Game 18
San Francisco Dons (9-8, 3-4 WCC) vs. Pepperdine Waves (10-7, 3-3 WCC)
Saturday,  Jan. 16, 2016 • 1:00 p.m.
War Memorial at The Sobrato Center • San Francisco, Calif.
Series Record: USF 74-50
Last Meeting: Feb. 21, 2015 (USF 56-54)
Audio Stream: TheW.tv (Pat Olson, Play-by-Play; Jim Brovelli, Analyst)
Television: TWC SportsNet; CSNCA (Barry Tompkins, Play-by-Play; Casey Jacobsen; Analyst)
Live Stats: USFDons.com

Complete USF Game Notes (PDF)

Opening Tip
USF (9-8, 3-4 WCC) plays host to the Pepperdine Wavs (10-7, 3-3 WCC) Saturday afternoon in War Memorial at The Sobrato Center. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m.. The contest has been tabbed as the WCC's Game of the Week and will be carried across TWC SportsNet and televised locally in the Bay Area on CSNCA with Barry Tompkins and Casey Jacobsen calling the action. Both teams are coming off losses on Thursday night. USF dropped an 87-83 decision to LMU while Pepperdine fell at Santa Clara, 62-60.

USF at a Glance

• Now 9-8 overall and 3-4 in the WCC Thursday night's 87-83 home loss to Loyola Marymount...Devin Watson and Tim Derksen each scored 20 points...LMU made a season-high 12 three-pointers.
• USF swept last year's series with Pepperdine and have won seven straight, 9 of 10 and 10 of the last 12 meetings with the Waves dating back to the 2009-10 season.
• Are 7-4 at home this season and are 15-12 in the last 27 home games...are 77-42 (.647) at home under head coach Rex Walters.
• Averaging 89.6 points (538 total) over its last six games...averaging 76.1 ppg on the year - fifth best in the WCC...however, have allowed 87.8 (527) during same stretch.
• Of the Dons nine wins this season, five have been by a combined total of 19 points while four others have been by a combined total of 72 points...were 1-4 in games decided by five points or fewer last season.
• Have made 64-of-145 (44.1) of its three-point tries over the last six games, including a season-high 14 vs. Gonzaga.
• USF's last two opponents Gonzaga (15-for-30) and LMU (12-for-27) are a combined 27-for-57 (47.3) from distance...Dons have allowed 10 or more three-pointers eight times this season...USF ranks ninth in the WCC in three-point field goal defense at 37.4 percent.
• Have trailed at halftime in 12 of its 17 games this season and are 5-7 in those contests...averaging 32.4 points and shooting 40.7 percent in the first half this season compared to 42.1 and and 47.8 percent after intermission.
• Have had four or more players score in double figures in five of the last games and seven total on the season...are 5-2 in games when at least four players hit double digits (losses to Gonzaga and BYU).
• Sophomore point guard Devin Watson is now averaging 20.3 ppg this season, which ranks second in the WCC behind Gonzaga's Kyle Wiltjer (22.3) and t-21st nationally...he has been in double-figures in 16 of 17 games this season including nine games of at least 20-points.
• Senior guard Tim Derksen is averaging 15.5 ppg and 6.3 boards a game...he ranks seventh in the WCC in scoring, 10th in rebounding and fourth in three-point field goal percentage (46.9).
• The duo of Watson and Derksen is averaging 35.8 ppg (609 total) and account for 47 percent of USF's season point total (609 of 1293)...they are the second-highest scoring tandem in the WCC.
• Junior Ronnie Boyce has scored in double figures in all seven WCC games and is averaging 16.7 ppg in conference play.
• With 121 wins in seven-plus seasons on the Hilltop, Rex Walters ranks sixth on USF's all-time career win list among coaches...he has coached 241 games, which ranks third all-time behind only Jim Brovelli (286) and Phil Mathews (262).

The Matchup

About Pepperdine
Bring a 10-7 overall record and a 3-3 conference record into Saturday's game…Waves have won all three of their conference home games but have dropped their three road contests, including Thursday night's game at Santa Clara, 62-60…Waves rallied from a 15 point defict late in the game only to see Santa Clara's Jared Brownridge hit a game-winning three-pointer with 1.3 left..have dropped seven straight to the Dons and are looking for its first win in the City since 2009…Lamond Murray, Jr. leads the Waves in scoring with a 13.8 point per game average…senior Jeff Raines is averaging 18.8 points a game over the last four games…will make his 50th consecutive start on Saturday…Al-WCC selection Stacy Davis is averaging 13.8 points a game and ranks ninth on Pepperdine's all-time career scoring list…he has averaged a double-double (16.5 ppg – 11.3 rpg) in six career games vs. USF…junior guard Amandi Udenyi played for USF associate head coach Frank Allocco at De La Salle High School…Waves have made just 6.3 turnovers a game over the last three games…Marty Wilson is in his fifth season as head coach of the Waves…he played for Pepperdine from 1985-89 and was a part of two NCAA Tournament teams.

