SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Entering another critical week of WCC play, the University of San Francisco men's basketball team will return home to the comforts of War Memorial at the Sobrato Center for a Tuesday night matchup with Portland and a Thursday night showdown with Pepperdine before making the trip to the South Bay for a Saturday afternoon battle at Santa Clara.
 
GAME 25 INFORMATION:
Date/Time: Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022 – 7:00 p.m. 
Opponent: Portland (11-12, 2-6 WCC) *as of Monday, Feb. 7
Site: War Memorial at the Sobrato Center (San Francisco, Calif.) 
Watch: WCC Network 
Listen: KNBR 1050 (Pat Olson + Jim Brovelli) 
Live Stats: Statbroadcast 
 
GAME 26 INFORMATION:
Date/Time: Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022- 8:00 pm
Opponent: Pepperdine (7-19, 1-9 WCC) *as of Monday, Feb. 7
Site: War Memorial at the Sobrato Center (San Francisco, Calif.)  
Watch: NBC Sports California 
Listen: KNBR 1050 (Pat Olson + Jim Brovelli)  
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
 
GAME 27 INFORMATION:
Date/Time: Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022- 3:00 pm
Opponent: Santa Clara (16-8, 6-3 WCC) *as of Monday, Feb. 7 
Site: Leavey Center (Santa Clara, Calif.) 
Watch: Stadium 
Listen: KNBR 1050 (Pat Olson + Jim Brovelli)  
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
 
DONS AT A GLANCE:

• Last week, USF swept both of their games on the road as the Dons downed BYU, 73-59, for their first win in Provo since Feb. 21, 2019 before hanging on to defeat Portland, 74-71 in a wire-to-wire thriller. Notably, Yauhen Massalski put up another monster week down low as the big man logged his fourth and fifth consecutive double-doubles for USF after finishing with averages of 19.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 block per game.
• Heading into the sixth week of conference play, USF currently ranks No. 30 in the KenPom rankings and No. 32 in the NCAA's Net Rankings. Overall, the Dons are one of four (WCC) teams currently ranked in the top 50 of each list (Gonzaga, Saint Mary's, USF, BYU).
• As of Monday, Feb. 7, Jamaree Bouyea currently ranks in the top ten in program history in steals (183, third), three-pointers attempted (474, fifth), assists (377, sixth) and scoring (1,616 points, ninth). Alongside Bouyea in the backcourt, Khalil Shabazz continues to climb the ranks as well as he currently sits third all-time in three-pointers attempted (507), fifth in steals (145) and sixth in three-pointers made (170).

SCOUTING THE PILOTS:

• Falling to USF in their last time on the hardwood, Chris Austin netted a game-high 25 points for the Pilots while Tyler Robertson added 19 points and Moses Wood tallied 13 points.
• After hiring former Eastern Washington head coach Shantay Legans this past offseason, Portland's 11 overall wins so far match the program's most since 2017, while the nine non-league wins are the most for the Pilots since the 2010-11 team went 13-3 out of conference.
• Turning the tide this season, Portland and Gonzaga are the only two WCC teams with five players averaging double figures in league play. Overall, the Pilots currently rank third in the nation in free throw percentage (.908) and eighth in free throws made (372). Individually, Mike Meadows Jr. currently paces the WCC and 14^thnationally with a 90.8 clip from the line while Robertson ranks second in the conference and 20^th in the country with an 89.6 mark from the charity stripe.

SCOUTING THE WAVES:

• Squeezing past Pacific in their last time out, Pepperdine grabbed their first win of conference play this season with a 70-64 win over the Tigers on Saturday, Feb. 5 as Maxwell Lewis logged his second straight 20-point outing while freshman standout Houston Mallette added 14 points, which included the game-winning basket with 1:54 remaining in regulation.
• As a team, the Waves can prove to be dangerous as they currently rank second in the WCC in offensive rebounds per game (10.8), third in assists per game (14.7), fifth in total points (1,698) and seventh in steals per game (5.7).
• Individually, Jan Zidek (13.0 ppg), Lewis (11.8 ppg) and Mallette (11.2 ppg) all average double figures while Keith Fisher III leads the Waves on the glass with an average of 6.4 rebounds per game. Impressively, Mitchell Jr. also ranks second in the conference in assists per game with an average of 4.6 per contest. 

SCOUTING THE BRONCOS:

• Similar to USF, Santa Clara enters the week on a three-game winning streak after handling San Diego, 79-66, on the road last Saturday, Feb. 5 to improve to 16-8 and 6-3 in conference play. Looking ahead, the Broncos will host No. 22 Saint Mary's on Tuesday before battling the Dons on Saturday at Leavey Center.
• As a unit, Santa Clara currently sits tenth nationally in field goal percentage (48.8 percent) as the Broncos are the only team in the WCC with three players averaging 14.0 points per game or better (Jalen Williams, Josip Vrankic and Keshawn Justice).
• Notably, Williams leads the conference in scoring with an average of 18.1 points per game as the Gilbert, Ariz. native has ten 20+ point games and 16 games with at least 16 points. Displaying his versatility, Justice is the only player currently in men's college basketball to shoot 43.8 percent or better from three-point range while also averaging at least 7.0 rebounds per game. Overall, Justice sits behind Yauhen Massalski (nine) with eight double-doubles on the year as he also ranks seventeenth in the nation in three-point percentage (43.8). 

SERIES HISTORY:

• Tuesday's matchup between Portland and USF will mark the 94^rd meeting all-time between the two programs as the Dons currently hold a 66-27 lead in the all-time series, which includes four consecutive wins over the Pilots. 
• Thursday's meeting between Pepperdine and USF will mark the 139^th matchup all-time between the two programs. Overall, the Dons hold an 84-54 advantage over the Waves as USF held Pepperdine to their lowest point total of the season in a 71-45 win in Malibu on Saturday, Jan. 22.
• Saturday's meeting between the Broncos and the Dons will mark the 164^rd matchup all-time between the two schools as USF currently holds a one -game advantage with an 82-81 series lead. Notably, the Dons have taken care of SCU in their previous four contests as San Francisco has toppled the Broncos in six of their last seven meetings.

TRACK THE ACTION:
Tuesday's contest will air live on the WCC Netowrk and on KNBR 1050 at 7:00 pm. Pat Olson and Jim Brovelli will have the call live from the Hilltop. Live streaming, live audio and live statistics are available above and via the team's schedule page.
 
Thursday's contest will air live on NBC Sports Bay Area and on KNBR 1050 at 8:00 pm. Broadcast details are to be determined while Pat Olson and Jim Brovelli will air on KNBR 1050 from the Hilltop. Live streaming, live audio and live statistics are available above and via the team's schedule page.
 
Saturday's contest will air live on Stadium and on KNBR 1050 at 3:00 pm. Broadcast details are to be determined while Pat Olson and Jim Brovelli will have the call on KNBR 1050 from Santa Clara. Live streaming, live audio and live statistics are available above and via the team's schedule page.
 
TICKETS AND MERCHANDISE:
Single-game tickets for West Coast Conference basketball games are currently on sale at www.usfdons.com/tickets. 

Want to dress like the Dons? Rep USF today by visiting the all-new USF Dons online store at www.usfdons.com/shop.
 
FOLLOW US:
For updates and more information on the USF men's basketball program, follow the Dons @USFDonsMBB on Twitter, @USFDonsMBB on Instagram and @USFDonsMBB on Facebook.