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Dons Visit San Diego on Thursday

Dons Visit San Diego on Thursday
USF is tied for second in the WCC standings heading into Thursday's game at San Diego.
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Game #24
USF Dons (14-9, 7-4 WCC) vs. San Diego Toreros (13-11, 4-7 WCC)
Thursday, Feb. 6, 2014 • 7:00 p.m.
Jenny Craig Pavilion • San Diego, Calif.
Series Record: USF Leads, 38-34
Last Meeting: USF 64-62 (Jan. 18, 2014 in San Francisco)
Audio Stream: USFDons.com (Pat Olson, Play-by-Play; Jim Brovelli, Analyst)
Television: FSN San Diego; TheW.tv (Eddie Doucette, Play-by-Play; Kevin O'Neill; Analyst)

Complete USF Game Notes (PDF)

The Dandy Dons
  • Now 14-9 overall and 7-4 in the West Coast Conference after splitting a pair of home games last week...downed Portland, 84-71 before dropping a 75-65 decision to Gonzaga on Saturday.
  • Tied for second in the WCC standings with BYU, three games behind first place Gonzaga (20-3, 10-1) and a half a game in front of Saint Mary's (16-7, 6-4).
  • Thursday's game in San Diego marks the team's first road game since Jan. 11 at Saint Mary's...road trip continues to BYU on Saturday...coming off a stretch of five consecutive homes games in which the team went 3-2..
  • Are 3-4 on the road this season, including 2-2 vs. WCC foes...are 6-2 in last eight conference road games dating back to last season.
  • Posted a 64-62 win over San Diego on a last second shot by Avry Holmes on Jan. 18...have won eight of the last nine meetings with the Toreros.
  • USF is 17-11 over the past four seasons in the month of February...went 5-2 in February last season.
  • USF is 91-91 in six seasons under head coach Rex Walters.
  • Held to 65 points vs. Gonzaga but still rank as the WCC's fourth-highest scoring team at 77.2 points per game.
  • Shot 56.3 percent vs. Portland but were held to 34.5 percent vs. Gonzaga...shooting 48 percent from the floor this season - second in the WCC and 24th nationally.
  • Have made just 19-of-59 (32.2) three-pointers over the last three games and are now shooting 37.8 percent from beyond the arc for the season - fifth best in the WCC.
  • Have made 63-of-83 (75.9) free throws over last three games but still rank last in the conference in free throw percentage at 65.9...shooting 69.3 percent from the line in conference play.
  • Rank seventh in the WCC in defense (74.5), seventh in field goal defense (45.4) and ninth in three-point defense (38.1).
  • Are 12-4 on the season when outrebounding the opponent...rank sixth in WCC rebounding at 35.2.
  • Balanced scoring column sees the top six scorers averaging between 14.5 and 8.5 points per game...seven different players have taken team high-scoring honors this season...rank as the WCC's fourth-highest scoring team despite not having a player higher than 11th among conference scoring leaders.
  • Sophomore Avry Holmes is shooting 54.1 percent (26-for-48) from three-point range over his last 12 games...career mark of 45.7 (80-for-175) ranks first on USF's all-time career list.
  • Cole Dickerson ranks 25th on USF's all-time career scoring list with 1,089 points...also ranks 16th all-time in career rebounds with 660.
  • Junior Kruize Pinkins is averaging 3.2 offensive rebounds a game - second best in the WCC.
  • Travel to Provo for a date with the BYU Cougars on Saturday...will be in action just once next week at Santa Clara (2/15).

TIP-OFF: USF (14-9, 7-4 WCC) plays the first of three consecutive road games Thursday night when the Dons meet the San Diego Toreros (13-11, 4-7 WCC) at Jenny Craig Pavilion beginning at 7:00 p.m. The game will be televised on FSN San Diego. Both teams split a pair of games last week. USF defeated Portland, 84-71 on Wednesday before falling to Gonzaga, 75-65 on Saturday. The Toreros downed Saint Mary's, 61-43 and dropped a 84-67 decision to Pacific.

SERIES HISTORY: USF leads the all-time series with San Diego, 38-34. USF has won eight out of the last nine contests vs. San Diego, including a 64-62 victory on Jan. 18 in San Francisco. The two teams split last year's season series with each winning on the other's home floor. San Diego claimed a 70-66 victory on the Hilltop on Jan. 10 only to see the Dons comeback to post a 83-70 win on Feb. 28 at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. The two schools have meet eight times in WCC Championship play, with the Toreros holding a 6-2 advantage.

FIRST MEETING WITH SAN DIEGO: USF snapped a two-game losing streak with a 64-62 victory on Jan.  18 as Avry Holmes floater on the right baseline with 0.5 remaining accounted for the victory. Holmes scored nine of his team high 15 point over the final 3:16 of the game. Kruize Pinkins posted his fourth double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds while Cole Dickerson added 10. The Dons shot 53.5 percent from the floor and held San Digeo to 42.9 percent. There were 13 ties in the game, eight lead changes and the two teams were never separated by more than four points in the second half..

LAST TIME OUT: USF saw its three-game winning streak come to an end with a 75-65 home loss Saturday night to Gonzaga. The Dons shot just 34.5 percent from the floor while the Zags took advantage of 34-of-41 shooting from the foul line. After USF scored the first five points of the game, the Zags went on a 13-0 run and never relinquished their lead. Avry Holmes scored a team-high 18 points for USF while Mark Tollefsen added 15.

