Game 3
San Francisco Dons (2-0, 0-0 WCC) vs. Fresno State Bulldogs (2-0, 0-0 Mountain West)
Thursday,  Nov. 19, 2015 • 7:00 p.m.
Save Mart Center • Fresno, Calif.
Series Record: USF 13-7
Last Meeting: Fresno State 86 USF 66 (Nov. 17, 2006)
Audio Streaming: TheW.tv (Pat Olson, Play-by-Play; Jim Brovelli, Analyst)
Video Streaming: The Mountain West Network

Complete USF Game Notes (PDF) | Complete Fresno State Game Notes (PDF)

USF at a Glance

• Now 2-0 on the season after Monday night's 80-54 home victory over Rice after opening the season with a 78-75 win at Illinois-Chicago...off to its fifth 2-0 start under head coach Rex Walters since 2008-09.
• Meet Fresno State for the first time since Nov. 17, 2006 when the Bulldogs scored a 86-66 victory in San Francisco...two schools played eight consecutive seasons from 1999-2006...USF leads the all-time series 13-7.
• Looking for its first win in Fresno since Dec. 8, 1999, when the Dons scored a 69-59 victory at Selland Arena...Dons are winless in their previous two trips to the Save Mart Center (2003-04; 2005-06).
• Play four games in eight days to start the season...return home Saturday night to face UC Riverside to close out the busy stretch.
• Dons have had four players reach double-figures in scoring in each of their first two games, with no player scoring more than 17 points...Tim Derksen leads the team in scoring (14.0) followed by sophomore point guard Devin Watson (13.5).
• USF's reserves are averaging 36.0 points at the two game mark, having chipped in 35 points at Illinois-Chicago and 37 against Rice.
• Went 22-of-39 from the free throw line in the opener at Illinois-Chicago but improved to 83.3 percent (10-for-12) against Rice.
• Have outrebounded its first two opponents 49.5 to 40.5...Tim Derksen (7.0), Dont'e Reynolds (7.0) and Montray Clemons (6.0) are averaging 6.0 or more rebounds a game.
• Were picked seventh along with Pacific in the WCC's Preseason Coaches Poll...both teams received 32 points...Gonzaga was picked to finish first followed by BYU and Pepperdine.
• Now in his eighth season as head coach, Rex Walters has compiled a 114-112 record on the Hilltop, including a 55-56 record in WCC games...he has guided the Dons to three postseason appearances and a pair of wins over nationally-ranked teams.
• Return just five players including two starters from last year's squad...welcome 11 newcomers to this year's roster, including seven freshmen, including three walk-ons.
• Departed players accounted for 67 percent of the rebounding, 78% of the scoring, 70.9% of minutes played and combine to make 112 starts a year ago.
• Breakdown of newcomers include seven freshmen, one sophomore, two junior college transfers (Ronnie Boyce and Dont'e Reynolds) and one graduate transfer (Sean Grennan).
• Return to the Hilltop Saturday night to face UC Riverside, beginning a stretch of four straight home games...marks the first of three games against Big West Conference schools (UC Santa Barbara 11//25; Cal State Northridge 12/7).

Notables

Opening Tip
USF (2-0, 0-0 WCC) looks for its third straight win to open the 2015-16 season on Thursday night when the Dons meet the Fresno State Bulldogs (2-0, 0-0 Mountain West) at the Save Mart Center in Fresno. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. The Dons have opened the season with wins over Illinois-Chicago (78-75) and Rice (80-64) while the Bulldogs have downed Pepperdine (69-66) and Lamar (80-72) in their first two games.

USF-Fresno State Series History
USF leads the all-time series with Fresno State, 13-7. The two schools last met on Nov. 17, 2006, with the Bulldogs scoring a 86-66 decision in Memorial Gymnasium. Fresno State has won two straight and five out of the last six games in the series following USF's back-to-back wins in the 1999-00 and 2000-01 seasons. USF is winless in its only two trips to the Save Mart Center, falling 52-43 on Dec. 27, 2003 and 65-60 on Dec. 29, 2005. USF's last win in Fresno came on Dec. 8, 1999, 69-59 at Selland Arena. The two schools have met sporadically over the years. For a five-year stretch from 1952-53 through the 1957-58 season, USF and Fresno State played twice a year with the Dons winning nine of the 10 games. The two schools the split a pair of games in the 1991-92 and '92-93 seasons before meeting for eight consecutive seasons from 1999-2006.

