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Dons Face No. 24 Gonzaga Tonight in Spokane

Dons Face No. 24 Gonzaga Tonight in Spokane
Matt Glover scored 11 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and dished out 5 assists Saturday at Portland.
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Game #14
USF Dons (8-5, 0-0 WCC) vs. Gonzaga Bulldogs (11-2, 1-0 WCC)
Monday, Dec. 30, 2013 • 6:00 p.m.
McCarthey Athletic Center • Spokane, Wash.
Series Record: Gonzaga leads, 46-22
Last Meeting: Gonzaga 71-61 (Feb. 16, 2013)
Audio Streaming: USFDons.com (Pat Olson, Play-by-Play; Jim Brovelli, Analyst)
Television: ROOT Sports NW

Complete USF Game Notes (PDF)

The Dandy Dons
  • Improved to 8-5 overall with a 87-81 overtime victory at Portland on Saturday night in the WCC opener for both teams...Mark Tollefsen matched his career-high with 22 points while Avry Holmes added 15 to lead five Dons in double-figures.
  • Have won five straight WCC road games dating back to last season and are 6-2 in the last eight true roadies.
  • However, have dropped 24 straight to Gonzaga in Spokane dating back to the 1988-89 season...Dons last win in Spokane came on Feb. 10, 1989 (67-64)...have not swept a Pacific Northwest road trip since 1981-82.
  • Averaging 81.9 ppg to rank as the WCC's third-highest scoring team...averaged 88.4 ppg (619 total) over the first seven games and scoring at a 74.3 ppg clip (446 total) over the last six contests.
  • Have allowed 80 points or more in seven games this season, including a season-high 100 points at Oregon on Nov. 24...allowing 77.0 ppg which ranks eighth in the WCC.
  • Rank 10th in the WCC in field goal defense at 47.5 percent.
  • Shooting 60.6 (60-for-99) from the field over the last two games and are now shooting 51.1 percent from the floor on the year - second-best in the WCC behind Gonzaga (52.0)...Mark Tollefsen (60.6) and Tim Derksen (57.9) rank sixth and eighth in WCC field goal percentage.
  • Have made 25-of-54 (46.2) three-point tries over last four games and are shooting 38.4 percent from long distance on the season - third-best in the WCC.
  • Shooting 60.9 percent (162-for-266) from the line over the last 10 games, dropping the season percentage to its present mark of 63.2, which ranks last in the WCC.
  • Outrebounded Portland 40-22 and have outrebounded eight of its first 13 opponents...hold a 34.8-31.1 advantage on the boards 13 games into the season...were outrebounded by over 2.0 boards a game last year.
  • Top six scorers are averaging between 14.0 and 9.4 points per game...seven different players have taken team high-scoring honors this season.
  • Averaging 6.8 streals a game which ranks third in the WCC.
  • Are now 9-2 in last 11 overtime games.
  • USF's bench is averaging 25.2 ppg (328 total) this season...the Dons have led in scoring by a non-starer in four games on the year (Kruize Pinkins 3; Chris Adams 1).
  • Sophomore Tim Derksen is 32-for-41 (78.0) from the floor and is averaging 12.0 ppg (84 total) over the last seven contests...he has also made 7-of-13 of his three-point attempts during that stretch.
  • Avry Holmes (Salem, OR / South Salem HS), Cole Dickerson (Federal Way, WA / Federal Way HS) and Gavin Hoffmann (Portland, OR / Lincoln HS) have roots in the Pacific Northwest.
  • Return home next week to face Loyola Marymount (Thursday) and Pepperdine (Saturday) in Memorial Gymnasium...Saturday's game vs. Pepperdine is the WCC's Game of the Week.

TIP-OFF: The USF Dons (8-5, 1-0 WCC) continues its road trip in the Pacific Northwest tonight in Spokane, Wash. against the 24th-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs (11-2, 1-0 WCC). The Dons are coming off a 87-81 overtime victory Saturday night at Portland while the Bulldogs defeated Santa Clara, 74-60 in their conference opener.

SERIES HISTORY: In a series that dates back to the 1961-62 season, Gonzaga leads the all-time series with USF, 46-22, including 41-17 in WCC play. The Zags have also won two of the three games played in WCC Tournament competition. Gonzaga won both meetings vs. USF last season, claiming a 66-52 decision in Spokane and 71-61 in San Francisco. USF has dropped 24 straight games to Gonzaga in Spokane dating back to its last victory on Feb. 10, 1989 (67-64). The Dons have won three of the last four meetings between the two schools in San Francisco,.

LAST YEAR'S GAMES VS. GONZAGA: Gonzaga swept the season series with USF last year, winning 66-52 in Spokane and 71-61 in San Francisco. In the first meeting on Jan. 26 in Spokane, USF trailed by just three points at 21-18 with 8:51 to go in the first half before the Zags used a 22-3 run to take a 43-21 lead at intermission. The Dons limited the Bulldogs to just 23 second half points and scored the last nine points of the game for the final 66-52 count. Chris Adams led all USF scorers with nine points while leading scorer Cole Dickerson was held scoreless. Gonzaga complete the season sweep with a 71-61 victory on Feb. 16 in Memorial Gymnasium. The Dons trailed by just one point at 53-52 with 7:10 left before the Zags went on a 10-0 run to seize control of the game. Dickerson (15) and Cody Doolin (15) were the only two Dons to score in double figures. The Zags outrebounded the Dons, 45-29.

LAST TIME OUT: USF won its second straight game with a 87-81 overtime victory at Portland on Saturday night. Chris Adams hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 0:01 left in regulation to answer Kevin Bailey's 3-pointer which gave the Pilots a 69-66 lead with 0:09 left. The Dons rallied from a 35-27 halftime deficit to earn their fourth straight win at the Chiles Center. USF shot 60.4 percent from the field and outrebounded the Pilots, 40-22. Mark Tollefsen scored a career-high 22 points while Avry Holmes finished with 15. Cole Dickerson (13), Matt Glover (11) and Kruize Pinkins (11) also scored in double figures.

