SAN FRANCISCO/LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Looking to pick up two more wins this week, the University of San Francisco men's basketball team (18-6, 8-3 WCC) will put its perfect home record to test once again as the Dons will host Saint Mary's (20-3, 10-0 WCC) on Thursday night before kicking off a three-game road stretch at LMU (14-8, 6-4 WCC) on Saturday evening.
 
GAME 25 DETAILS:
Date: Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025
Time: 6:00 p.m. PT
Opponent: RV/#23 Saint Mary's (20-3, 10-0 WCC)
Location: War Memorial at the Sobrato Center / San Francisco, Calif.
Watch: ESPN2 (Dave Flemming, Dan Dickau)
Listen: KNBR 1050 (Pat Olson, Jim Brovelli)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Tickets: Purchase Here
 
GAME 26 DETAILS:
Date: Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025
Time: 6:00 p.m. PT
Opponent: LMU (14-8, 6-4 WCC)
Location: Gersten Pavilion / Los Angeles, Calif.
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: KNBR 1050 (Pat Olson)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
 
DONS AT A GLANCE:

• Last time out, San Francisco avenged its loss in Pullman with a dominant 75-51 victory over Washington State on Saturday, Feb. 1. Notably, the Dons outscored the Cougars 56-27 in the final 28:30 of play. Individually, Junjie Wang posted a career-high 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting from three while Ryan Beasley scored a season-best 14 points in his first career start.
• A true home court advantage, the Dons have been perfect on the Hilltop this season, holding an unblemished 14-0 record at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center. In those 14 wins, San Francisco has an average margin of victory of 16.6 points as Saturday's win over Wazzu marked the tenth double-digit home win of the season and the largest point differential of conference play for the green and gold (24 points).
• San Francisco has defended the three-point line better than any other team in conference action, leading the WCC in three-point percentage defense with opposing teams shooting just 26.0 percent from distance against the Dons in league play.
• The green and gold continue to inch up the NCAA's NET Rankings, currently sitting at 66, six spots behind Oregon State (60) and seven spots behind Santa Clara (59). USF holds sole possession of second-place in the WCC, tied with Gonzaga for the second-fewest losses in conference play (3).
• Thursday night's contest against Saint Mary's presents another opportunity for San Francisco to grab its first Quad 1 win of the campaign as well as the first Quad 1 contest on the Hilltop this season.

SCOUTING THE GAELS:

• Saint Mary's continues to dominate in WCC action, winning its biggest test of conference play so far last Saturday with a close 62-58 win at home over Gonzaga. Freshman Mikey Lewis led the Gaels in scoring with 16 points off the bench in the victory.
• A flawless record will fall in Thursday night's contest between USF and SMC as the Dons' perfect 14-0 home record will go up against the Gaels' unblemished 6-0 road record and 10-0 conference record. San Francisco is one of 18 teams across Division I that is undefeated at home while Saint Mary's is one of four Division I teams that has yet to lose on the road this season.
• On Monday, Saint Mary's earned its first appearance in the USA Today Coaches Poll at No. 23 while continuing to receive votes in the AP Poll. The Gaels continue to remain in the Top 25 of the NET, sitting at No. 22, nine spots behind Gonzaga (13).
• On the glass, SMC has two of the conference's top three rebounders in WCC play in Arizona transfer Paulius Murauskas (1^st, 9.2 rpg) and Mitchell Saxen (3^rd, 8.6 rpg). Additionally, Saxen also leads the league in offensive rebounds per game in conference action (4.6).
• Continuing to dominate defensively, the Gaels lead the WCC in opponent points per game (55.9), scoring margin (20.1), opponent field goal percentage (39.0), rebounds per game (40.4), blocks per game (4.2), and opponent free throw attempts per game (12.7) heading into the week.

SCOUTING THE LIONS:

• Following a 1-4 start to WCC play, LMU has strung together five consecutive victories, the conference's second-longest active win streak behind Saint Mary's. The Lions took care of business last week with back-to-back double-digit victories over Portland (88-63) last Thursday, Jan. 30 and San Diego (78-62) last Saturday, Feb. 1.
• After last week's success, Pepperdine transfer Jevon Porter earned his second WCC Player of the Week honor of the season as the forward averaged 13.0 points and 11.0 rebounds across the Lions' two wins.
• Four Lions are averaging double-figure scoring in conference action: Caleb Stone-Carrawell (13.4), Porter (12.5), MJ Amey, Jr. (11.6) and Alex Merkviladze (10.4).
• LMU has proven to be one of the WCC's best defensive teams, ranking second in the league in opponent points per game (69.8), opponent field goal percentage (41.1), and blocks per game (3.6) within conference play. Notably, the Lions trail just Saint Mary's in all three of these statistical categories.
• Before hosting the Dons on Saturday, the Lions will first face Gonzaga in Spokane on Thursday night.

SERIES HISTORY:

• San Francisco and Saint Mary's will close out the season series on Thursday night in the 193^rd all-time meeting between the two programs as the Dons hold a 101-91 lead in the all-time series. San Francisco will look to snap an 11-game skid against the Gaels, seeking their first win over SMC since Jan. 3, 2019. Saint Mary's took the first matchup of the season, 71-51, in Moraga on Jan. 23.
• Saturday night will mark the 171^st  meeting between San Francisco and LMU as the Dons hold a 121-49 lead in the all-time series. The green and gold have won their last five matchups against the Lions, including a 70-55 victory in the first matchup of the season on Dec. 28 at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.

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 - Evergood Foods - 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.