Game #14
San Francisco Dons (7-6, 1-0 WCC) at Saint Mary's Gaels (8-3, 1-0 WCC)
Monday,  Dec. 29, 2014 • 6:00 p.m.
McKeon Pavilion • Moraga, Calif.
Series Record: USF 104-73
Last Meeting: USF 73-62 (Feb. 20, 2014)
Audio/Video Streaming: TheW.tv (Pat Olson, Play-by-Play; Jim Brovelli, Analyst)
Television: ESPNU (Roxy Bernstein, Play-by-Play; Corey Williams, Analyst)

Complete USF Game Notes (PDF)

The Dandy Dons

• Now 7-6 overall and 1-0 in the WCC after a 77-71 at Pacific Saturday afternoon...have won two of last three and are 4-4 over the last eight games.
• Were 8-5 at the 13-game mark of last season...lost game 14 at Gonzaga to stand 8-6 at the 14-game point of the year.
• Are just 1-17 vs. Saint Mary's dating back to the 2005-06 season...Dons 73-62 victory on the Hilltop last season snapped a 17-game losing streak vs. the Gaels...USF has also dropped 11 straight at McKeon Pavilion dating back to its last win in Moraga, 68-67, Feb. 8, 2003.
• A charter member of the WCC, USF has claimed 15 regular season titles and one WCC Tournament title the 15 regular season crowns are second only to Gonzaga's 17 in league history.
• Have four wins this season by 30-points or more and have won seven games this season by an average of 26.8 points.
• Are 11-3 in its last 14 conference road games dating back to the 2012-13 season...are 1-2 in true road games this season.
• Have outrebounded 10 of 13 opponents this season...were even vs. Florida Gulf Coast and were outrebounded by Cal Poly and Pacific...rank second the WCC in rebound average at 39.3 and are fourth in rebound margin (+7.2).
• Three players - Kruize Pinkins (6.5), Matt Glover (6.1) and Mark Tollefsen (5.5) - are averaging at least 5.0 rebounds per game while Tim Derksen is averagaing 4.9.
• Shooting 47.5 percent from the floor, second-best in the WCC...have shot 50 percent or better in four games this season, including a season-high 64.9 effort vs. Montana.
• Lead the WCC and rank 21st nationally in three-point percentage at 40.2 percent (94-for-234)...tied for third in three-pointers made per game at 7.2.
• Have attempted the 22nd most free throws (310) in the nation but have the fourth-lowest free throw percentage among Division I teams at 57.5 (178-310).
• Have made just 47.6 percent (61-for-128) of their free throws in six losses which have come by an average of 9.1 points (55 total).
• Senior Kruize Pinkins continues to lead the team in scoring (16.5) and rebounding (6.5)...he ranks in the top-10 in four WCC statistical categories, including scoring (7th), rebounding (7th), field goal percentage (8th; 54.5) and offensive rebounds (3rd; 2.8).
• Junior Mark Tollefsen scored a career-high 24 points and Pacific and has scored in double figures in all 13 games this season...he ranks eighth in the WCC in scoring, fourth in field goal percentage (56.9), second in three-point percentage (47.8) and t-ninth in offensive rebounds (2.4). 

Notables

Opening Tip
USF (7-6, 1-0 WCC) looks to remain unbeaten in West Coast Conference play tonight as the Dons face longtime rival Saint Mary's (8-3, 1-0 WCC) in a nationally-televised game on ESPNU from Moraga. Both teams posted wins in their conference openers on Saturday. USF downed Pacific in Stockton, 77-71 while the Gaels turned back Santa Clara, 73-60 in McKeon Pavilion.

Series History with Saint Mary's
USF leads the all-time series with Saint Mary's, 104-73. However, the Gaels have won 17 of the last 18 and 21 of the last 23 games against the Dons. The two teams split the season series last year, with the Gaels claiming a 88-73 victory in Moraga and the Dons prevailing on the Hilltop, 73-62. USF's win snapped a 17-game losing streak to the Gaels. USF has also dropped 11 straight in McKeon Pavilion dating back to its last victory on Feb. 8, 2003, 68-67. The two schools have also met five times in WCC Tournament play, with the Gaels holding a 4-1 advantage.

Last Year's Games vs. Saint Mary's
In the first meeting between the two schools, USF dropped a 88-73 decision to Saint Mary's on Jan. 11 in Moraga. It marked the Gaels 17th consecutive victory over the Dons, including its 11th straight win over USF at McKeon Pavilion. Avry Holmes scored a team-high 17 points, while Kruize Pinkins and Cole Dickerson added 16 and Mark Tollefsen finished with 16 to pace USF in scoring. The Dons shot a respectable 51 percent from the field but allowed the Gaels to clip the nets at 55.8 percent, including 52.4 percent (11-for-21) from three-point range. USF never led in the game and trailed by 15 at the half at 43-28. The Dons whittled the lead down seven at 54-47 before the Gaels went on a 14-0 run to put the game away.

In the return game on the Hilltop on Feb. 20, Mark Tollefsen, Kruize Pinkins and Matt Glover each scored 16 points while Cole Dickerson added 12 to lead USF to a 73-72 victory, as the Dons snapped a 17-game losing streak to the Gaels. USF put forth one of its best defensive efforts of the season, holding the Gaels under the 70-point mark and to just 39.7 percent from the field. USF shot 50 percent from the field and had four players pull down five or more rebounds.