Series History
In a series that dates back to the 1955-56 season, USF leads the all-time series with Pepperdine, 74-50. The Dons swept last year's season series and have won seven straight, nine out of 10 and 10 of the last 12 meetings with the Waves dating back to the 2009-10 season.  USF has won six straight games against Pepperdine here on the Hilltop dating back to the Waves last victory in the 2008-09 season. The two schools have met seven times in the WCC Championship tournament, with the Pepperdine holding a 6-1 advantage.

Last Year's Meetings With Pepperdine
USF turned in one of it's strongest defensive efforts of the season, USF controlled the tempo throughout the game and defeateded Pepperdine, 71-59 on Jan. 22 in Memorial Gymnasium. USF was led in scoring by Devin Watson, who tallied 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor. Tim Derksen (15), Kruize Pinkins (12) and Mark Tollefsen (11) also reached double figures. The Dons shot 53.3 percent from the floor and limited the Waves to just 37.7 shooting. After leading 31-28 at intermission, USF made eight of its first nine field goal attempts to start the second half and used a 19-6 run to open a 50-34 lead with 13 minutes left in the game. The Waves could get no closer than 11 points down the stretch.

In the return game in Malibu, USF completed the season sweep with a 56-54 win on Feb. 21 at Firestone Fieldhouse. Tim Derksen scored a team-high 19 points for the Dons while Matt Christiansen and Matt Glover also finished in double figures with 10 points apiece. Stacy Davis was the only Pepperdine player to score in double figures, finishing with a game-high 23 points, 17 which came in the second half. The Dons led by as many as 15 points in the first half but watched nervously as Jeremy Major's would-be game-winning shot from just inside the half court line bounced off the back rim. The Dons led by as many as 15 points at 29-14 before taking a 31-19 lead into intermission. The Waves quickly turned the momentum to start the second half, outscoring the Dons 13-3 to cut the lead to 34-32 with 11:50 remaining. With USF holding a 53-52 lead, Derksen's driving layup through traffic just beat the shot clock and gave the Dons a 55-52 lead with 12.2 second left. After Davis cut the lead to one at 55-54 with four seconds remaining, Glover was fouled after receiving a full length inbounds pass by Tollefsen. Glover managed to make just one of two free throws, giving the Waves life. The Dons held their collective breaths when Majors' heave just inside the half court line bounced off the back rim, sealing USF's third straight win.

Worth Watching

• Both teams will be eager to put disappointing losses behind them. USF dropped an 87-83 home decision to Loyola Marymount, which came into the game winless in WCC play, while the Waves were upended at Santa Clara, 62-60 in a low-scoring affair.
• USF is averaging just under 90 points over its last six games.
• Devin Watson ranks second in the WCC and 21st nationally in scoring. He recorded his eighth game of at least 20-points in Thursday's loss to LMU.
• Stacy Davis is tied for first in the WCC and 19th nationally eith eight double-doubles on the season...he has 28 in his career, sixth all-time at Pepperdine. Waves are 7-1 this season when Davis records a double-double and 20-8 overall.

Dons' Notebook

The Record
At 9-8, USF is two games ahead of its pace of last season, when the Dons were 7-10 at the 17-game mark. USF improved to 8-10 with with a win at Portland. The Dons are 5-4 over its last nine games dating back to Dec. 7.

The Home Record
USF is 7-4 on its home floor this season and is 15-12 in its last 27 games on the Hilltop. The Dons are 77-42 (.647) at home under head coach Rex Walters dating back to the 2008-09 season. USF is averaging 79.7 ppg and is shooting 47.1 percent from the floor in 11 home games this season.

Let's Get Small
Ronnie Boyce returned to the starting lineup for Thursday night's game against LMU, giving the Dons four players no taller than 6-foot-4 in the starting five. The Dons have scored no fewer than 83 points and are averaging 93.2 (373 total) in four games with the smaller lineup. A total of eight players have drawn starts this season with Devin Watson, Tim Derksen and Dont'e Reynolds holding their sports of all 17 games. Nate Renfro (10), Chase Foster (11), Ronnie Boyce (4) and Montray Clemons (1) have also earned starts this season.

