Game 5
San Francisco Dons (3-1, 0-0 WCC) vs. UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (1-2, 0-0 Big West)
Wednesday,  Nov. 25, 2015 • 7:30 p.m.
War Memorial at The Sobrato Center • San Francisco, Calif.
Series Record: USF 23-12
Last Meeting: UCSB 76-65 (Nov. 23, 2009)
Audio/Video Streaming: TheW.tv (Pat Olson, Play-by-Play; Jim Brovelli, Analyst)
Television: None
Live Stats: USFDons.com

Complete USF Game Notes (PDF) | Complete UCSB Game Notes (PDF)

USF at a Glance

• Now 3-1 on the season after Saturday night's 58-57 last-second win over UC Riverside...Tim Derksen's layup with 3.7 seconds remaining lifted the Dons to the win...Devin Watson scored a career-high 27 points.
• Meet UC Santa Barbara Wednesday night in War Memorial at the Sobrato Center..marks the second of three games against Big West schools (UC Riverside 11/21; UC Santa Barbara 11/25; CS Northridge 12/7) and the first game of a four-year home-and-home series between the two schools.
• Two schools last met on Nov. 23, 2009 with UC Santa Barbara coming away with a 76-65 victory in Goleta.
• After opening the season with a win over Omaha, UC Santa Barbara has dropped its last two games at Cal (85-67) and vs. Oregon State (71-59).
• Will play six of its last seven non-conference games at home prior to opening WCC play on Dec. 21 at Saint Mary's...last non-conference road game is slated for Dec. 4 at Montana.
• Two of the Dons three wins this season have come by a combined total of four points (78-75 at Illinois-Chicago; 58-57 vs. UC Riverside)...also own a 26-point win over Rice (80-54)...were 1-4 in games decided by five points or fewer last season.
• Sophomore point guard Devin Watson has bettered his career high point total in each of his last two games...after scoring 24 points at Fresno State, dropped 27 on UC Riverside on Saturday...he leads the Dons and ranks second in the WCC in scoring average at 19.5 ppg.
• Senior guard Tim Derksen recorded his second double-double of the season and third of his career Saturday vs. UC Riverside, finishing with 11 points and a career-high 13 rebounds...he is averaging 12.5 ppg and a team-best 8.5 boards a game five contests into the season.
• Both Watson and Derksen have scored in double-figures in each of the first four games of the year and are averaging 32.0 ppg this season.
• After contributing 36.0 points a game against Illinois-Chicago and Rice, USF's bench has scored just 12 points in its last two games at Fresno State (12) and vs. UC Riverside (0).
• After going 22-of-39 from the free throw line in the opener at Illinois-Chicago, USF is 48-for-59 (81.3) over its last three games...shooting 71.4 percent from the line this season - second best in the WCC.
• Have outrebounded three of its first opponents, narrowly losing the battle of the boards to Fresno State (35-38)...are +26 in the rebound column and rank fourth in the WCC in rebound margin (+6.5).
• Shot a season-low 32.1 percent from the field in the win over UC Riverside and are shooting 40.9 percent from the floor this season.
• With 115 wins in seven-plus seasons on the Hilltop, Rex Walters is tied for sixth place with Pete Peletta (1960-66) on USF's all-time career win list among coaches.
• Were picked seventh along with Pacific in the WCC's Preseason Coaches Poll...both teams received 32 points.
• Will return to action Sunday afternoon against Delaware State in War Memorial at The Sobrato Center.

Notables

Opening Tip
USF (3-1, 0-0 WCC) plays the second of four consecutive home games on Wednesday when the Dons play host to UC Santa Barbara (1-2, 0-0 Big West). Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. in War Memorial at The Sobrato Center. The contest is the second game of a doubleheader, with the USF women's team getting things started against North Dakota at 5:00 p.m. USF is coming off a 58-57 victory over UC Riverside on Saturday while UC Santa Barbara fell at home to Oregon State, 71-59.

