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Game #17
USF Dons (10-6, 3-1 WCC) vs. Pacific Tigers (9-5, 0-3 WCC)
Thursday, Jan. 9, 2014 • 7:00 p.m.
Alex G. Spanos Center • Stockton, Calif.
Series Record: USF leads, 60-34
Last Meeting: Pacific 67-59 (Dec. 8, 2013 at Stockton)
Audio Stream: USFDons.com (Pat Olson, Play-by-Play; Jim Brovelli, Analyst)
Video Stream: TheW.tv (Rich Cellini, Play-by-Play; John Stege, Analyst)

Watch the USF-Pacific Game on TheW.TV

Complete USF Game Notes (PDF)

The Dandy Dons

• Stand 10-6 overall and 3-1 in the West Coast Conference after home wins over LMU (75-61) and Pepperdine (76-66) last week...are tied for second place in the conference standings with Pepperdine - one game behind Gonzaga.
• Team's 3-1 WCC record matches its best four-game conference start under Rex Walters...the 2010-11 team also started 3-1 before improving to 5-1 after its first six conference games.
• Have won two straight, four of six and are 7-3 over last 10 games following a 100-82 road loss at No. 17 Oregon on Nov. 24...have four, two-game winning streaks this season but have not won three in a row.
• Were 7-9 at the 16-game mark a year ago and eventually fell to 7-11 after 18 games...also dropped the first five conference games.
• Square-off against fellow WCC-charter members Pacific (Thursday) and Saint Mary's (Saturday)...first meeting between the Dons and Tigers as conference opponents since the 1970-71 season.
• Averaging 78.6 points per game, which ranks third in the WCC...scored a season-low 41 points at Gonzaga but bounced back to average 75.5 points in wins over LMU and Pepperdine.
• Shooting 37.9 percent (66-for-174) over the last three games after shooting at a 51.1 percent clip over the first 13 contests...rank second in the WCC in field goal percentage behind Gonzaga at 48.6 percent.
• Shooting 37.9 percent from 3-point range, which ranks fourth in the WCC...are 20-for-55 (36.3) from long distance in the last three games after making 25-of-54 (46.2) 3's in its previous four contests.
• Made 16-of-19 free throws against Pepperdine but still rank last in the WCC in free throw percentage at 63.1 percent.
• Have held the last three and four out of the last five opponents under 70 points...rank eighth in the WCC in opponent defense allowing 74.8 ppg.
• Rank 10th in the WCC in field goal defense at 46.4 percent....opponents are also shooting at a 38.2 clip from 3-point range, the second-highest percentage in the WCC.
• Have outrebounded three of its first four WCC opponents and have outrebounded 10 of its first 16 opponents on the year...averaging 35.4 boards a game, ninth in the WCC.
• Balanced scoring column sees the top six scorers averaging between 13.3 and 8.9 points per game...seven different players have taken team high-scoring honors this season...rank as the WCC's third-highest scoring team despite not having a player higher than 15th among conference scoring leaders.
• Junior Kruize Pinkins made his first two career starts last week against LMU and Pepperdine and averaged 14.0 points and 9.5 rebounds...Pinkins is averaging 3.3 offensive rebounds a game - tops in the WCC.
• Team won't play outside the Bay Area (Stockton included) again until Feb. 6 at San Diego.
• Renew long rivalry with Saint Mary's on Saturday afternoon in Moraga (3:00 p.m.)

TIP-OFF: USF (10-6, 3-1 WCC) looks for its third consecutive win Thursday night when the Dons travel to Stockton to meet the Pacific Tigers (9-5, 0-3 WCC). USF is coming off a pair of home wins last week against LMU (75-61) and Pepperdine (76-66), handing the Lions and Waves their first conference losses of the season. Pacific dropped at pair of road games last week at Portland (72-64) and Gonzaga (86-64).

SERIES HISTORY: In a series that dates back to the 1911-12 season, USF leads the all-time series with Pacific, 60-34. Pacific has won 10 of the last 15 games in the series, including last year's contest in Stockton, 67-59 on Dec. 8. The Dons last win in the series came in the 2011-12 season, 79-69 on the Hilltop. USF has dropped its last three games to the Tigers in Stockton dating back to its last win in the 2004-05 campaign (67-64). Two of the charter members of the WCC, USF and Pacific met 44 times as conference foes from 1952-71, with the Dons holding a 30-14 advantage.

LAST YEAR'S GAME VS. PACIFIC: Pacific scored the last six points of the game to claim a 67-59 victory over the Dons on Dec. 8 at the Spanos Center. USF scored the first 10 points of the game and enjoyed an eight-point, 37-29 lead with 15:32 left in the game. Pacific then went on a 13-2 run to take a 42-39 lead with 11:55 remaining. Mark Tollefsen and Cole Dickerson shared team-high scoring honors with 14 points. The Dons shot 42.3 percent from the field and were just 6-of-15 (40 percent) from the foul line.

LAST TIME OUT: A strong second-half showing lifted USF to a 76-66 win over Pepperdine Saturday afternoon in Memorial Gymnasium. Fourn Dons scored in double-figures, led by Kruize Pinkins' 19 points and 11 rebounds. After trailing 27-19 at intermission, USF shot 51.3 percent from the floor and scored 57 second half points to post its second consecutive victory. Mark Tollefsen added 16 points while Tim Derksen finished with 14.