OVERTIME: With Saturday night's 87-81 victory over Portland, USF has now won nine of its last 11 overtime games dating back to the 2008-09 season.

VS. RANKED OPPONENTS: USF has faced just one ranked opponent this season, falling to No. 17 Oregon, 100-82 in Eugene on Nov. 24th.  The Dons were 0-3 vs. ranked opponents last season, falling to No. 18 San Diego State on Dec. 22 at the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu along with a pair of losses to Gonzaga when the Bulldogs were ranked 10th and 5th, respectively in the AP poll. USF's last win over a ranked team came on Feb. 18, 2012, when the Dons upset No. 24 Gonzaga, 66-65 in overtime.

ROAD AND HOME: USF has won its last five WCC road games dating back to last season, including Saturday night's 87-81 overtime victory at Portland. The Dons won their last four conferene road games last season at San Diego, BYU, Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine. USF is 6-2 in its last eight road contests dating back to last season with its only losses coming at Oregon and St. John's earlier this season. The Dons are 6-3 at home this season and is 14-10 on its homecourt dating back to last season. The Dons were 41-18 (.694) on the Memorial Gym hardwood between the 2008-09 and 2011-12 seasons.

SAME POINT LAST SEASON: Last year after 13 games, USF had a 7-6 record compared to its 8-5 mark this season. The Dons are also a much better shooting team at this point in the season than last year, clipping the nets at 51.1 percent compared to 45.3 percent at the same point a year ago. USF is also scoring 12 more points a game ( to 81.9 to 69.9) than last year at this time.

OFFENSIVELY: USF is averaging 81.9 points per game at the 13-game mark of the season, which is the third-best average in the league. The Dons averaged 88.4 ppg (619 total) over their first seven games and have scored at a 74.3 per game clip (446 total) over its last six contests. The Dons opened the season by scoring 90+ points in its first four games - a first in school history.

BALANCED SCORING: USF has three players on its current roster averaging in double figures after 13 games, with senior Cole Dickerson topping the team's scoring chart with a 14.0 point per game average. The top six scorers on the current roster are averaging between 14.0 and 9.4 ppg. With his 15-point outing last Sunday vs. American, Avry Holmes became the seventh different player to earn team-high scoring honors this season.

FROM THE FLOOR: USF has shot 60.6 percent from th floor over its last two games against American (28-46) and Portland (32-53) and is now shooting 51.1 percent for the season - which is second best in the WCC behind Gonzaga (52.8). Mark Tollefsen (60.6) and Tim Derksen (57.9) rank 6th and 8th respectively in WCC field goal percentage.

THE THREE-BALL: After making just 4-of-27 of its three-pointers vs. Illinois State, USF has connecrted on 46.2 percent (25-of-54) of its long distance attempts over the last four games. The Dons are now shooting 38.2 percent from beyond the arc this season - third best in the WCC. USF led the West Coast Conference and ranked fifth nationally in three-point field goal percentage a year ago, connecting on 40.1 percent (249-for-621) of its long distance attempts. The Dons have set single-season school records for three-pointers made each of the last three seasons.

ON THE LINE: The Dons are shooting just 63.1 percent (218-for-345) from the line this season, which ranks last in the WCC. The Dons have made just 162-of-266 (60.9) of its free throws over the last 10 games.

BOARD WORK: USF outrebounded Portland, 40-22 and now have outrebounded eight of its first 13 opponents on the season. However, USF ranks ninth among WCC teams in rebound average at 34.8 but is limiting opponents to a 31.1 per game average, the third lowest in the conference. The Dons finished eighth in the conference in rebounding (32.5) and ninth in rebound margin (-2.5), despite having the top rebounder in the WCC in Cole Dickerson (9.8). The Dons rank last in the conference in rebound average (34.4) and ninth in rebound margin (+2.6).

THE BENCH: USF's bench is averaging 25.2 points (328 total) a game thus far this season. In four of the Dons' 13 games this season, a non-starter has taken game high scoring honors (Kruize Pinkins 3; Chris Adams 1). Pinkins is averaging 12.3 points off the bench this season. USF's reserves had had the upper hand in the scoring column in eight of 13 games this season.

DEFENSIVELY: USF is yielding 77.0 points a game, which ranks eighth in the WCC. The Dons rank last in the conference in field goal defense (47.5) and three-point defense (39.5).

STOP! THIEF!: USF is averaging 6.8 steals per game, which ranks third the WCC. Sophomore Avry Holmes is averaging 1.2 steals per game, which ranks ninth in the conference, while Matt Glover ranks seventh with a 1.3 per game average.

TIM'S TERRIFIC: Sophomore Tim Derksen is averaging 12.0 points (84 total) while shooting 78 percent (32-of-41) from the field over his last seven games. He has also made 7-of-13 (53.8) of his three-pointers during that span. The Tucson, Ariz.-native scored a season-high 18 points against Illinois State to become the sixth Dons player to take team-high scoring honors this season.

THREE'S BETTER THAN TWO: Of Chris Adams' 79 career field goals, 70 have come from beyond the arc.

DICKERSON'S DOUBLES: Senior forward Cole Dickerson posted his fourth double-double of the season and 18th of his career against Portland, finishing with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Dickerson finished with conference-high 13 double-doubles (points-rebounds) last season, a figure that ranked 24th nationally among Division I players. He was also a point or rebound away from a double-double in five other games. Dickerson pulled down 10 or more rebounds in 14 games, including a career-high 20 boards against Montana on Nov. 30
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