SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Ready to close out its first homestand of conference play, the University of San Francisco men's basketball team (10-6, 2-1 WCC) looks to defend home court once more as Portland (7-9, 0-3 WCC) visits the Hilltop on Sunday for an afternoon clash.
 
GAME 17 DETAILS:
Opponent: Portland (7-9, 0-3 WCC)
Date: Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026
Time: 4:00 p.m. PT
Location: War Memorial at the Sobrato Center/San Francisco, Calif.
Watch: ESPN+ (Barry Tompkins, Dan Belluomini)
Listen: KNBR 1050 (Pat Olson, Jim Brovelli)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Tickets: Purchase Here
 
DONS AT A GLANCE:

• Bouncing back from a tough loss in Corvallis, San Francisco utilized a 45-point second half to claim a 74-64 victory over San Diego in the conference home opener for the green and gold on Friday night. Dominating the glass, Junjie Wang (12) and Veniamin Abosi (9) both corralled new career-highs in rebounds, with Wang notching his second career double-double, scoring 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the floor. USF outrebounded San Diego 42-25 on Friday night, marking the fourth time this season that the Dons posted a double-digit rebounding margin, emerging victorious in each of those four contests.
• Numerous individual season-highs were set in the win over the Toreros, with Tyrone Riley IV tying his season-high in scoring with 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field, Ryan Beasley dishing out a season-best six assists, and Legend Smiley cashing in a season-high-tying three made three-pointers for the fifth time this season.
• 64 points has been the magic number for the Dons defensively, as the green and gold are a perfect 7-0 this season when holding their opponent to 64 points or less, having held USD to exactly 64 points on Friday night.
• Through the first week of WCC play, USF has been one of the best defensive teams in the conference, ranking second in the league in both opponent points per game (64.3) and opponent field goal percentage (38.4), and ranking third in defensive rebounding (29.0 per game). The Dons have also been one of the conference's best at getting to the foul line, as the green and gold lead the WCC in free throws made (16.0 per game) and rank third in the league in both free throw percentage (76.2) and free throw attempts (21.0 per game).
• Former Pilot Vukasin Masic will face Portland for the first time in his six-year career as an opponent, having spent the last two seasons at UP, where he averaged 11.6 points in 59 games across the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons.
• San Francisco looks to keep extending its winning ways on the Hilltop in WCC action, as the Dons have won 13 consecutive conference games at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center, including a perfect 8-0 record last season. USF's last true home loss in conference play came on Jan. 20, 2024, against Saint Mary's (L, 77-60). Under fourth-year head coach Chris Gerlufsen, the Dons are 19-5 at War Memorial in WCC action, and 15-1 since the 2023-24 season.

SCOUTING THE PILOTS:

• After a 7-6 nonconference slate, Portland is seeking its first win of conference play, suffering its biggest loss of the young WCC season on Friday night in Moraga, falling 78-57 to Saint Mary's. Prior to that defeat, the Pilots opened WCC play with two close home losses, falling to Washington State last Sunday (L, 67-62) and Santa Clara last Tuesday (L, 92-85) by an average margin of just 6.0 points.
• Australian freshman Joel Foxwell has established himself as one of the nation's best first-year players, as the guard ranks fourth in the country in assists per game, dishing out 7.4 dimes per contest this season. Along with his playmaking, Foxwell also leads the Pilots in scoring, averaging 13.3 points per game, second-most by a freshman in the WCC behind Washington State's Aaron Glass (15.4). Notably, Foxwell has earned a conference-high three WCC Freshman of the Week awards this season (Weeks 1, 3, and 6).
• Foxwell has not been the only freshman shining for UP as Dutch native Timo George is the second leading scorer for the Pilots, averaging 12.5 points per game on 69.5 percent shooting from the field this season, the most efficient field goal percentage by a freshman in the country (min. two FGM per game). Despite the struggles to start conference action, Foxwell is averaging a near double-double in WCC play, tallying 14.7 points and 9.0 assists per contest across the first three games of league action.
• A familiar face will enter the Hilltop in purple on Sunday as San Francisco transfer sophomore James O'Donnell will face the Dons for the first time as an opponent. The forward is averaging 9.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game this season on 60.6 percent shooting from the field, ranking second on the team in both rebounding and field goal percentage. Notably, O'Donnell logged his first career double-double with an impressive 32-point (career-high), 10-rebound performance against D-III Lewis & Clark on Dec. 5, 2025.
• Portland has excelled on the offensive glass so far in conference play, ranking third in the league in offensive rebounds (12.3 per game).

SERIES HISTORY:

• Sunday's matchup between San Francisco and Portland will mark the 102nd all-time meeting between the Dons and the Pilots, with San Francisco holding a 71-30 advantage in the all-time series. The two programs met just once last season, with USF securing an 81-72 victory on Jan. 9, 2025 at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center, which saw Junjie Wang score 14 points in a season-high 33 minutes.
• Notably, USF has won five consecutive games against UP, and has won nine of the last 11 meetings dating back to the 2019-20 season.

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 - BSN Sports - for their continued support of University 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.