USF-UC Santa Barbara Series History
In a series that dates back to the 1960-61 season, USF leads the all-time series with UC Santa Barbara, 23-12. However, the Dons are just 2-6 against the Gauchos following a stretch which saw USF win 15 of 16 games in the series from 1974-75 to 2000-01. The two schools last met on Nov. 23, 2009 in Goleta, with UC Santa Barbara claiming a 76-65 win. USF won the last meeting between the two schools here on The Hilltop, 73-72 on Nov. 24, 2008, as the Dons used a late 15-0 run to come away with the one-point victory. UC Santa Barbara was a member of the West Coast Conference from 1964-69.

Last Time Out
Tim Derksen's driving layup off an assist from Devin Watson with 3.7 seconds remaining lifted USF to a 58-57 victory over UC Riverside Saturday night on the Hilltop. Derksen's game-winner capped a furious USF comeback which saw the Dons rally from a nine-point, 44-35 deficit with 7:54 remaining. The Dons won the game despite shooting just 32.1 percent from the field and survived 11 three-pointers by UC Riverside.USF never led in the second half until Derksen's game-winner. Watson scored a career-high 27 points, 16 of which came in the second half, including 14 over the final 7:17 of the game. Derksen posted his second double-double of the season, finishing with 11 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. After scoring just 35 points in the first 27:54 of the game, USF scored 23 points over the final 7:17 of the contest.

Close Calls
USF has won two of its three games this season by a combined total of four points, winning 78-75 at Illinois-Chicago and 58-57 vs. UC Riverside. The Dons also own a 26-point, 80-54 victory over Rice. USF played just five games last season which were decided by five points or fewer and were 1-4 in those contests.

Home for Awhile
Tonight's game against UC Santa Barbara continues a stretch that will see the Dons play four straight and six of their next seven non-conference games at home leading up to the WCC opener at Saint Mary's on Dec. 21. The Dons final non-conference road game will take plce on Dec. 4 at Montana.

The Dons Backcourt
USF's starting guard combination of sophomore Devin Watson and Tim Derksen is shaping up to be one of the best guard tandems in the WCC.  The two players have combined to score 38.0 ppg (128 total) and have led the team in scoring in all four games this season. Watson leads the team and ranks second in the WCC with a 19.5 ppg average while Derksen is scoring at a 12.5 ppg clip. Watson also ranks fourth in the conference in assist average (5.8) while Derksen is ranks sixth in the conference in rebound average (8.5) from his two-guard position.

Watson Tops Scoring Charts
Four games into the season sophomore point guard Devin Watson leads the Dons and ranks second in the WCC in scoring with a 19.5 point per game average. He has bettered his career-high scoring output each of the last two games against Fresno State (27) and UC Riverside (27). His previous career high was 21, scored last season at Portland.  He is also averaging 5.8 assists per game and has made 78.1 percent (25-for-32) of his free throws on the year. He was 14-of-16 from the stripe on Saturday vs. UC Riverside.

Derksen's Doubles
Senior guard Tim Derksen recorded his second double-double of the season and third of his career Saturday night against UC Riverside, finishing with 11 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. He also had a double-double in the season-opener at Illinois-Chicago (17-12). He has recorded three double-doubles in his last five game dating back to last season after finishing the 2014-15 campaign with a 21-point, 10-rebound performance against Gonzaga in the quarterfinals of the WCC Tournament.

From the Line
After making just 22-of-39 (56.4) of its free throws Friday night at Illinois-Chicago, USF has knocked down 48-of-59 (81.3) of its free throws over its last three games and is now shooting 71.4 percent from the line this season -- second best in the WCC. 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).

From the Floor
USF endured its coldest shooting night of the season on Saturday vs. UC Riverside, managing to make just 17-of-53 (32.1) shots from the floor. The Dons have shot 50 percent in one game this season (Rice; 50.8) and are shooting 40.9 percent from the field at the four-game mark of the season, which ranks sixth in the WCC. 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 has outrebounded three of its first four opponents and is +26 in the rebound column after four 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.

