The University of San Francisco men's basketball resumes rivalry week with a home contest against Saint Mary's on Saturday.  The Dons and Gaels will tipoff at 4:00 p.m. and can be seen coast-to-coast on CBS Sports Network. Rich Waltz and Dan Dickau will have the call on the television side.  In a slight change on the radio broadcast, Pat Olson and the Dons will be moving to KNBR 680-AM and 104.5-FM. 
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Jan. 23, 2021 – 4:00 p.m.
Opponent: Saint Mary's Gaels (10-5, 1-3 WCC)
Site: War Memorial at the Sobrato Center
TV:  CBS Sports Network
Talent: Rich Waltz (play-by-play); Dan Dickau (analyst)
Radio:  KNBR 680-AM, 104.5-FM
Talent: Pat Olson (play-by-play)
Live Stats: USFDons.com


USF AT A GLANCE
• It was a game of runs that eventually went the way of the Dons as USF defeated rival Santa Clara 73-50 on the road.  The Dons shot 64.3 in the second half and led for over 31 minutes en route to the fifth largest win over the Broncos in the series history. The Dons outscored the Broncos 50-29 after the intermission.  With the win, the Dons improved to 10-7 on the year and 4-3 in the WCC. 
 
• 7 Who Have Played 17:  As of Friday afternoon, the Dons remain one of the few teams who have played at least 17 games.  They are the only team west of Texas to have played 17.  Leading the nation in games played is Longwood with 18 games played.  Also having played 17: Campbell, Carver College, Liberty, Oakland, Sam Houston State.
 
• Bouyea Closing In on 1,000:  Senior point guard Jamaree Bouyea is just 13 points shy of becoming the 39th player in USF history to score 1,000 points. Should Bouyea do it in the next two games he will accomplish this feat in his 118th or 119th game.  The last player to score 1,000 career points at USF was Charles Minlend who did it against Saint Mary's on Jan. 2, 2020.  The all-time leader in scoring at USF is Hall of Famer Bill Cartwright with 2,116.
 
• Hold them to 72: This season the Dons are 0-6 when allowing 73 or more and 10-1 when their opponent scores 72 or fewer.  The lone team to defeat the Dons when held to 72 or fewer points was LMU who came away with a 68-60 win at Gersten Pavilion on Jan. 10.
 
• On the National Stage: The Dons will square off against the Saint Mary's on CBS Sports Network on Saturday - it is the seventh time the Dons have played a nationally televised game this season.  USF is 2-4 in those contests, with wins over No. 4 Virginia and Portland.
 
• NET Rankings: The Dons jumped from 84 to 68 in the latest NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) ranking following the win over the Broncos.  USF is one of four teams in the WCC in the top-100.  Trailing Gonzaga (2nd) and BYU (29th), followed by Saint Mary's (76th).  USF's Non-Conference strength of schedule NET ranking tops the WCC at 18^th in the nation, one head of the Bulldogs.
 
• Home/Road Under Golden: The old saying for a winning season is "go .500 on the road and .800 or better at home" Under Golden the Dons are doing that.  USF is 11-10 on the road over the last two seasons and 16-6 at home.  This season, USF is 3-1 at home and 4-4 away.  A big reason for that - the 3-point shooting travels.  At home, the Dons average 13 made 3-point field goals per contest, connecting on 39.7 percent of them.  On the road they average 10.1 made 3s per game while shooting 35.2 percent from beyond the arc. 
 
• How About that Defense:  The Dons held the Broncos to a season-low 50 points on Thursday night at Kaiser Permanente Arena. The last time the Dons held an opponent to 50 or fewer also came on the road - when USF defeated San Diego 69-44 at Jenny Craig Pavilion on Jan. 30, 2020.
 
• Shabazz Heating Up: Over the last five contests, junior guard Khalil Shabazz is on a tear - he's leading the Dons with 20.0 points per game while shooting 41.9 percent from the field and 45.7 percent from long range. During that stretch, he has a 30 point game against BYU and a 22 point performance against the Broncos.  He's also averaging 4.0 rebounds and 3.4 steals per game during that stretch.  
 
Series History: Saint Mary's Gaels
Saturday's meeting between the Dons and Gaels will be the 185th in a series that dates back to the 1931 season.  All-time, USF owns a 101-83 advantage in the series - however, since the 2000 the Dons are just 9-32 against their cross bay rivals.  At home, the Dons are 45-30 since 1946. At home against Randy Bennett, the Dons are 5-14.  Last season, Golden's first on the Hilltop, USF went 0-2 against his Alma Mater, falling in both contests by 10.  The last time these teams faced, SMC came away with an ugly 58-48 win at UCU Pavilion on Jan. 23, 2020.
 
About the Gaels
Saint Mary's comes to the Hilltop sporting a 10-5 overall record but are just 1-3 in the West Coast Conference.  A win over LMU on Thursday ended a three-game losing streak and prevented the Gaels from falling to 0-4 in the WCC since 2001-02 when Saint Mary's finished 3-11 in Bennett's first year in Moraga.  On the road this year, the Gaels are 1-0 with their only "true" road game taking place at Gersten Pavilion Thursday night. As a team, Saint Mary's is averaging 66.9 points per game, while shooting 43.1 percent from the field.  Their opponents are averaging 61.8 points per game while shooting 42.2 percent from the field.  The Gaels are not a great defensive team against the three, their opponents are hitting 34.3 percent of their attempts from beyond the arc which is 229th in the nation.  Four players are averaging in double figures - leading the team is senior point guard Tommy Khuse who is averaging 14.0 ppg.  Khuse loves playing against the Dons - over the last two years he is averaging 11.8 points per game and shooting 52.7 percent from the field against the Dons.
 
Last Time Out Versus SMC
San Francisco held the Jordan Ford, the WCC's leading scorer, without a field goal, won the rebounding battle, held the Gaels under 43 percent shooting and built a 14-point first-half lead. The Dons, though, couldn't overcome a strong second half from Malik Fitts, falling 58-48 in Golden's return to Moraga on January 23, 2020.
 
USF led by as much as 14 in the first half and went into the locker room leading 28-25. The Dons defense held Malik Fitts and Jordan Ford to 6 and 3 respectively. Fitts finished with 18 helping the Gaels come away with the win.
 
NEXT UP
The Dons will get a week off as they prepare for the next big matchup of the season, a showdown against BYU on Saturday in Provo, Utah on January 30.  Next Saturday's contest against the Cougars will tip off at 4:00 p.m. MT/3:00 p.m. PT and will air on CBS Sports Network.  Pat Olson will have the call on the home of USF Dons Basketball, KNBR 1050-AM.