Game Data
San Francisco Dons (6-5, 0-0 WCC) vs. Pacific Tigers (2-8, 1-0 WCC)
Wednesday,  Dec. 23, 2015 • 7:00 p.m. 
War Memorial at The Sobrato Center • San Francisco, Calif.
Series Record: USF leads 65-33
Last Meeting: March 6, 2015 (USF 62-58)
Audio and Video Stream: TheW.tv (Pat Olson, Play-by-Play; Jim Brovelli, Analyst)
Television: None
Live Tweets: @USFDonsMBB

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

Opening Tip
USF (6-5, 0-1 WCC) returns to War Memorial at The Sobrato Center to play host to the Pacific Tigers (2-8, 1-0 WCC) in a West Coast Conference game on Wednesday beginning at 7:00 p.m. The Dons are coming off a 74-52 loss at Saint Mary's on Monday while the Tigers earned a 73-72 overtime win over Santa Clara in Stockton.

USF at a Glance

• Dropped its WCC opener Monday night at Saint Mary's 74-52 to fall to 6-5 on the season...junior Uche Ofoegbu scored a team high 13 points for the Dons while Tim Derksen grabbed 10 rebounds.
• Won all three games against Pacific last season, including a 62-58 victory in the first round of the WCC Championships in Las Vegas...Dons have won five straight overall vs. the Tigers.
• USF and Pacific are two of four charter members of the WCC along with Santa Clara and Saint Mary's.
• Of the Dons six wins this season, four have been by a combined total of 11 points (78-75 at Illinois-Chicago; 58-57 vs. UC Riverside; 65-61 vs. CSUN; 96-93 vs. Coppin State) 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 four of its five losses and led for only a combined :32 seconds in a loss to Eastern Washington.
• Are 5-2 at home this season and are 13-10 over its last 23 home games.
• Have trailed at halftime in eight of its 11 games this season and are 3-5 in those contests...averaging 28.8 points (317 total) and shooting 35.3 percent (109-for-308) in the first half this season compared to 39.8 (438) and 49.0 percent (149-for-304) after intermission.
• Shot a season-low 28.3 percent from the floor at Saint Mary's...now shooting 42.2 from the field this season, which ranks sixth in the WCC.
• Averaging 39.1 rebounds per game - third best in the WCC...have four players averaging at least 4.0 rpg.
• Junior guard Uche Ofoegbu has scored in double figures in three straight games and is now averaging 6.8 ppg and shooting 58.3 percent from the field.
• Sophomore Devin Watson (8) and senior Tim Derksen (2) combined for just 10 points on 3-for-25 shooting from the floor at Saint Mary's...the duo entered the game averaging 35.4 points an outing.
• Watson is now averaging 18.7 this season, which ranks third in the WCC...he has been in double-figures in all 10 games this season including four 20-point games.he has four 20-point games this season, including a career-high 31-point effort vs. Coppin State.
• Senior guard Tim Derksen is averaging 14.3 ppg and 6.3 boards a game...he ranks 11th in the WCC in scoring and eighth in rebounding from his two-guard position.
• The duo of Watson and Derksen is averaging 33.0 ppg to rank as form WCC's highest-scoring backcourt...they account for 48 percent of USF's season point total (363 of 755).
• USF's bench scored 25 points at Saint Mary's and now is averaging 19.0 points per game this season (210 total).
• With 118 wins in seven-plus seasons on the Hilltop, Rex Walters is ranks sixth on USF's all-time career win list among coaches.

The Matchup

Series History with Pacific
In a series that dates back to the 1911-12 season, USF leads the all-time series with Pacific, 65-34. The Dons swept last year's season series from the Tigers, winning 77-71 in Stockton on Dec. 28, 65-55 on Feb. 28 in San Francisco and 62-58 in the WCC Championships in Las Vegas. USF has won five straight in the series, however, Pacific holds a 10-8 edge in the last 18 games in the series dating back to the 2000-01 season. Two of the charter members of the WCC, USF and Pacific met 44 times as conference foes from 1952-71, with the Dons holding a 30-14 advantage.

Last Year's Meetings With Pacific
USF opened West Coast Conference play with a 77-71 victory at Pacific on Dec. 27 in Stockton. 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.
 
USF completed the season sweep of Pacific with a 65-55 victory on the Hilltop on Feb. 28. The two teams were tied at 40 with 13:18 left in the game when USF went on a 9-2 run to seize control of the contest and build a 49-42 advantage with 10:11 remaining. Kruize Pinkins scored a game-high 18 points for USF while Mark Tollefsen (14), Devin Watson (12) and Tim Derksen (10) also reached double figures. USF took advantage of 18 Pacific turnovers which led to 24 points and also managed to score 36 points in the paint against a large Tiger frontline.

The two teams met for a third time in the first round of the WCC Championships on March 6, with USF scoring a 62-58 victory in Las Vegas. Kruize Pinkins and Tim Derksen each scored 14 points while Devin Watson and Mark Tollefsen added 13 and 10 respectively. The Dons won the game despite shooting 40 percent from the field, including 26.9 from distance and being outrebounded, 46-31.

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 in 2013-14 after previously holding membership from 1952-71. USF has won/shared 15 regular season WCC titles, second most in league history behind Gonzaga's 18. 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.

