Game 10
San Francisco Dons (5-4, 0-0 WCC) vs. Coppin State Eagles (2-8, 0-0 MEAC)
Friday,  Dec. 18, 2015 • 7:00 p.m. 
War Memorial at The Sobrato Center • San Francisco, Calif.
Series Record: First Meeting
Last Meeting: First Meeting
Video and Audio Stream: TheW.tv (Pat Olson, Play-by-Play; Jim Brovelli, Analyst)
Television: None
Live Stats: USFDons.com

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

USF at a Glance

• Improved to 5-4 overall with a 65-61 victory over CSUN on Dec. 7 in War Memorial at The Sobrato Center...Tim Derksen led all USF scorers with 17 points.
• Return to action on Friday after an 11-day break for final exams to face the Coppin State Eagles...Coppin State is the last of four first-time opponents on the schedule this season (Illinois-Chicago; UC Riverside; CSUN).
• Coppin State is also the second MEAC team the Dons have faced this season after defeating Delaware State, 67-47 on Nov. 29.
• Of the Dons five wins this season, three have been by a combined total of eight points (78-75 at Illinois-Chicago; 58-57 vs. UC Riverside; 65-61 vs. CSUN) while two others have been by a combined total of 47 points (80-54 vs. Rice; 67-47 vs. Delaware State)...were 1-4 in games decided by five points or fewer last season.
• Have not led in three of its four losses and led for only a combined :32 seconds in a loss to Eastern Washington.
• Have trailed at halftime in six of its nine games this season and are 2-4 in those contests...averaging 28.2 points (254 total) and shooting 34.5 percent (86-for-249) in the first half this season compared to 39.2 (353) and 50.2 percent (122-for-243) in the second frame.
• After allowing 81.5 points and 52.6 shooting from the floor against Eastern Washington and Montana, held CSUN to 61 points on 40.7 percent shooting in a 65-61 win on Dec. 7...Dons are holding opponents to 40.7 percent shooting this year - fourth best in the WCC.
• USF is averaging 67.4 points a game while giving up 67.0...Dons have scored 607 total points while opponents have tallied 603.
• Sophomore point guard Devin Watson ranks second in the WCC in scoring average at 18.6 ppg...has been in double-figures in all nine games this season including three 20-point games.
• Senior guard Tim Derksen is averaging 14.7 ppg and 5.9 boards a game...ranks in the WCC's top-10 in both scoring (8th) and rebounding (9th) from his two-guard position.
• Both Watson and Derksen have scored in double-figures in each of the first nine games of the year and are averaging 33.2 ppg this season (299 total) - nearly half of the Dons scoring average of 67.4.
• USF's bench scored 25 points vs. CSUN, it's highest output since tallying 37 vs. Rice...bench is averaging 18.5 points per game this season (167 total).
• After going 22-of-39 from the free throw line in the opener at Illinois-Chicago, USF is 109-for-154 (70.7) over its last eight games...shooting 67.9 percent from the line this season - fifth best in the WCC.
• With 117 wins in seven-plus seasons on the Hilltop, Rex Walters is ranks sixth on USF's all-time career win list among coaches.
• Open West Coast Conference play Monday night at Saint Mary's (8:00 p.m.)...turn around two days later to welcome the Pacific Tigers to the Hilltop on Dec. 23.

Dons' Notebook

Opening Tip
USF (5-4, 0-0 WCC) returns to action following an 11-day break for final exams to host the Coppin State Eagles (2-8, 0-0 MEAC) Friday night in War Memorial at The Sobrato Center. Tip time is 7:00 p.m.. The Dons are coming off a 65-61 victory over CSUN on Dec. 7 on the Hilltop while the Eagles suffered their sixth straight loss on Sunday, dropping a 92-55 decision at Fordham.

Series History with Coppin State
Friday's game marks the first-ever meeting between USF and Coppin State. The Eagles are the last of four first time opponents on USF's schedule this season, including Illinois-Chicago, UC Riverside and CSUN. USF is 5-0 against current MEAC teams, including a67-47 victory over Delaware State on Nov. 29. Dons also own wins over Hampton (69-57; 2010), Morgan State (87-74; 2011) and South Carolina State (91-52; 2013).