THE RECORD: At 14-9 overall, USF is four games ahead of last year's pace when the Dons were 10-13 at the 23-game mark of the season. USF won game 24 last season to improve to 11-13 overall and 5-7 in conference play. USF's 14 wins are fourth most in the conference behind Gonzaga (20-3) and Saint Mary's (16-7) and BYU (15-9).

FABULOUS IN FEBRUARY: In the last four seasons dating back to the 2009-10 campaign, USF has posted a 17-11 record in the month of February, including a 5-2 mark last season.

ROAD REPORT: Following a stretch of five consecutive home games, USF will play its next three games on the road beginning with Thursday's contest in San Diego. The Dons will head to Provo to meet the BYU Cougars on Saturday before returning to the Bay Area to face Santa Clara at the Leavey Center on Feb. 15. USF is 3-4 in seven road games this season, including a 2-2 mark against WCC foes. The Dons are 6-2 in their last eight WCC road games dating back to last season. USF is 11-5 at home this season after going 8-7 on its home floor last season, including 2-6 against WCC foes.

OFFENSIVELY: The Dons are averaging 77.2 points per game this season, which ranks fourth in the WCC. USF's 84 points against Portland last Wednesday was its highest output since the Dons scored 87 points in an overtime win over the Pilots in the first conference game of the season on Dec. 29. It marked the team's highest point total in a regulation game since a 96-73 win over Sonoma State on Nov. 27. 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 23 games, with senior Cole Dickerson topping the team's scoring chart with a 14.5 point per game average. The top six scorers on the current roster are averaging between 14.5 and 8.5 ppg. Seven different players have taken game-high scoring honors at some point this season.

FROM THE FLOOR: The Dons have shot 50 percent from the floor in 11 games this season and currently rank second in the WCC and 24th nationally in field goal percentage at 48.0 percent. If the season ended today, the Dons current shooting percentage would be the 10th-best single-season mark in school history. USF is shooting 45.2 percent from the field in conference games, despite an icey 25.5 percent (14-for-55) effort at Gonzaga. Mark Tollefsen (57.0) and Cole Dickerson (52.8) rank sixth and 10th respectively in WCC field goal percentage.

FROM BEYOND THE ARC: USF ranks fifth in the WCC in three-point field goal percentage at 37.8 percent. The Dons have connected on just 19-of-59 (32.2) of their long distance tries over the last three 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: USF has made 75.9 percent (63-of-83) of its free throws over the last three games and are shooting 72.8 perent (145-of-199) from the line over the last eight contests. However, the Dons are shooting just 65.9 percent from the line this season, which ranks last in the WCC. USF has attempted 587 free throws this season, which rank 33rd among Division I teams. Avry Holmes ranks seventh in the WCC and 53rd nationally in free throw percentage at 86.1 (68-79).

BOARD WORK: USF has outrebounded five of its last six opponents and rank sixth among WCC teams in rebound average at 35.2. Opponents are averaging 31.3 boards a game, the second-lowest average in the conference. USF is 12-4 this season when outrebounding the opponent and 2-5 in all other games. Four players - Cole Dickerson (7.2), Kruize Pinkins (6.6), Matt Glover (5.9) and Mark Tollefsen (4.1) - are averaging at least 4.0 rebounds per game. 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).

MORE BOARD TALK: Since Kruize Pinkins joined the starting lineup on Jan. 2 vs. LMU, USF has outrebounded its last eight opponents by an average of 35.5 to 29.8 and are 6-3 during that stretch.

SECOND CHANCES: USF is averaging 12.0 offensive rebounds a game, third-best in the WCC. Kruize Pinkins ranks second in the conference in offensive rebounds with a 3.3 per game mark

DEFENSIVELY: The Dons are yielding 74.5 points a game, which ranks seventh in the WCC. The Dons rank seventh in the conference in field goal defense (45.4) and ninth in three-point defense (38.1) and blocks per game (2.7). USF's 5.9 steals per game average ranks fifth in the conference.

DONS IN OVERTIME: USF is 2-1 in overtime games this season, losing to Idaho State 93-90 while defeating Portland 87-81 and Pacific 81-72. USF is 11-4 in overtime games under head coach Rex Walters.

AVRY ON A ROLL: Sophomore Avry Holmes has scored in double figures in 11 of the last 12 games and is averaging 14.9 point per game (179 total) during that stretch, raising his season scoring average from 8.9 to its present mark of 12.0. He has also shot 48.6 percent (54-for-111) from the field, including 54.2 percent (26-for-48) from three-point range while knocking down 45-of-50 free throws during the stretch.

AVRY FROM DOWNTOWN: Avry Holmes' current three-point percentage of 44.3 (39-for-88) ranks fourth in the West Coast Conference. Holmes' career three-point percentage of of 45.7 (80-for-175) ranks first all-time in school history.

DICKERSON CLIMBING REBOUNDING CHARTS: With 660 career rebounds, senior Cole Dickerson currently ranks 16th on USF's all-time rebounding list. He needs 26 more boards to tie Marlon Redmond for 15th. Here's a look at where Dickerson stands on USF's all-time career rebonding chart...

11. Joe Ellis (1963-66) 737
12. Erwin Mueller (1963-66) 717
13. Johnny Burks (1968-71) 701
14. Mike Farmer (1955-58) 698
15. Marlon Redmond (1973-77) 686
16. Cole Dickerson (2010-14) 660

DICKERSON'S DOUBLES: Senior forward Cole Dickerson posted his fifth double-double of the season and 19th of his career against BYU, finishing with 26 points and a season-high 14 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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