The Wins and Losses
Of the nine victories, five have been by a combined total of 20 points (78-75 at Illinois-Chicago; 58-57 vs. UC Riverside; 65-61 CSUN; 96-93 vs. Coppin State; 73-65 at San Diego) while four others have been by a combined total of 72 points (80-54 vs. Rice; 67-47 vs. Delaware State; 89-76 vs. Pacific; 107-95 vs. Portland). USF erased a 19-point deficit to defeat Pacific and rallied from 15 down with 12:59 left to play against Portland. The Dons never led in losses to Fresno State, UC Santa Barbara, Montana or Saint Mary's and led for only :32 seconds in a loss to Eastern Washington. USF squandered a 16-point lead with 8:49 left to play before falling to Gonzaga, 102-94 in overtime and dropped games to BYU and LMU when those two teams combined to make 27 three-pointers.

Non-Conference vs. Conference Opponents
In 10 non-conference games this season, USF averaged 70.3 ppg and shot 43.7 percent from the floor, including 32.2 percent from distance. In seven WCC games, the Dons are averaging 84.3 ppg and shooting 45.0 from the floor, including 42.8 percent from beyond the arc. USF allowed just 69.6 ppg to its non-conference foes but are yielding 85.9 ppg in conference action.

The Half of It
USF has trailed at haftime in 12 of 17 games and is 5-7 in those contests. The Dons have been outscored 619-552 while shooting 40.7 from the floor over the first 20 minutes of games this season compared to after intermission when USF is outscoring the opposition 717-649 and shooting 47.8 percent from the floor.

The Scoreboard
USF is averaging 89.7 points (538 total) over its last six games, boosting thet team's scoring average to 76.1, which ranks fifth in the WCC. The Dons have enjoyed five of their highest scoring outputs of the season in over their last seven vs. Coppin State (96), Pacific (89) and Portland (107), Gonzaga (94) and BYU (92). USF's 107-95 win over Portland marked the first time the Dons had scored a 100 points in a game since they defeated the Pilots, 104-70 on Jan. 12, 2012. It was also the Dons highest scoring output since tallying a school record 129 points against Holy Names on Jan. 2, 2010.

Dons Defensively
USF's last five opponents are averaging 90.2 ppg (451 total), which includes a pair of 102-point games by Gonzaga (OT) and BYU. The 102 points scored by Gonzaga and BYU were the most points USF has allowed since suffering a 104-65 loss at Arizona State on Nov. 20, 2009 and were the most scored by a WCC opponent since Feb. 23, 1995, when Gonzaga defeated the Dons, 106-67 in Spokane. The Dons have allowed 76.3 ppg this season, which ranks ninth in the WCC. Opponents are shooting 43.1 percent from the field which ranks sixth in the WCC.

From the Floor
USF managed to shoot just 41.8 percent (28-for-67) Thursday night against LMU, the team's coldest shooting night since a season-low 28.3 percent at Saint Mary's. The Dons are now shooting 44.3 from the floor on the season, which ranks fourth in the WCC. The Dons have shot 50 percent of better in four games this season (50.8 vs. Rice; 55.8 vs. Montana; 55.0 vs. Coppin State; 58.3 vs. Portland). Junior Uche Ofoegbu ranks seventh in the WCC in field goal percentage at 53.5.

Toeing the Line
The Dons missed 12 free throws (16-of-28) in Thursday night's four-point loss to LMU after making 70.5 percent of its free throws in its previous 15 games. The Dons are now shooting 68.2 percent from the line this season, which ranks eighth in the WCC, but is still an improvement from last year, when USF was converting just 57.9 percent (216-of-373) of its free throw attempts at the same point of the season. Devin Watson (77.0) ranks ninth among all WCC players in free throw percentage. Last season, USF ranked last in the WCC with a 62.9 free throw percentage, which was the lowest mark since the 1985-86 season (62.4).

From Distance
USF has made 64 three-pointers in its last six games against Pacific (13), Portland (11), Gonzaga (14), San Diego (8), BYU (7) and LMU (11) and is shooting 44.1 percent (64-for-145) from distance during that stretch. The 14 threes against Gonzaga were the most in a single game since the Dons drilled a school-record 17 treys against Idaho State in 2013-14. The Dons are now shooting 36.9 percent from three-point range on the year, which ranks fourth in the WCC. Tim Derksen has made 14-of-21 (67.0) of his 3-point tries over the last five games and now ranks fourth in the WCC in three-point field goal percentage at 46.9 while Watson ranks ninth in 3's made per game (2.2).

Defending the Three
USF's last two opponents Gonzaga (15-for-30) and LMU (12-for-27) are a combined 27-for-57 (47.3) from distance. The Dons have allowed 10 or more three-pointers eight times this season and rank ninth in the WCC in three-point field goal defense at 37.4 percent.

