Game at a Glance
San Francisco Dons (8-5, 2-1 WCC) vs. Gonzaga Bulldogs (11-3, 3-0 WCC)
Saturday,  Jan. 2, 2016 • 8:00 p.m. 
War Memorial at The Sobrato Center • San Francisco, Calif.
Series Record: Gonzaga 51-22
Last Meeting: March 7, 2015 (Gonzaga 81-72)
Audio Stream: TheW.tv (Pat Olson, Play-by-Play; Jim Brovelli, Analyst)
Television: ESPN2 (Beth Mowins, Play-by-Play; Brad Daugherty, Analyst)
Live Stats: USFDons.com

Complete USF Game Notes (PDF)

Opening Tip
USF (8-5, 2-1 WCC) plays host to the 24th-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs (11-3, 3-0) Saturday night on the Hilltop. Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m. and the game will be nationally-televised by ESPN2, with Beth Mowins and Brad Daugherty handling the announcing duties. USF is coming off a 107-95 win over Portland on Thursday while Gonzaga held off Santa Clara, 79-77 at the Leavey Center.

USF at a Glance

• Now 8-5 overall and 2-1 in the WCC after Thursday night's 107-95 win over Portland...Dons trailed by 15 points at 81-66 midway through the second half but outscored Portland 41-14 over the last 12:59 of the game to earn the 12-point victory.
• Went over the century mark for the first time since defeating Portland 104-70 on Jan. 12, 2012...also marked USF's highest scoring output since tallying a school-record 129 points vs. Holy Names on Jan. 2, 2010.
• Have won four out of its last five games and are one game ahead of last year's pace when the team was 7-6 at the 13-game mark.
• Have lost seven straight to Gonzaga including all three games last season...USF's last win in the series came in the 2011-12 season, 66-65 on The Hilltop.
• Of the Dons seven wins this season, four have been by a combined total of 11 points while three others have been by a combined total of 72 points...were 1-4 in games decided by five points or fewer last season.
• Have not led in four of its five losses and led for only a combined :32 seconds in a loss to Eastern Washington...rallied from a 19-point deficit vs. Pacific and were 15 down to Portland with 12:59 to play.
• Are 7-2 at home this season and are 15-10 over its last 23 home games...averaging 77.8 ppg and shooting 48.2 percent in nine home games this season.
• Have trailed at halftime in 10 of its 13 games this season and are 5-5 in those contests...averaging 31.1 points and shooting 37.8 percent in the first half this season compared to 41.2 and and 49.9 percent after intermission.
• Shuffled the lineup for the fourth time this season vs. Pacific, with Ronnie Boyce drawing his first career start, giving the Dons four players no taller than 6-4 in the starting five...have averaged 98 ppg since going to smaller lineup.
• Sophomore point guard Devin Watson is now averaging 19.3 this season, which ranks third in the WCC...he has been in double-figures in 12 of 13 games this season including six 20-point games.
• Senior guard Tim Derksen scored a career-high 27 points vs. Portland and is averaging 15.4 ppg and 7.0 boards a game...he ranks seventh in the WCC in scoring and eighth in rebounding from his two-guard position.
• The duo of Watson and Derksen is averaging 34.6 ppg to rank as form WCC's highest-scoring backcourt...they account for 47.4 percent of USF's season point total (451 of 951).
• USF's bench is averaging 18.6 points per game this season (243 total).
• With 120 wins in seven-plus seasons on the Hilltop, Rex Walters is ranks sixth on USF's all-time career win list among coaches...he has coached 237 games, which ranks third all-time behind only Jim Brovelli (286) and Phil Mathews (262).

The Matchup

About Gonzaga
Stand 11-3 overall and 3-0 in the West Coast Conference after Saturday's 79-77 victory at Santa Clara…ranked 24th nationally in the latest USA Today Coaches' Poll…senior Kyle Wiltjer ranks second in the WCC in scoring with a 20.1 ppg average…he has had eight games of 20 points or more this season and has scored in double figures in all but one game this season…sophomore Domantas Sabonis is averaging a double-double on the season at 17.5 points and 10.8 rebounds...he is also shooting 66.2 percent from the field…ranks in the top-10 nationally in both rebounding the field goal percentage…Wiltjer and Sabonis form one of the top scoring duos in the nation at 37.7 points per game …redshirt freshman guard Bryan Alberts has started each of the last five games and has responded with two double-figure scoring games…playing without the services of senior center Przemek Karnowski, who will miss the remainder of the season with a back injury…Zags have won 12 straight conference road games and 26 of last the last 29…has won 19 WCC regular season titles, including the last three in a row…head coach Mark Few is the winningest active coach in NCAA Division I by percentage at .809 (449-106).

Series History with Gonzaga
In a series that dates back to the 1961-62 season, Gonzaga leads the all-time series with USF, 51-22, including 45-17 in WCC play. Gonzaga has won seven straight in the series dating back to USF's last win, 66-65 on Feb. 18, 2012 in San Francisco. The Bulldogs won all three games against the Dons last season, claiming a 31-point, 88-57 victory in Spokane on Jan. 8 and taking an 81-70 decision the Hilltop on Feb. 7. The two teams met in the quarterfinals of the WCC Championships, with Gonzaga prevailing 81-72. The Zags hold a 3-1 advantage in WCC Championship games.

