GAMES AT A GLANCE
San Francisco Dons (9-7, 1-2 WCC) vs. Pepperdine (3-12, 0-3 WCC)
Saturday, January 6, 2018 • 1:00 p.m.
Firestone Fieldhouse • Malibu, Calif.
Series Record: Dons lead 78-52
Last Meeting: Feb. 25, 2017, Dons 76 – Waves 65 in Malibu.
Radio: Livestream.com (Pat Olson, Play-by-Play; Jim Brovelli, Analyst)
TV: NBCS CA (Barry Tompkins, Play-by-Play; Caron Butler, Analyst)
Live Stats: PepperdineWaves.com
 
MALIBU, Calif. – The University of San Francisco men's basketball team looks to get back into the win column when the Dons travel to a traditionally friendly environment.  USF will take on Pepperdine at 1:00 p.m. at Firestone Fieldhouse on Saturday, a game that can be seen on NBCS CA.
 
USF (9-7, 1-2 WCC) is coming off a disappointing 69-59 loss at the hands of visiting BYU.  A game that saw the Dons overcome a 13-point deficit to briefly take a lead.  Unfortunately, the Cougars went on a 12-1 run late in the second half and came away with the 10-point victory over the host team.  
 
Junior forward Matt McCarthy shined for the Dons.  The native of Melbourne, Australia finished with a team-high 16 points, going 7-for-11 from the field, including 1-for-2 from beyond the arc.  McCarthy is averaging 8.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game in conference play.
 
 ABOUT THE DONS

• USF has won five-straight at Firestone Fieldhouse and 10 of the last 12 meetings overall against the Waves.
• Saturday's contest against Pepperdine is second year head coach Kyle Smith's 50th game at the helm of USF, he enters that contest with a 29-20 overall record, including an 11-10 mark in the WCC.  
• Against BYU on Thursday late in the first half, USF trailed by as much as 13 points.  When Jordan Ratinho hit that 3-point field goal to give the Dons a 53-51 lead, their first of the contest, it marked the largest deficit overcome this season.  The previous largest deficit overcome was 12 against Duquesne on Dec. 22.  In both of those contests however, the Dons came away with the loss.  
• The Dons are 1-4 away from War Memorial at the Sobrato Center, they are 1-3 in true road games.  The last time USF was on the road they defeated Portland 84-61 at the Chiles Center.  
• As a team, the Dons are averaging 68.9 points per game and shooting 40.3 percent from the field.  Their opponents are averaging 66.6 points per game and shooting 41.9 percent.  
• In conference play, USF is averaging 68.7 points per game and shooting 41.6 percent from the field.     
• The Dons have two players averaging better than 10 points a game and are led by freshman Souley Boum's team-high 14.9 points per game.  Chase Foster is second on the team with 12.3  
• USF has employed 14 players this year, with 11 averaging 10 or more minutes per game.  No one on the team is averaging 30 minutes or more per game.  Jordan Ratinho leads the team averaging 27.8 minutes per contest. 

 
SERIES VERSUS THE WAVES
USF leads the all-time series 78-52. The Waves won twice during the 2015-16 season but other than that, the Dons have won 10 of the last 12 meetings. San Francisco has won five straight times in Firestone Fieldhouse. The series dates back to Jan. 6, 1955 where the Dons came away with a 62-51 win.  Last season the Dons swept the season series, taking the finale 76-65 on Feb. 25 in Malibu.   
 
ABOUT THE WAVES

• Pepperdine enters Saturday's contest with a 3-12 mark and are 0-3 in the WCC.  They are averaging 72.5 points per contest while shooting 45.8 percent.  They are allowing 79.7 points per game, with their opponents shooting 48.2 percent from the field.
• After two previous seasons of dealing with major injury hits, things aren't going well again in 2017-18. The entire projected starting lineup has yet to play a game together, the Waves have been without two starters eight times in 15 games and four different starters have missed time. A total of 36 player-games has been lost (23 by starters).
• Kameron Edwards, the team's leading scorer (15.9) and rebounder (6.8), has missed the last six games due to a concussion.
• Saturday's game features the top two freshman scorers in the WCC: USF's Souley Boum (14.9) and Pepperdine's Colbey Ross (14.1). Ross is also the league's top freshman in terms of assists. He's the only Wave to start all 15 games.
• Newcomers to the lineup this season have scored 63.8% of the points so far this season.
• Amadi Udenyi, who returned Thursday after missing the previous two games with an ankle injury, needs four assists to get to sixth on the Waves' all-time list.
• Injuries have contributed to KenPom rating the Waves in the bottom 25 teams in the country in terms of both experience and continuity.