Board Work
USF has outrebounded 10 of its first 17 opponents and is +61 in the rebound column on the year. The Dons are averaging 38.9 boards a game, which ranks third in the WCC and are fourth in rebound margin (+3.6). USF ranks third in the WCC in offensive rebounds per game at 12.4. Three players - Dont'e Reynolds (6.9), Tim Derksen (6.3) and Uche Ofoegbu (4.4) - are averaging at least 4.0 boards per game. Derksen's 14 rebounds vs. Pacific were the most by a USF player since Kruize Pinkins also pulled down 14 boards last season vs. Eastern Washington. Reynolds ranks eighth in the WCC in rebounding while Derksen is 10th.

Assists, Turnovers and Steals
USF has turned the ball over at least 15 times in seven of the 17 games this season and are averaging 13.4 turnovers a game, compared to the opponents at 11.0 per game. USF ranks 10th in the WCC in turnover margin (-2.35) and ninth assist-turnover ratio (0.9). Of the Dons 440 total field goals, 216 (49.0 percent) have come via an assist. USF is also averaging 4.7 steals a game to rank eighth in the WCC.

The Bench
USF's reserves were outscored 48-13 against LMU and are now averaging 19.1 ppg this season (326 total), compared to the opponent's at 24.8 (423). The bench scored a season-high 37 points against Rice and has scored 20 or more points in five of its last seven games.

High Scoring Tandem
Devin Watson and senior Tim Derksen has combined to average 35.8 ppg (609 total) points a game this season to rank as the WCC's second-highest scoring tandem behind Gonzaga's Kyle Wiltjer and Damontas Sabonis, who are averaging 40.3 per outing (686 total). BYU's high-scoring duo of Chase Fischer and Kyle Collinsworth are averaging 33.3 ppg (600). Either Watson or Derksen have led the team in scoring 15 of 17 games this season and have accounted for 47 percent (609 of 1293) of USF's total point production. Watson has scored 20 or more points in nine games this season, including a pair of 30-point games,  while Derksen has five 20-point contests.

Watson Ranks Second in WCC Scoring
Sophomore point guard Devin Watson is averaging 20.3 points a game, which ranks second in the WCC behind Gonzaga's Kyle Wiltjer (22.3) and tied for 21st nationally with Duke's Grayson Allen. Watson is tied for 17th nationally in scoring average among guards. The last USF player to win a conference scoring title was Dior Lowhorn who averaged 20.1 pgg in 2008-09. Watson has been in double-figures in 16 of 17 games this season, including nine games of at least 20 points (24 at Fresno State; 27 vs. UC Riverside; 25 vs. Eastern Washington; 31 vs. Coppin State; 23 vs. Pacific; 22 vs. Portland; 33 vs. Gonzaga; 25 at BYU; 20 LMU). He is also averaging 5.2 assists per game to rank sixth in the WCC.

Sharing the Wealth
USF has had at least four players score in double-figures in five of the last eight games and are 5-2 this season when four players score in double figures, with the only losses coming against Gonzaga and BYU.

RBIII Heating Up
Junior Ronnie Boyce III has scored in double figures in all seven conference games and is averaging 16.7 ppg against WCC foes this season. He has scored 20 or more points in three of his last six games, including a career-high 22 at San Diego. Boyce scored in double figures in each of the first two games of the season vs. Illinois-Chicago (13) and Rice (11), but scored just six points over his five appearances before this recent stretch. He made his first career start against Pacific on Dec. 23.

No Rest for the Weary
Devin Watson (4th; 34.6) and Tim Derksen (10th; 31.6) both rank in the top-10 among all WCC players in minutes played. Derksen has logged 2,898 minutes over his career, which ranks 10th on USF's all-time career list. At his present rate, Derksen will move into USF's top-5 for minutes played at year's end.

Fan Experience

Promotions
Today is Kid's Day, with all children 12-under being admitted free. The USF baseball team will be on hand in the batting cages located in the Kid's Zone, which is located upstairs in the north endzone. In addition, there will be face painting, poster making and more.Ticket Information
Individual game tickets for all USF home games this season are available on line at USFDons.com or by calling (415) 422-2USF. General admission tickets are available for as low as $10.
 
Parking Information
Parking is available free of charge two hours prior to tip-off until one hour after the conclusion of the game in any campus lot, with the exception of designated green parking spots and the top of Hayes-Healy garage on Golden Gate Avenue adjacent to the gymnasium.
 
The Hilltop Club Level
Fans 21 and older can enjoy beverages and catered food options before and during designated games during the season in the Hilltop Club Level. Located in the upper mezzanine level on the south side of War Memorial at The Sobrato Center, The Hilltop Club Level will open one hour before tipoff and will remain accessible throughout the game. Beer, wine, soft drinks and catered food options will be available to all fans 21 years of age and older. Admission to the The Hilltop is priced at $25 per game. Season passes for all games with the exception of designated premium games may also be purchased for $250. Food and drink options are extra. The cost does not include a game ticket.