About Fresno State
The Bulldogs are 2-0 on the season after posting wins over Pepperdine (69-66) and Lamar (80-72)…seeking first 3-0 start since 2006…were 15-17 overall a year ago, but finished 10-8 in the Mountain West Conference…have won four straight home games and are 13-3 at the Save Mart Center dating back to last season…picked to finish fifth in the Mountain West's preseason poll…guard Marvelle Harris was named the Mountain West's preseason player of the year…he is averaging 21.0 points a game so far this season and enters the year ranked 16th on Fresno State's all-time career scoring list…preseason watch list for Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award…junior forward Torren Jones has posted a double-double in each of his first two games with 13 points and 14 rebounds against Pepperdine and 19 points and 12 rebounds against Lamar…Bulldogs are also receiving solid minutes from junior forward Karachi Edo, who is averaging 9.0 points and 7.5 rebounds in the early going…guided by fifth-year head coach Rodney Terry, who spent nine seasons (2002-11) as an assistant coach at Texas, where he mentored players such as a Kevin Durant, LaMarcus Aldridge, D.J. Augustine, T.J. ford and Tristan Thompson.

Last Time Out
USF is coming off an 80-54 victory Monday night over Rice. USF, which never trailed in the game, jumped out to an early 10-2 lead as Chase Foster canned a pair of threes in the game's opening minutes. With USF holding a 14-12 lead with 13:01 left in the first half, the Dons went on a 13-0 run to open a 27-12 lead with 9:02 left before taking a 41-22 lead into intermission.The Dons led by as many as 29 points in the second half, last at 75-46 with 4:01 left. Four Dons scored in double-figures, led by sophomore guard Devin Watson's 12 points, while Tim Derksen, Uche Ofoegbu and Ronnie Boyce III added 11 points each. The Dons shot 50.8 percent from the field and held Rice to just 33.8 percent shooting from the floor, including 4-of-22 from three-point range. USF also had the better of it on the boards, 45-33.

The Start
USF is 2-0 on the season after wins over Illinois-Chicago and Rice, marking the fifth time in eight seasons the Dons have started the season 2-0 under Rex Walters. A win over Fresno State would give the Dons their second 3-0 start under Walters (last in 2014-15). 

Balanced Scoring
USF has had four players score in double-figures in each of its first two games with no player scoring more than 17 points. Tim Derksen (17) took game high scoring honors in the opener at Illinois-Chicago while Devin Watson (11) topped the scoring charts against Rice.

The Bench
USF's reserves are averaging are averaging 36.0 points a game over the first two contests, chipping in 35 points at Illinois-Chicago and 37 against Rice. Ronnie Boyce III came off the bench to score 13 points against Illinois-Chicago and followed with 11 Monday night against Rice. Junior Uche Ofoegbu (10.0) is also averaging in double-figures after two games.

Jumping Right In
USF will play four games in eight days to start the 2015-16 season. Following tonight's game against Rice, the Dons will play at Fresno State on Thursday before returning home to face UC Riverside on Saturday night.

Derksen Doubles Up
Senior guard Tim Derksen recorded his second career double-double in the season-opener at Illinois-Chicago, finishing with 17 points to go along with a career-high 12 rebounds. Derksen finished the 20-14-15 season with a 21-point, 10-rebound performance against Gonzaga in the quarterfinals of the WCC Tournament.

Derksen on USF's 3-Point Charts
Tim Derksen has made 4-of-5 of his 3-point tries over his first two games, improving his career percentage to 40.2 percent (101-for-251) from long distance, good for sixth on USF's all-time career list. Shawn Sykes (1988-90) is USF's all-time leader in 3-point percentage at 44.4 (98-for-218).