WCC Opener Set for Monday ar St. Mary's
USF will open its 64th season of West Coast Conference action Monday night when the Dons travel to Moraga to meet the Saint Mary's Gaels. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. in McKeon Pavilion. The game will mark the earliest conference opener for both teams. USF and Saint Mary's are two of the four charter WCC schools still competing in the conference, along with Santa Clara and Pacific, which rejoined the conference in 2013-14 after previously holding membership from 1952-71. USF has won/shared 15 regular season WCC titles, second only to Gonzaga's 18. The Dons 15 regular season titles came during a 27-year period from 1954-81.

Last Time Out 
Just three days removed from a 32-point road loss at Montana, the Dons were able to regroup and find the resolve to grind their way to a 65-61 victory over the CSUN Matadors on Dec. 7. Tim Derksen led all USF scorers with 17 points while Devin Watson added 14 and Uche Ofoegbu came off the bench to finish with 11 points and nine rebounds in a 29-minute playing stint. Derksen enjoyed one of his better shooting nights of the season, as the senior canned 5-of-8 shots from the field, including 3-of-5 from long distance, to reach double-figures for the ninth consecutive game. Neither team shot the particularly well, as the Dons finished at 42 percent for the game compared to the Matadors at 40.7 percent. Both teams made seven three-pointers and the Matadors held a 38-30 advantage on the boards. After leading 29-26 at the break, USF extended its lead to 45-37, however, the Matadors next six points to bring CSUN to within one point at 45-44 with 7:54 remaining. USF's lead was just two point at 63-61 but Montray Clemons gave the Dons some breathing room when he knocked down a pair of free throws with :11 left. Landon Drew's uncontested three-pointer missed its mark with :03 left and the Dons had their fifth win of the season.

The Wins and Losses
Of the five victories, three have been by a combined total of eight points (78-75 at Illinois-Chicago; 58-57 vs. UC Riverside; 65-61 CSUN) while two others have been by a combined total of 47 points (80-54; Rice; 67-47 vs. Delaware State). The Dons never led in losses to Fresno State, UC Santa Barbara or Montana and led for only :32 seconds in a loss to Eastern Washington.

The Half of It
USF has trailed at haftime in six of nine games and are 2-4 in those contests. The Dons are averaging 28.2 points (254 total) while shooting 34.5 (86-for-249) from the floor over the first 20 minutes of games this season compared to the second half, when USF is scoring at a 39.2 clip (353 total) and shooting 50.2 percent (122-for-243) from the floor.

Dons Defensively
After allowing 81.5 points and 52.6 shooting from the floor in losses to Eastern Washington and Montana, the Dons limited CSUN to 61 points and 40.7 percent shooting in its last game. In five wins this season, USF is allowing just 58.8 points and 36.0 (111-for-308) shooting from the floor. In four losses, opponents are scoring at a 77.2 clip and shooting 46.8 (110-for-235) from the floor..

From the Floor
USF has shot 50 percent of better in two games this season (50.8 vs. Rice; 55.8 vs. Montana) and is now shooting 42.3 percent from the floor on the season, which ranks sixth in the WCC. USF shot 50 percent or better from the field just eight times all last season but finished fourth in the WCC in field goal percentage at 45.1 percent.

Toeing the Line
After making just 22-of-39 (56.4) of its free throws at Illinois-Chicago, USF has knocked down 109-of-154 (70.7) of its free throws over its last eight games and is now shooting 67.9 percent from the line this season -- fifth 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). Devin Watson ranks ninth in the WCC in free throw percentage at 79.8 (39-for-49) percent.

From Distance
After making a season high nine 3-pointers against Delaware State, USF have managed to connect on 17-of-61 (27.8) of its long distance tries over its last three games. The Dons are now shooting 31.3 percent (60-for-192) from three-point range on the year, which ranks seventh in the WCC. Sophomore Devin Watson tops the team in 3's made (16) while Tim Derksen leads the team in three-point accurary (40.0; 14-for-35).