LINEUP SHUFFLE: USF employed its third starting lineup of the season Thursday night against LMU, with Kruize Pinkins making his first career start in place of Tim Derksen, who had started the previous 10 games. Four players - Cole Dickerson, Matt Glover, Mark Tollefsen and Avry Holmes - have started all 15 games this season.
THE RECORD: At 10-6 overall, USF is three-game ahead of last year's pace when the Dons were 7-9 at the 16-game mark of the season. USF would eventually fall to 7-11 at the 18-game mark. At 3-1 in the WCC, the Dons are off to their best conference start since the 2010-11 season, when the team won five of its first six conference games. USF dropped their first five conference games a year ago.

HOME AND ROAD: The Dons are 8-3 at home this season and is 16-10 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. USF was just 2-6 at home last season against WCC opponents, defeating only LMU (62-53) and Pepperdine (64-58). USF is 6-3 in its last nine road contests dating back to last season with its only losses coming at Oregon, St. John's and Gonzaga earlier this season. The Dons have also won five out of their last six conference road games dating back to last season. USF won its last four conference roadies a year ago and earned an overtime win at Portland before falling at Gonzaga this season.

OFFENSIVELY: After scoring a season-low 41 points at Gonzaga, USF bounced back to average 75.5 points in wins over Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine last week. The Dons are averaging 78.6 points per game this season, which ranks third in the WCC. USF averaged 88.4 ppg (619 total) over their first seven games and have scored at a 70.8 per game clip (638 total) over its last nine contests. The Dons opened the season by scoring 90+ points in its first four games - a first in school history.

BALANCED SCORING: USF has four players on its current roster averaging in double figures after 16 games, with senior Cole Dickerson topping the team's scoring chart with a 13.3 point per game average. The top six scorers on the current roster are averaging between 13.3 and 8.9 ppg. Seven different players have taken game-high scoring honors at some point this season. Despite ranking as the the conference's third-highest scoring team, the Dons do not have a player ranked in the top-10 in scoring (Dickerson 15th at 13.3).

FROM THE FLOOR: USF is shooting 37.9 percent (66-for-174) from the floor over its last three games, thanks largely in part to an icey 25.5 percent (14-for-55) effort at Gonzaga. The Dons are currently shooting 48.6 percent from the field this season, which is the second-best mark in the WCC behind Gonzaga (52.0). Mark Tollefsen (59.2) and Tim Derksen (56.7) rank fifth and ninth respectively in WCC field goal percentage.

THE THREE-BALL: The Dons made 41.2 percent (14-for-34) of its three-point attempts last week against LMU and Pepperdine and are now shooting 37.9 percent from beyond the arc this season - fourth-best in the WCC. USF averaged 28.7 three-point attempts through its first four games but are averaging 16.5 (199 total) long distance tries over its last 12 games. 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 made 16-of-19 free throws in their 76-66 win over Pepperdine but are shooting just 63.1 percent (258-for-409) from the line this season, which ranks last in the WCC.

BOARD WORK: USF has outrebouded three of its first four conference opponents and rank seventh among WCC teams in rebound average at 35.4. Opponents are averaging 32.3 boards a game, the fourth-lowest total in the conference. Last season, 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).

SECOND CHANCES: USF is averaging 12.4 offensive rebounds a game, third best in the WCC behind LMU (13.7) and BYU (12.9). Kruize Pinkins leads the conference in offensive rebounds with a 3.3 per game mark

DEFENSIVELY: USF has held its last three and four of its last five opponents under 70 points. The Dons are yielding 74.8 points a game, which ranks eighth in the WCC. The Dons rank last in the conference in field goal defense (46.4) and ninth in three-point defense (38.2) and blocks per game (2.6). USF's 6.5 steals per game average ranks fourth in the conference.

THREE'S BETTER THAN TWO: Of Chris Adams' 83 career field goals, 73 have come from beyond the arc.

DONS IN OVERTIME: USF is 1-1 in overtime games this season, losing to Idaho State 93-90 and defeating Portland 87-81. Beginning with the 2008-09 season, USF is 10-4 in overtime games under head coach Rex Walters.

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.

DONS SIGN THREE TO NLI'S: USF signed three players to National Letters of Intent on Nov. 13. Frankie Ferrari , a 5-11 guard from Burlingame (Calif.) High School and Chase Foster, a 6-5 forward from Valor Christian High School in Highlands Ranch, Colo. will join the Dons next season. Jared Stutzman, a 6-5 forward from Bonneville School in Idaho Falls, will enroll at the University for the 2016-17 season following a two-year church mission.

USF TO RETIRE OLLIE JOHNSON'S NO. 32: Ollie Johnson, a two-time West Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Year who earned All-America honors as a senior in 1964-65, will have his No. 32 jersey retired by the University on Saturday, Jan. 25 when USF plays host Santa Clara in Memorial Gymnasium. Johnson becomes the sixth USF men's basketball to have his number retired, joining Bill Russell (6), K.C. Jones (4), Mike Farmer (17), Phil Smith (20) and Bill Cartwright (24).  Beginning with Johnson's sophomore season in 1962-63 (freshmen were not eligible), USF compiled a 65-19 record (.774), won three straight WCAC championships and made three NCAA Tournament appearances. He was a two-time NCAA All-Tournament selection and averaged 36 points and 18 rebounds in the 1965 NCAA Tournament.