Game at a Glance
San Francisco Dons (18-8, 8-5 WCC) vs. BYU Cougars (17-9, 8-5 WCC)
Saturday,  Feb. 11, 2017 • 8:00 p.m.
War Memorial at the Sobrato Center • San Francisco, Calif.
Series Record: BYU 16-6
Last Meeting: Jan. 12, 2017 (BYU 85-75)
Television: CSNCA (Kate Scott, Play-by-Play; Dan Belluomini, Analyst)
Audio Stream: TheW.tv (Pat Olson, Play-by-Play; Jim Brovelli, Analyst)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com

Complete USF Game Notes (PDF) | Purchase Tickets Here

Opening Tip
USF (18-8, 8-5 WCC) plays host to the BYU Cougars (17-9, 8-5 WCC) in a West Coast Conference game Saturday night on the Hilltop. The Dons and Cougars enter the game tied for third in the West Coast Conference standings. USF ran its winning streak to four games with a 61-58 win over Santa Clara on Thursday night while BYU dropped a 99-83 decision at Pepperdine. Saturday night's game will be televised locally on CSNBA with Kate Scott and Dan Belluomini calling the action from courtside. USF senior Ronnie Boyce will be honored prior to the game.

Worth Noting

• Two of the WCC's top freshmen will be in action on Saturday in TJ Haws (14.3) and Charles Minlend (10.6).
• BYU is the WCC's second-highest scoring team averaging 81.9 points a game…USF has held its last eight opponents under 70 points, the longest such streak since the 1964-65 season…BYU is averaging 86.7 points a game in the last 12 games against USF.
• The Cougars are a combined 37-for-72 (51.3) from three-point range in their last three games against USF…BYU's Nick Emery set a Sobrato Center record with 10 three-pointers in last year's win over USF.

USF at a Glance

• Improved to 18-8 overall and 8-5 in the WCC after Thursday night's 61-58 win over Santa Clara...have won four straight which matches the longest winning streak of the season...now tied with BYU for third place in the WCC standings...the 18 wins are the third-highest total among WCC teams behind Gonzaga (25) and St. Mary's (22).
• At 18-8, USF is off to its best 25-game start since the 1999-2000 season when the Dons were 19-7 at the same mark of the season before finishing at 19-9...the Dons are also three games ahead of last year's pace when the team was 15-11 at the 26-game mark of the season...have already eclipsed last year's win total of 15.
• Face BYU for the second time this season on Saturday...Cougars have won eight straight in the series including a 85-75 decision earlier this season in Provo...Dons last win vs. BYU was on Feb. 9, 2013 in Provo (99-87).
• In a stretch of four consecutive homes games...are 11-3 on the Hilltop this season...Dons will play their last four regular season games on the road.
• Have held the last eight opponents under 70 points and are allowing just 56.0 ppg (448) total during that stretch...last time USF held the opponent under 70 points in eight straight games was 1964-65 (10)...streak will be put to a test Saturday against BYU, which is averaging 81.9 ppg this season (2nd WCC) and 86.7 in last 12 games vs. USF...Dons are allowing 66.5 ppg this season after yielding 78.7 ppg a year ago.
• Of USF's 18 wins this season, 15 have been decided by 10 points or more, including seven wins by 20+ points.
• During current four-game winning streak, USF has trailed for only 2:06...two of last four wins vs. Pepperdine and Santa Clara have come in wire-to-wire fashion.
• Rank third in the WCC in field goal percentage at 47.2...have shot over 50 percent from the floor in 11 games this season after shooting 50 percent or better in just six contests last year...are 10-1 this season when shooting at least 50 percent from the floor with the only loss coming at Eastern Washington.
• Rank second in the WCC in three's made per game (9.3)...have made 241 threes on the year (18th NCAA) and have made 10 or more three's in 10 games this season, including a school-record 18 against Eastern Washington and 16 vs. Utah...241 threes rank second on USF's all-time single season list (school record is 249; 2012-13).
• Rank third in the WCC in three-point field goal percentage at 37.0...if the season were to end today, the Dons' would rank as the 10th most accurate long distance shooting team in school history.
• Freshman Charles Minlend is the third-highest scoring freshman in the WCC with a 10.3 ppg average...he now ranks 10th on USF's all-time scoring list for freshman with 268 points.
• The Dons bench has combined to score 622 points over the last 17 games (36.5) and have outscored the opponent's bench 903-439 (+464) on the season...bench has accounted for 47.4 percent (903 of 1912) total points this year.
• 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 10 games...of USF's 15-man roster, 13 players are underclassmen...an underclassmen has led/shared team in scoring 11 times this season.
• USF has compiled a 33-19 (.627) record in the month of February over the last six seasons dating back to the 2009-10 campaign.

