Game at a Glance
San Francisco Dons (14-7, 4-4 WCC) at Saint Mary's Gaels (17-2, 7-1 WCC)
Thursday,  Jan. 26, 2017 • 8:00 p.m.
McKeon Pavilion • Moraga, Calif.
Series Record: USF 99-78
Last Meeting: Jan. 7, 2017 (SMC 63-52)
Television: CSNBA (Barry Tompkins, Play-by-Play; Dan Belluomini, Analyst)
Radio: 95.7 FM The GAME (Pat Olson, Play-by-Play; Jim Brovelli, Analyst)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com

Complete USF Game Notes (PDF) | Tradition Talk With Charles Minlend and Bill Cartwright

Opening Tip
USF (14-7, 4-4 WCC) meets the 21st-ranked Saint Mary's Gaels (17-2, 7-1 WCC) for the second time this season on Thursday night at McKeon Pavilion in Moraga. Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m. and the game will be televised live in the Bay Area on CSNBA and broadcast on 95.7 FM The GAME. The Dons have won three straight following a 60-43 win at San Diego on Saturday while the No. 23 Gaels posted home wins over Pacific (62-50) and Pepperdine (85-65) last week.

Worth Watching

• USF and Saint Mary's meet for the 178th time on Thursday…the Gaels represent USF's second-oldest rival in terms of games behind only Santa Clara (219).
• Two of the WCC's top shooting teams, Saint Mary's leads the conference in field goal percentage (49.7) while USF ranks third (47.5).
• For the last five games, USF has started a lineup featuring three sophomores and two freshmen…Saint Mary's veteran five consists of one sophomore, three juniors and a senior.
• USF has allowed just 144 points in its last three games which is the lowest point total in a three-game stretch since holding Lamar, IUPUI and Sacramento State to a combined 128 points in 1999-2000.
• Saint Mary's has won 22 of the last 23 games in the series dating back to the 2002-03 season.
• USF head coach Kyle Smith served on Randy Bennett's St. Mary's coaching staff for nine seasons (2001-10) prior to taking the head coaching job at Columbia.
• USF associate head coach Todd Golden played collegiately at Saint Mary's, where he helped the Gaels to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances. As a senior point guard, he ranked second in the nation with a 3.68 assist-to-turnover ratio.

The Dandy Dons

• Improved to 14-7 overall and 4-4 in the WCC with wins last week over Portland (75-50) and at San Diego (60-43)...have won three straight and enter week's play alone in fifth place in the WCC standings, one-game behind fourth-place Santa Clara (11-10, 5-3 WCC).
• At 14-7, USF is off to its best 21-game start since the 1999-2000 season when the Dons were 15-6 at the same mark of the season...the Dons are also three games ahead of last year's pace when the team was 11-10 at the 21-game mark of the season.
• Meet No. 21 (AP) Saint Mary's for the second time this season on Thursday in Moraga...Gaels won the first matchup between the two teams on Jan. 9 and have won 22 of the last 23 games against USF dating back to the 2002-03 season.
• Are 19-15 in 34 WCC road games dating back to the 2012-13 season...are a combined 1-12 in games played at Gonzaga, Saint Mary's and BYU but 17-3 in the six other WCC venues.
• Have allowed an average of just 48.0 ppg (144 total) in current three-game winning streak...Dons held San Diego to just 43 points, which was the lowest-scoring output by a WCC opponent since USF defeated LMU, 64-42 on Jan. 29, 2004...144 points is the fewest amount of points USF has allowed in a three-game stretch since holding Lamar (43), IUPUI (50) and Cal State-Sacramento (35) to a combined 128 points during the 1999-2000 season.
• Now rank third in the WCC in scoring at 74.9 points per game...averaging 69.0 ppg in eight WCC games after averaging 78.5 in 13 non-conference games.
• Rank third in the WCC in field goal percentage at 47.5...have shot over 50 percent from the floor in 10 games this season after shooting 50 percent or better in just six contests last year...are 9-1 this season when shooting at least 50 percent from the floor with the only loss coming at Eastern Washington.
• Are tied for first in the WCC and are tied for 20th nationally in three's made per game (9.6)...have made 201 threes on the year (t-15th NCAA) and have made 10 or more three's in nine games this season, including a school-record 18 against Eastern Washington and 16 vs. Utah...201 three's already rank ninth all-time at USF.
• Rank fourth in the WCC in three-point field goal percentage at 37.5...if the season were to end today, the Dons' would rank as the eighth most accurate long distance shooting team in school history.
• Four players - Charles Minlend (37), Jordan Ratinho (35), Ronnie Boyce (32) and Chase Foster (31) -- have made 20+ threes this season while a total of seven players have made 10 or more shots from distance...Ratinho ranks fifth in the WCC in 3-PT FG percentage at 46.6 while Minlend ranks ninth (42.9).
• USF's reserves have combined to score 450 points over the last 12 games (37.5) and have outscored the opponent's bench 705-359 (+346) over the last 20 games.
• Have started a lineup consisting of three sophomores (Matt McCarthy, Nate Renfro, Mladen Djordjevic) and two freshmen (Charles Minlend, Jordan Ratinho) in each of the last five games...of USF's 15-man roster, 13 players are underclassmen.
• An underclassmen has led/shared team in scoring nine times this season.
• With an 10.9 ppg scoring average, Charles Minlend ranks as the second-highest scoring freshman in the WCC. behind BYU's TJ Haws (13.3)...Minlend has 13 double-figure scoring games this season, topped off by a career-best 20-point effort in the WCC opener vs. San Diego.

