The University of San Francisco men's basketball team travels to Spokane, Wash., and will play in an arena that has traditionally been very unkind to the Dons when USF battles No. 4 Gonzaga on Thursday night at McCarthy Athletic Center.  The game will be televised locally on NBC Sports Bay Area with Richard Fox and Dan Dickau handling play-by-play duties.  Pat Olson and Jim Brovelli will have the call on the official home of USF Dons basketball, 1550-AM The GAME.

GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Feb. 07, 2019 – 6:00 p.m. PST
Opponent: No. 4 Gonzaga Bulldogs (21-2, 8-0 WCC)
Site: McCarthy Athletic Center (Spokane, Wash.)
Television: KHQ-TV | ROOT SPORTS NORTHWEST | NBC SPORTS BAY AREA | AT&T SPORTSNET ROCKY MOUNTAIN | THEW.TV (OUT-OF-MARKET)
Talent: Richard Fox (play-by-play); Dan Dickau (analyst)
Radio:  1550-AM The GAME
Talent: Pat Olson (play-by-play) and Jim Brovelli (analyst)
Live Stats: USFDons.com
Game Notes: USF at Gonzaga
 
USF AT A GLANCE

• At 17-5, USF is off to their best start through 22 games since the 1981-82.  USF has started the season 17-5 or better 10 times, with the previous nine teams all advancing to the post season.
• According to the website Kenpom.com, the Dons are the remain the 43rd ranked team in the nation even after posting back-to-back losses for the first time all season.  The website also ranks the Dons as one of the nation's top teams in offensive adjusted efficiency (50th) and defensive adjusted efficiency (48th).
• Senior Frankie Ferrari and sophomore Charles Minlend have combined to form a potent scoring tandem.  The duo both matched their respective career-bests with 22 points against Saint Mary's last Saturday.  In conference play, they are averaging 15.5 and 15.1 ppg respectively. 
• In the latest NET rankings, the Dons are holding strong at No. 48.  There are only five other teams on the West Coast ranked ahead of the Dons in the NCAA's primary selection tool.  USF still ranks ahead of 11 teams from the Pac-12. 
•  USF does a tremendous job taking care of the basketball. The Dons are ninth in the nation in turnovers per game, averaging 10.2 per contest.  Their 225 turnovers are the ninth fewest in the nation.
• The Dons have two active players in the top-10 in 3-point field goals made with Jordan Ratinho and Frankie Ferrari climbing the lists.  Ratinho is tied for 3rd with 185 made threes, Ferrari is seventh with 144 made 3-point field goals.
• Charles Minlend has scored in double figures in 21 of 22 games this season, including 20-straight.  When Minlend scores 10 or more for his career USF is 28-10.  
• Over the last five contests senior guard Frankie Ferrari has been on fire.  The native of Burlingame, Calif., is averaging 17.3 points per game while shooting 52.0 percent from the field and 56.0 percent from 3-point range.
• Charles Minlend has been tremendous on the road for the Dons this season, averaging 17.6 points per game while shooting 49.1 percent from the field.
• One of the Four Pillars of Success at USF is Excel In the Classroom and last semester that's exactly what the Dons did, turning in a team GPA of 3.40 in the fall.  The Dons had 11 players earn a GPA of 3.2 or higher with Remu Raitanen, Jordan Ratinho, Nate Renfro and Dzmitry Ryuny earning perfect 4.0 GPAs.

 
THE SERIES
On Thursday, the Dons and Bulldogs will meet up for the 82nd time in a series that dates back to January 21, 1968. All-time the Bulldogs own a 59-22 advantage in the series.  In Spokane, the Dons are 3-34 all-time and are 0-14 at the McCarthy Center. Under head coach Kyle Smith the Dons are 0-6 all-time.  The last time USF defeated Gonzaga on the road came on Feb. 10, 1989 when the Dons beat Gonzaga 67-64.  The last time these two teams played each other came on Jan. 12 with the then fifth ranked Bulldogs pulling away late for a 96-83 victory at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
 
ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
Gonzaga enters this week ranked No. 4 in the latest AP Poll.  The Bulldogs are 21-2 overall and 8-0 in WCC play.  They are currently riding a 12-game winning streak that started on Dec. 18 with an 89-55 win over UT Arlington.  The Bulldogs boast a +24.9 scoring margin over their opponents which ranks No. 1 in the nation.  As a team, Gonzaga is averaging 91.2 points per game and holding their opponents to 66.3 points per contest.  Four players average double figures and are led by Rui Hachimura's 20.4 points per game.  Last time out, the Bulldogs defeated San Diego 85-69 at home.
 
LAST GAME AGAINST GONZAGA
On Jan. 12 the Dons battled the Bulldogs before Gonzaga finally pulled away late.  With 3:50 left in the contest, center Jimbo Lull gave the USF an 81-79 lead. Unfortunately for the Dons, in the final minutes Gonzaga went on their largest run of the night closing out the game on a 15-2 run to earn a hard fought 96-83 win on Saturday. The contest featured 15 ties and eight lead changes.  The Dons got contributions throughout the lineup with six players scoring 10 or more. Leading the team was senior guard Frankie Ferrari who had 21 points with four assists.  Brandon Clarke led the Bulldogs with 24 points along with nine rebounds. 
 
UP NEXT
On Saturday the Dons will return to the friendly confines of War Memorial at the Sobrato Center when USF hosts rival Santa Clara at 8:00 p.m. The game will be televised on NBC Sports Bay Area. The Dons will pay tribute to members of the 1998 team.