine to make 112 starts a year ago.
• Senior guard Tim Derksen was named to the All-WCC Preseason Team...Derksen posted career-best averages in both scoring (12.6) and rebounding (4.5) last year while his three-point field goal percentage (.400) ranked 10th among all WCC players.
• Point guard Devin Watson averaged 8.4 points and 2.5 assists a game last season and left his mark all over USF's freshmen record book in various categories, including scoring (11th; 261), assists (5th; 78) and steals (t-6th; 31).
• Breakdown of newcomers include seven freshmen, one sophomore, two junior college transfers (Ronnie Boyce and Dont'e Reynolds) and one graduate transfer (Sean Grennan).
• Play at Fresno State Thursday night, continuing a busy stretch the sees the Dons play four games in eight days to start the season.

Notables

Opening Tip
USF (1-0, 0-0 WCC) plays the first of 17 home games this evening when the Dons play host to the Rice Owls (0-1, 0-0 Conference USA) at War Memorial Gymnasum. The Dons are coming off a 78-75 victory at Illinois-Chicago in its season-opener Friday night, while the Owls dropped a 97-65 decision at Cal in its season debut on Friday..

USF-Rice Series History
USF and Rice meet for the first time since the 1981-82 season, when the two teams split a pair of games in a 10-day span in December. After the Dons downed the Owls, 85-69 in the Golden Gate Invitational on Dec. 18, the Owls turned the tables and upset the 7th-ranked Dons, 78-66 on Dec. 28 at the Rainbow Classic in Honolulu. USF bounced back the following night to knock-off No. 2 Wichita State, 78-66.

Jumping Right In
USF will play four games in eight days to start the 2015-16 season. Following tonight's game against Rice, the Dons will play at Fresno State on Thursday before returning home to face UC Riverside on Saturday night.

Season Opener a Success
USF opened the 2015-16 season Friday night with a 78-75 win at Illinois-Chicago. Four Dons scored in double-figures, led by a 17-point, 12-rebound effort by Tim Derksen. Devin Watson finished with 15 while Ronnie Boyce III (13) and Montray Clemons (10) came off the bench to score in double-figures. The Dons won the game despite shooting just 38.1 percent from the field and 56.4 percent from the line. The tighly contested game featured 11 lead changes and eight ties. The two teams were never separated by more than six points.

Derksen Doubles Up
Senior guard Tim Derksen recorded his second career double-double in the season-opener at Illinois-Chicago, finishing with 17 points to go along with a career-high 12 rebounds. Derksen finished the 20-14-15 season with a 21-point, 10-rebound performance against Gonzaga in the quarterfinals of the WCC Tournament.

Derksen on USF's 3-Point Charts
Tim Derksen made 3-of-4 of his 3-point tries in the season opener at Illinois-Chicago to improve his career percentage to 40.0 percent (100-for-250) from long distance, good for sixth on USF's all-time career list. Shawn Sykes (1988-90) is USF's all-time leader in 3-point percentage at 44.4 (98-for-218).

Debuts
Five Dons - Dont'e Reynolds, Nate Renfro, Matt McCarthy, Ronnie Boyce III and Sean Grennan -- made their USF debuts Friday night at Illinois-Chicago. Only Grennan had previous Division I experience.