Scouting Report

About Saint Mary's
Bring a 17-2 overall mark and a 7-1 conference record into Thursday night's game…ranked 21st in this week's AP poll…sit one game behind Gonzaga in the conference standings…posted home wins last week over Pacific (62-50) and Pepperdine (85-65) after suffering a 79-56 setback at Gonzaga on Jan. 14…allowing just 57.8 points a game, which is the second-lowest opponent scoring average in the nation behind Virginia (53.2)…lead the WCC and rank 20th nationally in shooting percentage with a 49.7 mark…also top the WCC and rank 20th nationally in three-point field goal percentage at 39.7…outrebound opponents by 10.7 boards a game, which is the fourth-best margin in the nation…junior Jock Landale ranks sixth in the WCC in scoring (16.8) and second in rebounding (9.5)…senior Joe Rahon tops the WCC in assist average at 5.9 while Emmett Naar ranks third at 5.4...under the direction of Randy Bennett, who is in his 16th season in Moraga…the three-time WCC Coach of the Year has guided the Gaels to 10 postseason appearances (5 NCAA; 5 NIT) during his tenure…SMC has averaged 26 wins a season over last six years and has compiled a 77.1 winning percentage against WCC foes over last eight campaigns…Gaels have won/shared three WCC regular season titles in last six seasons.

Series History with Saint Mary's
In a series that dates back to the 1930-31 season, USF leads the all-time series with Saint Mary's, 99-78. However, the Gaels have won 22 of the last 23, 22 of the last 24  and 27 of the last 30 games in the series dating back to the 2002-03 season, including a 63-52 victory on the Hilltop earlier this season. USF has also dropped 13 straight to the Gaels in McKeon Pavilion dating back to its last win in Moraga on Feb. 8, 2003. Prior to the Gaels recent run of success, USF won seven straight games in the series from 1998-99 to 2001-02. USF's last win in the series came on Feb. 20, 2014 in San Francisco, 73-62, which snapped the Gaels 17-game winning streak in the series. The two schools have also met five times in WCC Tournament play, with the Gaels holding a 4-1 advantage.

First Meeting With Saint Mary's 
USF gave 19th-ranked Saint Mary's all it could handle for 34 minutes before falling, 63-52 in War Memorial at the Sobrato Center on Jan. 7. With Saint Mary's nursing a 52-49 lead with 6:56 remaining, Tanner Krebs and Dane Pineau hit back-to-back three-pointers in a span of 48 seconds to give the Gaels all the breathing room they needed to win for the 22nd time in 23 games against the Dons. Saint Mary's outscored USF, 11-3 run down the stretch as the Dons were able to connect on just one of their last 10 shots from the floor. Saint Mary's center Jock Landale led all scorers with 21 points while Pineau (14) and Joe Rahon (13) also reached double figure. The Gaels held a decisive edge on the boards, outrebounding USF, 43-27.Ronnie Boyce was the only USF (11-6, 1-3 WCC) player to reach double figures with 19 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the field.

Last Time Out: USF 60, San Diego 43 
USF put forth its best defensive effort of the season on Saturday to defeat the San Diego Toreros, 60-43 inside Jenny Craig Pavilion. The 43 points scored by the Toreros were a season low by a Dons' opponent this season and the second-lowest output by San Diego in the 99-game series with USF. The Dons limited San Diego to just 31.4 percent shooting from the floor, including 1-of-17 from distance.USF shot 49 percent for the game and connected on 7-of-19 of its long distance shots.  A total of 10 USF players got into the scoring column but none managed to score in double figures. Chase Foster and Ronnie Boyce came off the bench to score nine points while Charles Minlend and Marquill Smith each finished with seven. The Dons led by as many as 20 points twice in the game, last at 57-37 with 3:51 remaining, before winning by the final 60-43 count.

Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Week
USF's coaching staff will take part in the Coaches vs. Cancer Suits And Sneakers Week, January 23-29, a nationwide event that unites coaches across the country to raise awareness about the American Cancer Society's lifesaving mission, and promote the American Cancer Society as a place for help and support. While coaching games during the week, USF's coaches wear sneakers with their game attire as a visible reminder about the importance of nutrition and physical activity in reducing cancer risk.
Help saves lives and support Coaches vs. Cancer Suits And Sneakers Week!

Up Next
USF will travel to Stockton on Saturday to face the Pacific Tigers. Tip-off is 1:00 p.m. The contest is featured as WCC's Game of the Week and will be televised over the conference's family of networks.
Tickets are available for USF's Hall of Fame dinner to be held on Feb. 3 at the McLaren Conference Center on campus. Former men's basketball standout James Hardy '78 joins Eduardo Rangel '66 (men's soccer), Patrick McGuigan '06 (baseball), Tami Adkins '93 (women's basketball), and Dr. Sandee Hill (special category) as the 2017 class of inductees into the Father Hubert "Hub" Flynn Hall of Fame. Click here to purchase your tickets today.