GAME AT A GLANCE
San Francisco Dons (8-6, 0-1 WCC) at Portland (6-8, 0-1 WCC)
Saturday, Dec. 30, 2017 • 6:00 p.m.
Chiles Center • Portland, Ore.
Series Record:  Dons lead 58-27 
Last Regular Season:  Feb. 18, 2017 - Dons 65 - Pilots 51 at the Chiles Center
Video: TheW.tv (out-of-market)
Radio: Livestream.com (Pat Olson, Play-by-Play; Jim Brovelli, Analyst)
Television:  ROOT NW | NBCS CA | AT&T Sports Net SW/RM | ESPN3 (out-of-region) (Tom Glasgow, Play-by-Play; Francis Williams, Analyst)

GAME COVERAGE
Saturday's game will have television coverage on ROOT Sports Northwest with Tom Glasgow and Francis Williams on the call, it will also be broadcast on NBCS CA, AT&T SportsNet Southwest and Rocky Mountain as well as ESPN3 for out of region fans.  Check local listings for channels. 
 
PORTLAND – The University of San Francisco men's basketball team looks to earn a split in its opening weekend in the WCC.  The Dons take on the Portland Pilots on Saturday night at 6:00 p.m.  at the Chiles Center.
 
USF (8-6, 0-1) is coming off a tough one in its conference opener at San Diego on Thursday evening.  The Dons scored first but quickly fell behind and never regained the lead, falling 73-63 to the Toreros.  USF trailed by as much as 17 in the first half.  In the second half, an 11-0 run started by Nate Renfro got the Dons within shouting distance, and twice cut the deficit to less than seven.  Ultimately, USD was able to hold on to improve to 10-3 on the year and 1-0 in the WCC.
 
The Dons got a strong second half performance from freshman Souley Boum.  Boum scored 21 points, the third 20-point performance of his career, with 16 coming after the intermission.  He was a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe that evening.
 
ABOUT THE DONS

• USF is 0-3 in "true" road contests, after falling to the Toreros on Thursday.  The other road games came against Arizona State (Dec. 2) and Stanford (Dec. 19).    
• The Dons have two players averaging better than 10 points a game and are led by freshman Souley Boum's team-high 14.6 points per game.   
• The Dons are shooting 39.7 from the field (331-833), and from long range they are shooting 31.3 percent (112-358).  Junior Matt McCarthy leads the team with a 46.0 shooting percentage.
• The Dons have some pretty dramatic home/road splits. At the friendly confines they are averaging 72.2 points per game and shooting 41.7 percent, while away from War Memorial at the Sobrato Center they are averaging 62.0 points per game and shooting just 36.2 percent.
• The Dons have been held to less than 70 in five consecutive games; during that stretch they are 2-3. The last time the Dons were held to less than 70 in five consecutive games came last season between Feb. 9 to the 23, where the Dons also went 2-3. 

 
SERIES VERSUS THE PILOTS
The Dons and Pilots have met 85 times with USF owning a 58-27 advantage in the series.  The two teams first squared off in Portland on Jan. 26, 1953 with the Dons falling to the Pilots 61-60.  USF has won four-straight, including last season's series finale on Feb. 18, 2017 in Portland, where the Dons came out on top 65-51.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS

• Portland enters Saturday's contest with a 6-8 overall record and is 0-1 in the WCC after falling to BYU 69-45 in Provo on Thursday.  The Pilots average 74.5 points per game and are led by Josh McSwiggan 13.7 points per game; he is one of three Pilots who average double figures.  As a team, Portland is shooting 46.2 percent from the field and 40.1 percent from 3-point range. 
• The Pilots entered Thursday leading the WCC in both three-point percentage (.413) and threes made per game (10.1). UP is ranked No. 16 nationally in percentage and No. 31 in three-pointers made. Franklin Porter and D'MarquesTyson are tied for second in the WCC at 46.7 percent individually, while McSwiggan is fourth at 46.3 percent.
• Terry Porter's 2017 recruiting class was ranked No. 10 nationally by HoopScoop. The class was the highest rated in the WCC and No. 2 nationally among mid-majors. Nine newcomers comprised the class with seven freshmen and two junior college transfers.