Last Year's Meetings With Gonzaga
USF dropped a 88-57 decision to sixth-ranked Gonzaga on Jan. 8 in Spokane. The Dons trailed by just 10 points at halftime, 37-27 but were outscored 51-30 after the break en route to a 26th consecutive loss to the Zags in Spokane. Gonzaga shot 60 percent in the second half and took advantage of 13 Don turnovers. Kruize Pinkins scored a game-high 20 points while Devin Watson added 11. No other USF player scored more than five points. Kevin Pangos led four Zags in double figures with 17 points.
 
In the return game in San Francisco, USF gave Gonzaga all it could handle before the second-ranked Zags pulled away late to defeat the Dons, 81-70 before a sold out crowd in Memorial Gymnasium on Feb. 7. The game was tied at 38-38 at halftime and the Zags led by just three points at 68-65 with 4:10 remaining. However, Gonzaga outscored USF 13-5 down the stretch to fend off the Dons upset bid. USF trailed by just five points at 73-68 with 1:42 left when the Zags went on a 8-0 run to ice the game. Both teams shot 50 percent from the field but the Zags held a decisive advantage on the boards (37-22) and at the foul line, where they made 23 (of 30) free throws compared to just nine for USF. Mark Tollefsen led the Dons with 18 points while Corey Hilliard came off the bench to add a career-high 13. Gonzaga's Kyle Wiltjer led all scorers with 29 points.

The two schools met for a third time in the quarterfinals of the WCC Championships in Las Vegas, where the Zags posted a 81-72 victory. The Dons held a 41-39 lead with 13:59 remaining before the Zags scored 16 consecutive points in a 4:19 span to take a 55-41 lead. The Dons clawed their way back into the game and cut the Zag lead down to seven at 66-59 with 3:27 left, but could get no closer.  Tim Derksen and Mark Tollefsen each scored 21 points for USF while Devin Watson added 17 to pace all Dons' scorers. Derksen also had 10 rebounds for a double-double. Przemek Karnowski made 10-of-14 shots from the floor and scored a game-high 24 points while Kyle Wiltjer finished with 19.

Against Ranked Opponents
USF is 2-10 in its last 12 games vs. ranked opponents dating back to the 2008-09 season. Both of the Dons Top 25 wins came at the expense of Gonzaga in 2010 (No. 11; 81-77 OT) and 2012 (No. 24; 66-65).

What to Watch For

• Saturday's game features two of the top scoring duos in the nation…USF's Devin Watson and Tim Derksen are averaging 34.6 points a game while Gonzaga's tandem of Kyle Wiltjer and Damontas Sabonis is averaging 37.7 per game.
• USF is averaging 98 points a game over its last two contests vs. Pacific and Portland since employing its small lineup featuring essentially four guards.
• Gonzaga is holding opponents to just 38.9 percent shooting on the year, the second-lowest mark in the WCC.
• USF and Gonzaga have combined to win 34 of the WCC's 63 regular season championships.

Dons' Notebook

The Record
At 8-5, USF is one game ahead of its pace of last season, when the Dons were 7-6 at the 13-game mark. The Dons then lost four in a row to fall to 7-10.

The Home Record
USF is 7-2 at home this season and is 15-10 over its last 25 home games. However, the Dons were just 3-6 in nine home conference games last season, defeating Pepperdine, Santa Clara and Pacific. USF is averging 77.8 ppg and shooting 48.2 percent from the floor in nine home games this season.

Let's Get Small
USF employed its fourth starting lineup of the season vs. Pacific, as Ronnie Boyce replaced Nate Renfro, giving the Dons four players no taller than 6-foot-4 in the starting five. Boyce responded by scoring a career high 20 points. The Dons have averaged 98 ppg over the last two games since the lineup switch. A total of eight players have drawn starts this season with Devin Watson, Tim Derksen and Dont'e Reynolds holding their sports of all 13 games. Nate Renfro (10), Chase Foster (9) and Montray Clemons (1) have also earned starts this season.

The Wins and Losses
Of the eight victories, four have been by a combined total of 11 points (78-75 at Illinois-Chicago; 58-57 vs. UC Riverside; 65-61 CSUN; 96-93 vs. Coppin State) 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.

The Half of It
USF has trailed at haftime in 10 of 13 games and is 5-5 in those contests. The Dons are averaging 31.1 points (404 total) while shooting 37.8 from the floor over the first 20 minutes of games this season compared to after intermission when USF is scoring at a 41.2 clip (535 total) and shooting 49.9 percent from the floor.

The Scoreboard
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. USF is now averaging 73.2 ppg, which ranks fifth in the WCC. The Dons have enjoyed three of their highest scoring outputs of the season in the last four games vs. Coppin State (96), Pacific (89) and Portland (107).

Dons Defensively
USF has allowed a season-high 95 points to Portland, including 62 in the first half.  The Dons have allowed 80.2 points (562 total) a game in its last seven games and are allowing 72.4 ppg this season, which ranks sixth in the WCC. Opponents are shooting 42.2 percent, including 38.1 percent from long distance, against the Dons this season.