Scouting Report

About BYU
Now 17-9 on the year and 8-5 in the WCC after Thursday night's 99-83 setback at Pepperdine…have dropped three of the last five games and are 2-4 in WCC road games this season…rank as the WCC's second-highest scoring team with a 81.9 average but are yielding 73.7 a game, which is the second-highest opponent scoring average in the conference…shooting 46.1 percent from the field and are holding opponents to 40.7…strong inside game accounts for a WCC-high 5.0 blocks a game…sophomore Eric Mike ranks second in the WCC in scoring with a 20.5 scoring average…he is also tied for first in the conference with a 9.5 rebound average…freshman TJ Haws, the younger brother of BYU's all-time leading scorer Tyler Haws, is averaging 14.3 points a game…sophomore Nick Emery leads the WCC in steals and is averaging 2.2 three-pointers a game...under the direction of head coach Dave Rose, who is in his 12th season in Provo…he ranks second all-time among BYU coaches in wins and winning percentage…he also ranks eighth among active coaches in the NCAA in career winning percentage…he played at Houston under Guy Lewis from 1980-83 and served as co-captain on the famous "Phi Slamma Jama" team that featured Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler…he helped the Cougars to the nation's No. 1 ranking and the NCAA title game in 1983

USF-BYU Series History
BYU leads the all-time series with USF, 16-6. The Cougars have won eight consecutive games in the series dating back to the Dons last victory on Feb. 9, 2013, when USF nailed 14 three-pointers in a 99-87 victory in Provo. USF is 1-11 vs. BYU since the Cougars joined the WCC for the 2011-12 season. BYU won both meetings last season, claiming a 114-89 decision in San Francisco and 102-92 in Provo. The teams have met once in NCAA Tournament play, with the Dons scoring a 86-63 victory in a second round game played in Tucson, Ariz. in 1979 and once in WCC Championship action, with BYU prevailing 79-77 in overtime in 2014.

First Meeting With BYU
USF got career highs from Remu Raitanen and Jimbo Lull but BYU used a dominant inside game to come away with an 85-75 win on Jan. 12 at the Marriott Center. Raitanen made 6-of-11 shots from the field, including 4-of-8 from distance, in scoring a career-best 16 points. Lull scored 10 of his career-high 12 points in the first half to keep the Dons within striking distance at the break. Chase Foster and Nate Renfro each finished with 10 points. The Dons had no answer for BYU sophomore big man Eric Mika, who scored a game-high 31 points on 12-of-17 shooting from the field. Mika also pulled down 12 rebounds for a double-double. Sophomore guard Nick Emery knocked down four three-pointers and finished with 22 points. Elijiah Bryant was also in double figures with 14 points. The Dons shot 42.6 percent from the floor and were just 8-of-33 from distance. The Cougars took advantage of 22-of-29 shooting from the line while the Dons were 9-of-16 from the stripe.

Last Time Out: USF 61, Santa Clara 58 
USF built as much as a 25-point lead in the first half against Santa Clara and hung on for dear life down the end to post a 61-58 over the Broncos Thursday night on the Hilltop. After building a 20-point lead at halftime, USF was outscored 34-17 after intermission and held its collective breath as SCU's Jared Brownridge misfired on a potential game-tying three-pointer as time expired. Matt McCarthy led all USF scorers with 10 points and seven rebounds. SCU sophomore KJ Feagin scored a game-high 26 points while Brownridge finished with 15 points, with 14 coming in the second half. The Dons never trailed in the game in picking up their 18th win of the season. With USF leading 57-42 with 6:24 remaining, Santa Clara went on a 16-2 run to cut the lead to 59-58 after Feagin drilled his fourth three-pointer of the night. USF's Chase Foster's driving, off-balance shot found its mark with :44 left, accounting for the final, 61-58 score. Santa Clara still had plenty of time left, but a turnover by Brownridge and two missed free throws by Matt Hauser down the stretch helped USF gain a split in the season series with its long-time rival.

Fan Guide

Ticket Information
Reserved and general admission tickets for Saturday's USF-BYU game are available for purchase on-line at USFDons.com/tickets or by calling (415) 422-2USF (2873).

Free 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 at the top of Hayes-Healy garage on Golden Gate Avenue adjacent to the gymnasium. Campus parking lots of choice include the lot at the Koret Center, located at the corner of Turk and Parker and the Hayes-Healy underground garage, located on Golden Gate Ave. just past the Sobrato Center.  View campus parking map here.

Up Next
USF will travel to the Pacific Northwest next week for encounters with top-ranked Gonzaga (Thursday) and Portland (Saturday). Both games will be broadcast on 95.7 FM The Game.