MALIBU/SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Rolling into the fourth week of conference action, the University of San Francisco men's basketball team (14-5, 4-2 WCC) is set to close out a two-game road stretch on Thursday night at Pepperdine (7-10, 1-3 WCC) before returning to the Hilltop on Saturday evening to host Oregon State (13-5, 3-2 WCC).
 
GAME 20 DETAILS:
Date: Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025
Time: 7:00 p.m. PT
Opponent: Pepperdine (7-10, 1-3 WCC)
Location: Firestone Fieldhouse / Malibu, Calif.
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: KNBR 1050
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
 
GAME 21 DETAILS:
Date: Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025
Time: 7:00 p.m. PT
Opponent: Oregon State (13-5, 3-2 WCC)
Location: War Memorial at the Sobrato Center / San Francisco, Calif.
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: KNBR 1050
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Tickets: Purchase Here
 
DONS AT A GLANCE:

• Last week, San Francisco bested Portland, 81-72, on the Hilltop on Thursday, Jan. 9 before falling on the road to Santa Clara, 77-54, on Saturday, Jan. 11. Against the Broncos, the green and gold controlled the tempo throughout the first half of the game as the Dons led by seven at the break, but a 56-point second half from SCU was too much for the Dons to overcome in the final twenty minutes.
• Continuing to shine for USF, Malik Thomas led the Dons in scoring in both games last week, averaging 19.0 points on 6-of-13 shooting from beyond-the-arc. The senior continues to be one of the nation's top scorers, averaging 20.3 points per game this season, which currently ranks 13^th across Division I.
• Growing with more opportunities, Junjie Wang scored a career-high 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting against Portland last Thursday, marking his third game of double-figure scoring since entering the starting lineup a month ago.
• Ryan Beasley returned from a four-game absence on Saturday against Santa Clara as the guard scored eight points on 4-of-7 shooting off the bench.
• San Francisco currently sits at fourth in the WCC standings, just one game back in the win column behind first place Gonzaga and Saint Mary's, who are both 5-0 in conference play.  

SCOUTING THE WAVES:

• Thursday night's contest against San Francisco will mark Pepperdine's first game since Jan. 4 as both of the Waves' games originally scheduled for last week were postponed due to the fires in Southern California.
• After losing its first three games of conference play, Pepperdine got back in the win column last time out on Jan. 4, routing Pacific in an 87-70 victory in Stockton.
• Former Don Stefan Todorovic has found himself right at home in Malibu as the USF transfer is averaging 19.5 points per game this season, ranking second in the WCC and 23^rd in the nation in scoring. Within conference play, Todorovic is one of two WCC players averaging 20.0 points per game, along with Malik Thomas, as the Serbian is leading the league in three-point percentage at 48.0 percent.
• After averaging just 6.3 points per game in nonconference play, freshman Jaxon Olvera has stepped up his offensive play in WCC action. Notably, Olvera posted a 27-point performance against Gonzaga on Dec. 30 and a 19-point performance against Pacific on Jan. 4 as the guard is averaging 14.5 points per game in conference play.

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS:

• In its first season as an affiliate member of the WCC, Oregon State has started conference play with a 3-2 record, splitting its two games last week. Last Thursday, the Beavers suffered a narrow overtime loss at Santa Clara, 82-81, before bouncing back on Saturday with a comfortable win over Pacific, 91-55.
• Junior Michael Rataj has led the Beavers in scoring throughout the season as the forward currently ranks third in the WCC in scoring in conference play behind Thomas and Todorovic with an average of 19.2 points per game.
• Providing Oregon State with consistent scoring, redshirt junior Parsa Fallah leads the WCC in field goal percentage in conference action, shooting 65.1% from the field in the Beavers' five conference games.
• In the NCAA's NET Rankings, Oregon State is the third-highest ranked WCC team at No. 58 through three weeks of conference play (Gonzaga/11, Saint Mary's/34).
• Within conference play, the Beavers have been one of the WCC's best shooting teams as they lead the league in field goal percentage (51.3) while also ranking second in both three-point percentage (37.4) and free throw percentage (79.8). Impressively, Oregon State is the only team that ranks in the top two in all three statistical categories in the WCC.
• Oregon State will first host No. 16/16 Gonzaga on Thursday night before coming to the Hilltop on Saturday.

SERIES HISTORY:

• Thursday night's matchup between San Francisco and Pepperdine will mark the 143^rd all-time meeting between the two programs as the Dons hold an 88-54 lead in the all-series. The Dons and Waves last met on Feb. 24, 2024 in the final game on the Hilltop last season as USF cruised to a 92-68 victory on senior night.  
• San Francisco and Oregon State will meet on Saturday for just the eighth time in program history this weekend as the Dons hold a close 4-3 lead in the all-time series.

FOLLOW US:
For updates and more information on the San Francisco men's basketball program, follow the Dons @USFDonsMBB on Twitter, @USFDonsMBB on Instagram and @USFDonsMBB on Facebook.
 
MERCHANDISE:
Want to dress like the Dons? Get your official San Francisco Dons gear from the University of San Francisco bookstore today! Click here to purchase.
 
SPONSOR US:
The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to acknowledge and thank our sponsor - Arguello Market - for their continued support of San Francisco Athletics. Interested in sponsoring the Dons? Please contact Frank Allocco, the Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director of External Relations, at fallocco@usfca.edu or at (415) 422-4561.