From the Floor
After shooting a season-low 28.3 percent at Saint Mary's, the Dons have shot 53.0 percent (61-for-115) from the field over its last two games against Pacific and Portland and is shooting 57 pecent (51-for-90) over its last three halves of basketball. The Dons are now shooting 43.9 from the floor on the season, which ranks fifth 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).the WCC in field goal percentage at 45.1 percent.

Toeing the Line
After making just 22-of-39 (56.4) of its free throws at Illinois-Chicago, USF has knocked down 193-of-276 (70 percent) of its free throws over its last 12 games and is now shooting 68.3 percent from the line this season -- sixth best in the WCC. After 13 games last season, USF was converting just 57.4 percent (178-for-310) of its free throw attempts. Devin Watson (77.9) and Tim Derksen (77.8 rank seventh and eighth respectively 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 24 three-pointers in its last two games against Pacific (13) and Portland (11). The 13 threes aainst Pacific 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 35.4 percent from three-point range on the year, which ranks sixth in the WCC. Sophomore Devin Watson tops the team in 3's made (26) while Tim Derksen is second with 19.

Board Work
USF has outrebounded eight of its first 13 opponents and is +69 in the rebound column on the year. The Dons are averaging 39.2 boards a game, which ranks third in the WCC and are fourth in rebound margin (+5.3). USF ranks third in the WCC in offensive rebounds per game at 12.3. Three players - Dont'e Reynolds (6.8), Tim Derksen (7.0) and Uche Ofoegbu (4.1) - 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.

Assists, Turnovers and Steals
USF has turned the ball over at least 15 times in six of the 13 games this season and are averaging 13.5 turnovers a game, compared to the opponents at 10.8 per game. USF ranks 10th in the WCC in turnover margin (3.00) and ninth assist-turnover ratio (0.9). Of the Dons 319 total field goals, 160 (47 percent) have come via an assist. USF is also averaging 4.6 steals a game to rank ninth in the WCC.

The Bench
USF's reserves are averaging 18.6 ppg this season (243 total), compared to the opponent's at 25.3 (329). The bench scored a season-high 37 points against Rice and has scored 20 or more points in three of its last four games.

WCC's Highest-Scoring Backcourt
USF's starting guard combination of sophomore Devin Watson and senior Tim Derksen has combined to average 34.6 ppg (451 total) points a game this season to rank as the WCC's highest-scoring backcourt.Either Watson or Derksen have led the team in scoring 12 of 13 games this season and have accounted for 47.7 percent (451 of 951) of USF's total point production. Watson has scored 20 or more points in six gams this season while Derksen has three 20-point contests.

Watson Ranks Third in WCC Scoring
Sophomore point guard Devin Watson is averaging 19.3 points a game, which ranks third in the WCC behind Santa Clara's Jared Brownridge (20.3) and Gonzaga's Kyle Wiltjer (20.1). Watson has been in double-figures in 12 of 13 games this season, including six 20-point contests (24 at Fresno State; 27 vs. UC Riverside; 25 vs. Eastern Washington; 31 vs. Coppin State; 23 vs. Pacific; 22 vs. Portland). He is also averaging 5.3 assists per game to rank sixth in the WCC.

Derksen's Doubles
With 16 points and a career-high 14 rebounds vs. Pacific, senior guard Tim Derksen recorded his third double-double of the season and fourth of his career. Derksen also posted double-doubles earlier this season against Illinois-Chicago (17-12) and UC Riverside (11-13). He also closed the 2014-15 season with a double-double vs. Gonzaga (21-10). He ranks in the WCC's top-10 in both scoring (7th; 15.4) the rebounding (8th; 7.0) from his two-guard position.

No Rest for the Weary
Devin Watson (6th; 33.8) and Tim Derksen (10th; 31.6) both rank in the top-10 among all WCC players in minutes played. Derksen has logged 2,787 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.

Derksen Joins 1,000-Point Club
With 1,130 career points, senior Tim Derksen is tied for 23rd on USF's all-time scoring list with John Hegwood (1979-82). He needs 40 more points to move into a tie with Joel DeBortoli (1987-90) for 22nd place all-time.

Derksen on USF's 3-Point Charts
Tim Derksen has made 19-of-46 (.413) of his 3-point tries this season and is now shooting 39.7 percent (116-for-292) from long distance for his career, which ranks 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).

Walters on USF's All-Time Coaching Charts
With 120 wins in seven-plus seasons on the Hilltop, Rex Walters ranks fourth on USF's all-time win list and is one of seven coaches in USF history to win a 100 games. Only Jim Brovelli (296) and Phil Mathews (262) have coached more games than Walters (237) among all USF coaches. Here's a look where Walters ranks on USF's all-time coaching lists.

Fan Experience

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.

Gold Out Game
Fans arriving early will receive a free Gold Out T-Shirt (based on availability).

Game Sponsor
Saturday's USF-Gonzaga game is sponsored by Arguello Super Market, located at 782 Arguello Blvd. near the USF campus.
 
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.