On Saturday the No. 1 Gonzaga Bulldogs come to the Hilltop for a 3:00 p.m. matinee.  The Dons and Bulldogs will be televised on ESPN2 with Dave Flemming and Sean Farnham handling the play-by-play duties.  Pat Olson will have the Dons' radio broadcast, which is being moved to KNBR 680-AM and 104.5 FM.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Feb. 13, 2021 – 3:00 p.m.
Opponent: No. 1 Gonzaga Bulldogs (19-0, 10-0 WCC)
Site: War Memorial at the Sobrato Center
TV:  ESPN2
Talent: Dave Flemming (play-by-play); Sean Farnham (analyst)
Radio:  KNBR 680-AM/104.5 FM
Talent: Pat Olson (play-by-play)
Live Stats: USFDons.com


USF AT A GLANCE
• The Dons enter Saturday 10-9 and are 4-5 in the WCC. USF is coming off a 76-68 home loss to visiting Pepperdine in the Dons return from a two week pause due to COVID.  The Dons are currently sitting in sixth in the WCC - trailing Gonzaga, BYU, Pepperdine, Santa Clara and LMU.
 
• The Dons rank 138th in the nation in points per game, averaging 73.0 points per contest.  Defensively, they are holding their foes to 67.8 ppg which ranks 108th in the nation.  The +5.2-scoring margin is 110th in the nation. 
 
• Get to 72: Since 2016-17 the Dons have scored 72 or more 88 times - they are 69-19 in those contests.  This season they are 6-0.  In the Golden era, the Dons are 23-5 when scoring 72 or more - two of those losses came against Gonzaga last season.
 
• Taking on #1: According to CollegeBasketballReference.com Saturday marks the sixth time the Dons have taken on the top ranked team in the nation.  All-time USF is 0-6 against No. 1 - three of those losses coming against John Wooden and the UCLA Bruins.  The Dons are 0-3 against Gonzaga when they are ranked No. 1.  The other loss came against Notre Dame on Jan. 18, 1979.
 
• Against the Top-25:  All-time the Dons are 35-100 (.259) against teams in the top-25.  Against teams in the top-5 the Dons are now 7-32 all-time (.180).  Under Golden, the Dons are 1-4 against the top-25.  The Dons defeated No. 4 Virginia in Uncasville, Conn., the Dons first win over a top-5 team since 1981.  USF is 3-26 all-time against a ranked Gonzaga team. The last win against a top-25 Gonzaga team came on Feb. 18, 2012 with USF winning 66-65 on the Hilltop. 
 
• Hold them to 72: This season the Dons are 0-7 when allowing 73 or more and 10-2 when their opponent scores 72 or fewer.  The two losses when the Dons held the opponent to less than 72 - at LMU on Jan. 10 (68-60) and vs. Saint Mary's on Jan. 23 (67-63).
 
• Dons from Distance: As of Friday morning, the Dons rank seventh in the nation in 3-point field goal attempts (572), they are eighth in the nation in made 3-point field goals (206), and fourth in the nation in 3-point field goals per game (10.8).  The Dons are 78th in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage (36.0).  The Dons are also excellent at taking away the three. USF is 32nd in the nation in 3-point field goal defense, holding opponents to 29.7.  Pepperdine made a season-high seven three-point field goals against the Dons on Wednesday.
 
• Power Couple: The Dons duo of Khalil Shabazz and Jamaree Bouyea could make a claim for the most dominant backcourt in the WCC this season.  The two have combined to score 625 points, averaging 32.9 points per contest.  That ranks behind the duo of Gonzaga's Drew Timme/Cory Kispert average 38.4 per contest and Pepperdine's Colby Ross/Kessler Edwards average 34.4 a game.
 
• 30-minute mark: In the loss to Pepperdine on Wednesday - USF fell to 6-2 this season when leading a contest for over 30 minutes.  USF led the game for 31:48 before the Waves came back late in the second half.  The other loss, came at California when the Golden Bears hit a three-point field goal at the buzzer to stun the Dons who had led the entire 39 minutes and 20 seconds of that contest.
 
• Following a Loss:  Wednesday marked just the second time this season the Dons have followed up a loss with another loss. USF is 6-2 this season when coming off a loss.  The two times the Dons have lost back-to-back games - Cal-Oregon and Saint Mary's - Pepperdine. USF is averaging 75.5 ppg in contests following a loss and shooting 44.2 percent from the field.  Khalil Shabazz leads USF with 16.8 ppg in those contests.
 
Series History: GONZAGA BULLDOGS
Saturday is the 87th time the Dons and Bulldogs will meet.  All-time Gonzaga holds a 64-22 advantage in the series and has won 20-straight.  The series dates back to Jan. 28, 1961 with USF coming away with a 64-62 win on the Hilltop.  USF's last win against Gonzaga came on Feb. 18, 2012 66-65 at War Memorial Gym. At home, the Dons are 18-23 against the Bulldogs.  Under Todd Golden, the Dons are 0-4 against Gonzaga, having lost to the Bulldogs earlier this year in Spokane and all three attempts last season.  USF played the Bulldogs closer than almost last season, falling them by four on two occasions - at home and at the WCC Tournament. In both those games, USF boasted what few teams could - a lead late in the second half. Earlier this year, the top ranked Bulldogs soundly defeated USF 85-62 at the McCarthy Athletic Center on January 2. 
 
About the BULLDOGS
Gonzaga comes to the Hilltop as the top-ranked team in both the AP and The Coaches' poll.  The Bulldogs are riding a 19-game winning streak and are 10-0 in WCC play. On the road this year, Gonzaga is 6-0, which includes a recent 11-point win over host BYU at the Marriott Center on Feb. 8. A win on Saturday would give the Bulldogs 20 wins for the 24th-straight year.  The Bulldogs are the nation's leading scoring team, averaging 92.7 points per contest, they are shooting 54.8 percent from the field. Four players are averaging in double figures.  Drew Timme leads the team, averaging 18.5 points per game, Corey Kispert is right behind him at 18.1.  All-world freshman Jalen Suggs averages 13.9 points per game.
 
Last Time Out Versus GONZAGA
The Dons battled, but a late run to end the first half carried over to a big run in the second and the top ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs ran way with an 85-62 win at the McCarthy Athletic Center.
 
With 1:14 in the first half, Jamaree Bouyea hit a triple to bring the Dons within three, 40-37.  A 7-0 run by the Bulldogs made it 47-37 - capped off by a last second three-point field goal by Corey Kispert as the clock expired to take the momentum into the locker. The Dons never got within 10 after the break - and trailed by as much as 26.
 
The Dons finished with two players in double figures led by Bouyea's 18. Dzmitry Ryuny had 11.
 
NEXT UP
The Dons remain at home when they host Loyola Marymount on Thursday at 6:00 p.m. Pat Olson will have the call on the home of USF Dons Basketball, KNBR 1050-AM.