Last Time Out
USF opened its 63rd season of West Coast Conference play on Saturday with a 77-71 victory at Pacific. Mark Tollefsen scored a career high 24 points, Kruize Pinkins added 16 and Devin Watson chipped in 14 off the bench to pace the Dons in scoring. USF trailed 59-53 with 7:40 remaining but scored eight straight points to take a 61-59 lead on a Tollefsen 3-pointer with 5:43 left. Another 3-ball by Tollefsen broke a 63-63 tie and gave the Dons a lead they would not relinquish. All told, USF outscored Pacific, 24-12 over the last 7:40 of the game. The Dons finished with 19 assists and committed just three turnovers. USF also made 16-of-20 free throw tries. T.J. Wallace of Pacific led all scorers with 26 points.

Charter Members of the WCC
USF is one of four charter schools in the West Coast Conference, along with Santa Clara, Saint Mary's and Pacific, which rejoined the league last season after previously holding membership from 1952-71. USF has won/shared 15 regular season WCC titles, second most in league history behind Gonzaga's 17. The Dons 15 regular season crowns were won during a 27-year period from  1954-81. USF's only WCC Tournament title came in 1997-98.

The Start
At 7-6, USF is one game off its pace at the 13-game mark of last season when the Dons were 8-5 on the year after opening WCC play with a overtime win at Portland. USF dropped game No. 14 at Gonzaga, 69-41 to dip to 8-6 on the year..

The Wins
USF's seven wins this season have come by an average of 26.8 points (82.9 to 56.1). The Dons have posted four wins of 30 points or more against South Carolina State (91-52), Notre Dame de Namur (86-46), Houston Baptist (85-54) and Portland State (77-40) and also own decisive victories over Hawaii (88-73) and Montana (76-57).

The Formula
The Dons tied for second in the WCC last season with a 13-5 conference mark. The 13 wins were the most by a USF team since the 1976-77 team posted a perfect 14-0 record in conference play. Last season, the Dons swept Portland, Santa Clara, Pacific, Loyola Marymount, Pepperdine and San Diego, earned a split with Saint Mary's and were swept by Gonzaga and BYU.

WCC Road Record
After its 77-71 win at Pacific on Saturday, USF is now 11-3 in its last 14 conference road games dating back to the 2012-13 season. The Dons finished the 2012-13 season with four straight conference road wins at Pepperdine, BYU, Loyola Marymount and San Diego and went 6-3 in conference road games last year, suffering setbacks at Gonzaga, BYU and Saint Mary's. The Dons are 14-13 in true road games dating back to the 2012-13 season.

The Defensive Numbers
USF allowed a season-low 40 points aganst Portland State, which was the lowest point total by an opponent since the Dons defeated Cal State-East Bay, 80-40 on Jan. 3, 2009. USF ranks fourth in the WCC in points allowed per game (64.2) and second in field goal defense (.395). The Dons also rank t-third in steals per game (6.7) and are seventh in blocks (2.5).

Board Work
The Dons have outrebounded 10 of 13 opponents this season and rank second the WCC in rebound average at 39.3 per game. USF also ranks fourth among WCC teams in rebound margin, outboarding its first 13 oponents on margin of 7.2 per game. The Dons also rank second in the conference in offensive rebounds with a 12.6 per game mark. Three players - Kruize Pinkins (6.5), Matt Glover (6.1) and Mark Tollefsen (5.5) - are averaging at least 5.0 rebounds per game while Tim Derksen is averagaing 4.9. All four players have all pulled down 10+ rebounds in a game this season.

From the Field
The Dons are shooting 47.4 percent from the field this season which ranks second in the WCC. USF shot 55.6 percent from the field vs. Houston Baptist, marking the fourth time this season USF has shot 50 percent or better from the floor. Mark Tollefsen (4th; 56.9) and Kruize Pinkins (8th; 54.5) both rank in the top-10 among WCC playes in field goal percentage.

From the Line
USF made 16-of-20 free throws in its win over Pacific on Saturday. However, the Dons are shooting just 57.4 percent (178-310) from the line at the 13 game mark of the season, which ranks last in the WCC and is the fourth worst mark in the naton among 345 Division I teams. The Dons have shot just 47.6 percent (61-for-128) from the line in its six losses which have come by an average of 9.1 points (55 total), including one overtime defeat. USF's 310 free throw attempts are tied for the 22nd highest total in the nation. 

Beyond the Arc
The Dons have made 24-of-56 (47.5) of its three-point attempts over the last three games against Portland State (10-for-24), Cleveland State (9-for-16) and Pacific (5-of-16). USF now leads the WCC and ranks 21st nationlly in three-point field goal percentage at .402 (94-for-234). Junior Mark Tollefsen (47.8; 22-for-46) ranks second in the conference in three-point field goal percentage while Tim Derksen (47.6; 20-for-42) ranks third.

Kruize-in
Senior forward Kruize Pinkins ranks in the top-10 in four WCC statistical categories, including scoring (7th), rebounding (7th), field goal percentage (8th; 54.5) and offensive rebounds (3rd; 2.8). He scored a career-high 30 points against Eastern Washington and has scored 20 or more points in three other games vs. Notre Dame de Namur (26), Montana (26) and Portlan d State (23).

Tollefsen Terrific
Junior forward Mark Tollefsen has scored in double-figures in all 13 games this season, including a career-high 24 points Saturday at Pacific. He also has a pair of 23-point efforts against Evansville and Portland State. He now ranks eighth in the WCC in scoring, fourth in field goal percentage (56.9), second in three-point percentage (47.8) and t-ninth in offensive rebounds (2.4). Tollefsen has made 51 consecutive starts dating back to the 2012-13 season, the longest streak among all USF players.