USF's Career Three-Point Percentage Leaders
1.    Shawn Sykes (1988-90)    98-218    .444
2.    Danny Cavic (2005-08)    130-295    .440
3,    Avry Holmes (2012-14)    98-223    .439
4.    Kevin Weeks (1990-92)    60-142    .423
5.    Joel DeBortoli (1987-90)    60-142    .423
6.    Tim Derksen (2012    101-251    .402
7.    Gerald Walker (1992-96)    142-359    .395
8.    Shamell Stallworth (1999    153-389    .393
9.    Darrell Tucker (1999-03)    116-301    .385
10.    Tim Owens (1990-92)    65-170    .382

From the Line
After making just 22-of-39 (56.4) of its free throws Friday night at Illinois-Chicago, USF knocked down 10-of-12 free throws (83.3) against Rice. Last season, USF ranked last in the WCC with a 62.9 free throw percentage, which was the lowest mark since the 1985-86 season (62.4).

Shooting 50 Percent
The Dons shot 50.8 percent from the floor in Monday night's win over Rice and are now shooting 44.4 percent after two games this season. USF shot 50 percent or better from the field just eight times all last season and finished fourth in the WCC in field goal percentage at 45.1 percent.

Board Work
USF is +18 in the rebound column after two games. The Dons outrebounded 10 of its 12 non-conference opponents last year but were outrebounded in 15 of its last 20 games of the year against WCC foes.

Dons Picked Seventh in WCC Preseason Poll
USF was picked to finish seventh along with Pacific in the WCC Preseason Coaches Poll. The Dons and Tigers each garnered 32 points, five fewer than Santa Clara, which was picked sixth. Gonzaga and BYU were picked to finish 1-2 in the conference, followed by Pepperdine. Here's a look at the WCC Preseason Coaches Poll...

1.    Gonzaga (9)    81
2.    BYU (1)    73
3.    Pepperdine     62
4.    Saint Mary's    58
5.    Portland    43
6.    Santa Clara    37
7.    Pacific    32
    USF    32
9.    San Diego    17
10.    Loyola Marymount    15

Derksen Selected to All-WCC Preseason Team
Senior guard Tim Derksen, who averaged 12.6 points and 4.5 rebounds a game last season, was named to the All-WCC Preseason Team in a vote of the conference's head coaches. Derksen also led the Dons and ranked 10th in the WCC in three-point field goal percentage at .400 (42-for-105). A very consistent junior season yielded 25 double-figure scoring games, including a pair of season-high 21-point efforts against Hawaii and Gonzaga.

Walters on USF's All-Time Coaching Charts
With 114 wins in seven seasons on the Hilltop, Rex Walters is one of seven coaches in USF history to win a 100 games. He earned his 100th career victory on Nov. 19 of last season against Notre Dame de Namur. He needs one more win to equal Pete Peletta's (1960-66) total of 115. Here's a look where Walters ranks on USF's all-time coaching list.

Coach    Years    W-L    
Bob Gaillard    1971-78    165-57
Phil Woolpert    1950-59    154-74
Phil Mathews    1995-04    139-123
Jim Brovelli    1985-95    131-155
Pete Peletta    1960-66    115-51
Rex Walters    2008-Present    114-112
James Needles    1923-31; 42-44    113-62

The Schedule
Eight of USF's 11 non-conference games will be played at home while two of the Dons non-conference opponents (Eastern Washington and Montana) participated in postseason play a year ago. Three Big West (UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara and CS Northridge) and two Big Sky (Eastern Washington) and  Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (Delaware State and Coppin State) account for seven of the 11 non-conference games. Teams from the Horizon League (Illinois-Chicago), Conference USA (Rice) and the Mountain West (Fresno State) Conferences are also represented on the Dons 2015-16 schedule. First time opponents include Illinois-Chicago, UC Riverside, Coppin State and Cal-State Northridge.

Dons Sign Two Early
USF signed Jimbo Lull, a 6-11 center from Manhattan Beach, Calif. who attends New Hampton (N.H.) School; and Jordan Ratinho, a 6-5 guard from De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif. to national letters of intent in November. Lull attended Rolling Hills Preparatory School in San Pedro, Calif. for three years before transferring to New Hampton School in New Hampshire for his senior season and one post-graduate year.Ratinho averaged 17.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and shot 50 percent from the field last season for the Spartans. As a junior, he was named the EBAL's Co-Player of the Year and was also a third-team All-Metro selection by the San Francisco Chronicle. He played three seasons under Frank Allocco, now USF's associate head coach.