Board Work
USF has outrebounded five of its first nine opponents and is +39 in the rebound column on the year. USF narrowly lost the battle of the boards to Fresno State (35-38), UC Santa Barbara (35-34) and Montana (33-35) and were outrebounded by CSUN (30-38). The Dons are averaging 39.2 boards a game, which ranks fourth in the WCC and are third in rebound margin (+4.3). Five players - Dont'e Reynolds (6.6), Tim Derksen (5.9), Montray Clemons (4.3), Nate Renfro (4.3) and Matt McCarthy (4.3) - are averaging at least 4.0 boards per game.

Assists, Turnovers and Steals
USF has turned the ball over at least 15 times in five of the nine games this season and are averaging 14.4 turnovers a game, compared to the opponents at 10.9 per game. USF ranks 10th in the WCC in turnover margin (3.56) and ninth in assist-turnover ratio (0.9). Of the Dons 208 total field goals, 102 (54.3) have come via an assist. USF is also averaging 4.8 steals a game to rank 10th in the WCC.

The Bench
USF's bench scored 25 points in a 65-61 win over CSUN, which was its highest production since contributing 37 in the second game of the season against Rice. USF's reserves are averaging 18.5 ppg this season (167 total), compared to the opponent's at 22.0 (198).

High-Scoring 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 33.2 ppg (299 total) and have led the team in scoring in all nine games this season. The duo accounts for 49.2 percent (299 of 607) of the Dons point production this season.

Watson Ranks Second in WCC Scoring
Eight games into the season sophomore point guard Devin Watson is averaging 18.6 points a game, which ranks second in the WCC behind Gonzaga's Kyle Wiltjer's 20.5 ppg average. Watson has been in double-figures in all nine games this season, including three 20-point contests (24 at Fresno State; 27 vs. UC Riverside; 25 vs. Eastern Washington). He is also averaging 5.1 assists per game (6th WCC).

Derksen Joins 1,000-Point Club
With his 21-point performance against UC Santa Barbara, senior Tim Derksen became the 35th player in USF history to reach the 1,000-point mark for his career. Derksen now has 1,062 career points, which ranks 29th on USF's all-time scoring list. He needs 13 more points to tie James Hardy (1,075; 1975-79) for 28th place and 21 more to tie Manny Quezada (1,083; 2006-09) for 27th.

Derksen on USF's 3-Point Charts
Tim Derksen has made 14-for-35 (.400) of his 3-point tries over his first nine games and is now shooting 39.5 percent (111-for-281) from long distance for his career, which ranks t-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).

Scouting Report

About Coppin State
Will bring a 2-8 overall record into Friday's game at USF…have lost six straight after dropping a 92-55 decision Sunday at Fordham…have wins over Goldey-Beacom College and Chestnut Hill College…have also played Iowa, Kansas State and will play at Cal on Sunday…three players are scoring in double figures, led by Terry Harris, Jr., who tops the team in both scoring (12.6) and rebounding (7.9)…he has five double-doubles in eight games this season…junior guard Christian Kessee is averaging 11.2 points an outing…he has made two or more 3-pointers in six games on the year…James Sylvester is coming off the bench to average 10.4 points and 4.6 rebounds…Joshua Treadwell is also giving Coppin State solid production off the bench with a 9.3 scoring average…Eagles are grabbing 15.3 offensive rebounds a game and lead the MEAC in overall rebounding at 38.2 per game….were 8-23 overall and 6-10 (9th) in the MEAC last season…under the direction of second-year head coach Michael Grant, who served as the head coach at Stillman College for six seasons…he also followed the legendary Ben Jobe at Southern University where he served as head coach from 2003-05.

Fan Experience

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.
 
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
Fans 21 and older can enjoy beverages and catered food options before and during designated games during the season in the Hilltop Club Level. Located in the upper mezzanine level on the south side of War Memorial at The Sobrato Center, The Hilltop Club Level 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.