The Bench
After averaging 36.0 points a game over the first two contests at Illinois-Chicago (35) and vs. Rice (37), USF's bench has scored just 12 points in its last two games at Fresno State (12) and UC Riverside (0). Junior Ronnie Boyce III ranks as the Dons top scoring reserve, averaging 7.5 ppg off the bench in the early going.

War Memorial at The Sobrato Center
USF plays its second game this evening in the newly named War Memorial at The Sobrato Center. USF received the largest individual gift ($15 million) in the history of the University from John A. and Susan Sobrato, which will the athletic department's facility master plan, which includes significant rennovations to the basketball facility and the construction of a practice facility.

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.

The Newcomers
The Dons count a pair of junior college transfers, one graduate transfer, one sophomore and seven freshmen among its list of 11 newcomers that dot this year's roster. Three of the players are walk-ons while only one of the 11 (graduate transfer Sean Grennan) has previous Division I experience.

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.

Scouting Report

A Look at UC Santa Barbara
Stand 1-2 after three games…opened the season with 60-59 win at Nebraska-Omaha then dropped two straight at Cal (85-67) and to Oregon State (71-59)…led in scoring by Michael Bryson, who is averaging 18.5 points per game…ranks as UCSB's 24th all-time leading scorer with 1,080 points…also getting good production out of forward John Green, who is scoring 16.7 points a game…were picked to finish second in the Big West pre-season poll behind UC Irvine…finished last season with a 19-14 overall record and an 11-5 mark in the Big West Conference…lost in overtime to UC Irvine in the semifinals of the Big West Tournament and was awarded a bid to the College Basketball Invitational…Bob Williams is in his 19th season as head coach at UC Santa Barbara…his tenure is the longest in school history and longest of any coach west of the Mississippi River, one year longer than Mark Few at Gonzaga and Steve Fisher at San Diego State…he needs 11 more victories to reach the 300-win plateau.

Fan Information

Ticket Information
Individual game tickets for all USF home games this season are available on line at USFDons.com or by calling (415) 422-2USF. General admission tickets are available for as low as $10.

SF-Marin Food Bank and St. Anthony Foundation Donation Game
For Wednesday night's game against UC Santa Barbara and Sunday's game against Delaware State, fans can donate a new pair of socks or a non-perishable canned food item for a discounted general admission ticket of $5. Non-perishable food items include but are not limited to canned fruits and vegetables, canned tuna or meat, soup, chili, beans, cereal and granola bars. No glass or perishable items, please. All donations will be distributed to over 450 community partners of the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank and will be used to prepare meals for those in need or to supplement larger deliveries. For those people who live on the street, access to shoes and socks is often limited. Wet feet, poor fitting shoes and constant standing can quickly take its toll on the less fortunate citizens of San Francisco. With the cold and wet winter months approaching, new socks make a big difference to people living on the streets. All socks that are collected will be donated to the St. Anthony Foundation in support of the organization's Socks in the City initiative.
 
Parking Information
Parking is available free of charge two hours prior to tip-off until one hour after the conclusion of the game in any campus lot, with the exception of designated green parking spots and the top of Hayes-Healy garage on Golden Gate Avenue adjacent to the gymnasium.
 
The Hilltop Club Level
USF Athletics is pleased to announce the opening of The Hilltop, a new club level where fans 21 and older can enjoy beverages and catered food options before and during designated games during the 2014-15 season. Located in the upper mezzanine level on the south side of War Memorial at The Sobrato Center, The Hilltop will open one hour before tipoff and will remain accessible throughout the game. Beer, wine, soft drinks and catered food options will be available to all fans 21 years of age and older. Admission to the The Hilltop is priced at $25 per game. Season passes for all games with the exception of designated premium games may also be purchased for $250. Food and drink options are extra. The cost does not include a game ticket.