The 21-9 Dons will play Pepperdine for the third time this season on Saturday when the fourth seeded Dons take on the eighth seeded Waves in the WCC Tournament.  Saturday's quarterfinal matchup between the two teams is the ninth time they have faced each other in the 32 year history of the WCC Tournament.  Saturday's game is slated for a 7:00 p.m. start and will be televised on ESPN2 with Dave Feldman and Sean Farnham on the call.  As always, Pat Olson and Jim Brovelli will have the call on the radio on 1550-AM The GAME, the official home of USF Dons Basketball.  Should the Dons win they will take on top seeded Gonzaga on Monday at 6:00 p.m.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: March 9, 2019 – 7:00 p.m. PST
Opponent: Pepperdine Waves (15-17, 6-10 WCC)
Site: Orleans Arena – Las Vegas, Nev.
Television:  ESPN2
Talent: Dave Feldman (play-by-play); Sean Farnham (analyst)
Radio:  1550-AM The GAME
Talent: Pat Olson (play-by-play) and Jim Brovelli (analyst)
Live Stats: USFDons.com
Game Notes: USF vs. Pepperdine
 
USF AT A GLANCE

• At 21-9, USF wrapped up one its most successful regular seasons in 30 years.  The Dons won 20 games for the third-straight time under head coach Kyle Smith and fifth time since the program was reinstated in 1985-86.
• The 21 wins by the Dons marks the 23rd time in program history that USF has won 20 games.  The 20th win game in the 26th game of the season, it is the fastest to 20 wins since the 1981-82 team did it in 24 games.
• USF finished WCC play with a 9-7 record after losing three-straight.  The 9-7 mark gives the Dons a fourth place finish in the WCC.
• In the WCC Tournament, the Dons are 18-31 all-time, USF is the fourth seed for the ninth time in program history, they are 2-9 as the fourth seed.  Last year the Dons went 1-1 as the four seed, defeating Pacific in the quarter finals 71-70 in OT before falling to No. 1 Gonzaga 88-60 in the semifinals.
• Saturday's contest against No. 8 Pepperdine is the ninth time these teams have met in the WCC tournament, the Waves own a 7-1 advantage in the series.  The two teams first met in 1991 in the WCC Tournament.
• USF is 2-1 at a neutral site this season, with wins over LIU Brooklyn and Stephen F. Austin.  Their lone loss came at the hands of then No. 21 Buffalo in Northern Ireland.
• Last Saturday, Frankie Ferrari became the fourth player in USF history to score at least 1,00 points and dish out 400 or more assists.  He is also just the third player in program history to score 400 or more points in a single season and dish out 150 or more assists, the other two players Chubby Cox and Orlando Smart are in the USF Hall of Fame.
• Fellow seniors Nate Renfro and Matt McCarthy have taken over first and second all-time for career games played at USF.  Renfro is first with 131, McCarthy is second with 130.  The old record was 128 by Angelo Caloiaro (2008-12).

THE SERIES
Saturday will be the third time the Dons and Waves have met up this season, with USF sweeping the regular season series.  All-time the Dons own an 82-52 advantage in the series.  In the WCC Tournament, Pepperdine owns a 7-1 advantage in the series that started with the first of four-straight semifinal matchups 1991-94.  The last time these two teams played was on Feb. 14 with the Dons running away late 89-77 at War Memorial Gym at the Sobrato Center. The last time these teams faced in the WCC Tournament was on Mar. 5, 2016 in the quarterfinals when the fourth seeded Waves defeated the Dons 90-68.

ABOUT THE WAVES
Pepperdine is the eighth seed in the WCC Tournament and has won two-straight after defeating Pacific in the first round and upset No. 5 LMU in the second round.  The Waves are averaging 75.3 points per game while shooting 44.2 percent from the field.  Their opponents are averaging 76.2 points per game while shooting 46.8 percent from the field.  Leading the team in scoring is First Team All-WCC guard Colbey Ross who is averaging 19.2 ppg.  The last time these two teams faced each other, Ross had 21 points and nine assists. 

 
LAST GAME AGAINST PEPPERDINE
The Dons overcame a 12-point second half deficit thanks to its red hot shooting from long range in the USF's 89-77 win over visiting Pepperdine earlier this year.  USF got a career-night from junior guard Jordan Ratinho who finished with a game-high 29 points, shooting 11-for-13 from the field - which included a blistering 7-for-9 mark from 3-point range.  Ratinho opened the game absolutely on fire going into the locker room 6-for-6 from the field to end the first half. He finally missed his first field goal attempt with 12:08 in the second half. Frankie Ferrari (15) and Jamaree Bouyea (13) also scored in double-figures for San Francisco. As the Dons shot 53.4 percent from the field going 31-for-58. From beyond the arc, the Dons shot 53.8 percent going 14-for-26. USF tied a season-high with 21 assists, five coming from Ferrari.
 
UP NEXT
Should the Dons win, they will advance to play No. 1 Gonzaga in the semifinals on Monday at 6:00 p.m. on ESPN2.