SAN FRANCISCO - The new look USF men's basketball team under first year head coach Kyle Smith will tip-off the 2016-17 season against Illinois-Chicago on Nov. 11 at the renovated War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.

San Francisco will host nine of its conference games at the Hilltop and will also play home to five non-conference contests.

In the early parts of the schedule, USF will face 10 schools from seven different conferences. Three teams from the Big Sky (Eastern Washington, Sacramento State and Portland State), two from the Southland Conference (Lamar and Abilene Christian), and one apiece from the Southwestern Athletic Conference (Alcorn State), the Horizon League (Illinois-Chicago), Big West Conference (UC Santa Barbara), Sun Belt Conference (Troy) and the Pac-12 (Utah).

Three of the non-conference matches will be against teams who made the postseason last year. The Utes advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament, Eastern Washington moved on to the quarterfinals of the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) and UCSB reached the semifinals of the Vegas 16 tournament.

After the home opener against Illinois-Chicago, who USF beat 78-75 last season, the Dons will head down to the Thunderdome to take on a UC Santa Barbara team that finished fourth in the Big West and ended the year with a 19-14 overall record. The Dons will then take home court one week later on Nov. 23, as the team is slated to face Troy.

USF will travel to Reese Court to take part in the Eastern Washington Classic on Nov. 26-27. In the EWU Classic, the Dons will open against Sacramento State. This will be the first meeting against the Hornets since the 2007-08 season- which USF won by the score, 93-63. The Dons will close out their appearance with a match against host Eastern Washington. USF will look to avenge two straight losses to the Eagles after a 81-77 loss in San Francisco last year.

The Dons will return home for a four game homestand against non-conference opponents. On Nov. 30, USF will host Alcorn State in the first ever meeting between the two programs.

Following the first ever meeting between the Dons and Alcorn State, USF will play Southland Conference member, Lamar on Dec. 2. This will be the first time the Dons will play Lamar since the 1999-00 season when USF prevailed with a 69-43 win. Two weeks later on Friday, Dec. 16, USF will play host to Big Sky member Portland State. The end of the homestand concludes on Dec. 19 when Abilene Christian comes to the Hilltop for the first ever meeting between the two programs. The Wildcats finished the 2015-16 season 13-18, and 8-10 in Southland conference action.

The first time since 2012, USF will compete in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. The Dons will join Utah, Tulsa, Stephen F. Austin, San Diego State, Southern Miss, Illinois State and host Hawai'i in the tournament- with the first game against the Utes on Dec. 22. Utah ended last season with an impressive overall record, 27-9 and finished conference action with a 13-5 mark.

USF will open West Coast Conference action at home this year, as the team will host San Diego on Thursday, Dec. 29. The Dons will then travel to longtime Bay Area rivals Santa Clara for a New Year's Eve contest at the Leavey Center.

The new year will begin with consecutive games against last season's top two teams. Come Thursday, Jan. 5, the Dons will be at home for an enticing matchup against Gonzaga. The Zags are coming off an impressive year reaching the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament. Two days later, USF will remain at the Hilltop for what will be a much anticipated game against Bay Area rival, Saint Mary's. The Gaels claimed the regular season conference title after a 29-6 overall record. SMC ultimately advanced to the quarterfinals of last year's National Invitational Tournament (NIT).

In the second half of conference action, USF is scheduled for a four game stand which starts against Pepperdine on Thursday, Feb. 2. The Dons will then host LMU (Feb. 4), Santa Clara (Feb. 9) and BYU (Feb. 11) to conclude the home schedule for the season.

USF will face a tough stretch to end the regular season with four straight conference road games. The Dons will first travel to the Pacific Northwest to face off against Gonzaga on Feb. 16 and the Portland Pilots on Feb. 18. Upon return from the northwest, USF will finish its regular season with matches at LMU (Feb. 23) and Pepperdine (Feb. 25).

The 2017 WCC Championships are slated for March 2-7 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

Starting times and television assignments for USF's conference games will be announced at a later date.

Fans can get an early preview of the Dons at the annual Hilltop HoopsFest, scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 8 during Parents & Family Weekend. There will be food, giveaways, player introductions, music and more. Stay tuned to USFDons.com in the upcoming weeks for more information.
 

---

USF Offers New Men's Basketball Ticket Options

USF Athletics offers three great ticket options for the upcoming 2016-17 season, beginning with a full season ticket starting at $100 in the general admission section.

For fans interested in the nine-game West Coast Conference pack, general admission tickets start at just $80 and includes games against Gonzaga, Saint Mary's and BYU.

The most exciting offer this year is the new Big 3 Pack, which includes the season opener against Illinois-Chicago on Nov. 11 and home games against Gonzaga and Saint Mary's for only $70 in the general admission section. 

Full season tickets, the nine-game WCC pack and the Big 3 Pack are available by online at usfdons.com/tickets, email us USFTickets@usfca.edu or by calling 415-422-2USF and reserving your seats today!

Full season
Courtside- $1,250 per seat
Baseline Front Row/Second Row- $500 per seat
General Admission- $100 per seat (Adult), $75 (Senior 65+ Up), $75 (Recent Alumni 5 years), $50 (Youth 12 + below)

WCC Pack 9 Games
General Admission-  $80 per seat (Adult), $70 (Senior 65 + Up), $70 (Recent Alumni 5 years), $30 (Youth 12 + below)

Big 3 Pack (Home Opener, Gonzaga, Saint Mary's)
General Admission-  $70 per seat (Adult), $60 (Senior 65 + Up), $60 (Recent Alumni 5 years), $20 (Youth 12 + below).

For information regarding USF Basketball ticket information for the 2016-17 season, please visit USFDons.com/tickets or call the USF Athletic Ticket Office at (415) 422-2USF (2873).
 

2016-17 Schedule
Nov. 11 - Illinois-Chicago, TBA
Nov. 16 - at UC Santa Barbara, 7 p.m.
Nov. 23 - Troy, 7 p.m.

Eastern Washington Tournament
Nov. 26 - vs. Sacramento State, 3:35
Nov. 27 - at Eastern Washington, 6:05

Nov. 30 - Alcorn State, 7 p.m.
Dec. 2 - Lamar, 7 p.m.
Dec. 16 - Portland State, 7 p.m.
Dec. 19 - Abeline Christian, 7 p.m.

Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic
Dec. 22 - vs. Utah, 6:30 p.m. HT (ESPNU)
Dec. 23 - TBA
Dec. 25 - TBA

Dec. 29 - San Diego, TBA
Dec. 31 - at Santa Clara, TBA
Jan. 5 - Gonzaga, TBA
Jan. 7 - Saint Mary's, TBA
Jan. 12 - at BYU, TBA
Jan. 14 - Pacific, TBA
Jan. 19 - Portland, TBA
Jan. 21 - at San Diego, TBA
Jan. 26 - at Saint Mary's, TBA
Jan. 28 - at Pacific, TBA
Feb. 2 - Pepperdine, TBA
Feb. 4 - LMU, TBA
Feb. 9 - Santa Clara, TBA
Feb. 11 - BYU, TBA
Feb. 16 - at Gonzaga, TBA
Feb. 18 - at Portland, TBA
Feb. 23 - at LMU, TBA
Feb. 25 - at Pepperdine, TBA

March 2-7- WCC Championships (Las Vegas)