Scouting Report

About Pacific
Stand 2-8 on the season but are coming off a 73-72 overtime victory over Santa Clara Monday night…Alec Kobre's turnaround 3-pointer from 25-feet out provided the game-winner for the Tigers at the Spanos Center…Pacific erased a 12-point Bronco lead with just under eight minutes to play to force the overtime period…Ray Bowles scored a team-high 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting in the win…Kobre leads the Tigers in scoring with a 16.3 ppg average…Stockton native T.J. Wallace is scoring at a 12.0 clip while Bowles is averaging 12.9 per outing…Tigers lost three games by three points or fewer to start the season…playing under the direction of interim head coach Mike Burns, who took over for Ron Verlin on Dec. 11…Burns served on San Diego's staff last season and also was the head coach at Eastern Washington from 2004-07.

Dons' Notebook

WCC's Highest-Scoring Backcourt
USF's starting guard combination of sophomore Devin Watson and senior Tim Derksen has combined to average 33.0 ppg (363 total) points a game this season to rank as the WCC's highest-scoring backcourt., nearly 6.0 ppg higher than BYU's duo of Nick Emery-Kyle Collinsworth (28.5; 285 total). Either Watson or Derksen have led the team in scoring 10 of 11 games this season. 

Watson Ranks Second in WCC Scoring
Sophomore point guard Devin Watson is averaging 18.7 points a game, which ranks third in the WCC behind Santa Clara's Jared Bownridge (20.2) and Gonzaga's Kyle Wiltjer (19.7). Watson has been in double-figures in 10 of 11 games this season, including four 20-point contests (24 at Fresno State; 27 vs. UC Riverside; 25 vs. Eastern Washington; 31 vs. Coppin State). He is also averaging 5.1 assists per game to rank sixth in the WCC.

The Home Record
USF is 5-2 at home this season and is 13-10 over its last 23 home games. USF is averging 72.0 ppg and shooting 46.7 percent from the floor in seven home games this season.

Lineups
USF employed its third starting lineup of the season vs. Coppin State, as Uche Ofoegbu replaced Chase Foster at the three position. Ofoegbu responded with a career-high 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor. Devin Watson, Tim Derksen and Dont'e Reynolds have started all 11 games while Nate Renfro has started 10 of 11. Montray Clemons also drew a start at Montana.

The Wins and Losses
Of the six victories, four have been by a combined total of 11 points (78-75 at Illinois-Chicago; 58-57 vs. UC Riverside; 65-61 CSUN; 96-93 vs. Coppin State) 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, Montana or Saint Mary's and led for only :32 seconds in a loss to Eastern Washington.

The Half of It
USF has trailed at haftime in eight of 11 games and is 3-5 in those contests. The Dons are averaging 28.8 points (317 total) while shooting 35.3 (109-for-308) from the floor over the first 20 minutes of games this season compared to after intermission when USF is scoring at a 39.8 clip (438 total) and shooting 49.0 percent (149-for-304) from the floor.

Offensively
USF is averaging 68.6 ppg, which ranks eighth in the WCC. The Dons scored a season-high 96 points in an overtime win over Coppin State but managed to score just 52 in a loss at Saint Mary's. Have scored fewer than 70 points in three of the last four games and in six games total this season. The duo of Devin Watson and Tim Derksen have accounted for 48 percent (363 of 755) of the Dons point production this season.

Dons Defensively
USF has allowed 78.2 points (391 total) a game in its last five games against Eastern Washington (81), Montana (82), CSUN (61), Coppin State (93) and Saint Mary's (74). The Dons are allowing 70.0 ppg this season, which ranks sixth in the WCC. Opponents are shooting 41.8 percent, including 37.6 percent from long distance, against the Dons this season.

From the Floor
USF shot a season low 28.3 from the field Monday night at Saint Mary's, dropping the season shooting percentage to 42.2, which ranks sixth in the WCC. The Dons have shot 50 percent of better in three games this season (50.8 vs. Rice; 55.8 vs. Montana; 55.0 vs. Coppin State). 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 143-of-206 (69.4) of its free throws over its last 10 games and is now shooting 67.3 percent from the line this season -- fifth best in the WCC. Tim Derksen (78.6) and Devin Watson (78.5) rank eighth and ninth respectively among all WCC players in free throw percentage. 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 Distance
After making a season high nine 3-pointers against Delaware State, USF has managed to connect on 31-of-98 (31.6) of its long distance tries over its last five games. The Dons are now shooting 32.3 percent (74-for-229) from three-point range on the year, which ranks eighth in the WCC. Sophomore Devin Watson tops the team in 3's made (19) while Tim Derksen leads the team in three-point accurary (39.0; 16-for-41).

Board Work
USF has outrebounded six of its first 11 opponents and is +46 in the rebound column on the year. The Dons are averaging 39.1 boards a game, which ranks third in the WCC and are fourth in rebound margin (+4.2). Five players - Dont'e Reynolds (6.4), Tim Derksen (6.3), Montray Clemons (4.2) and Matt McCarthy (4.1) - are averaging at least 4.0 boards per game.

Assists, Turnovers and Steals
USF has turned the ball over at least 15 times in six of the 11 games this season and are averaging 14.3 turnovers a game, compared to the opponents at 10.9 per game. USF ranks 10th in the WCC in turnover margin (3.36) and ninth in assist-turnover ratio (0.8). Of the Dons 258 total field goals, 132 (51.1) have come via an assist. USF is also averaging 4.7 steals a game to rank 10th in the WCC.

The Bench
USF's bench scored 25 points Monday night against Saint Mary's. USF's reserves are averaging 19.0 ppg this season (210 total), compared to the opponent's at 22.7 (250).

Derksen Joins 1,000-Point Club
With 1,087 career points, senior Tim Derksen is tied for 28th on USF's all-time scoring list with Shamell Stallworth (1999-03) and needs 16 more to tie Alan Wiggins, Jr. (1,103; 2003-07) for 25th.

Derksen on USF's 3-Point Charts
Tim Derksen has made 16-for-41 (.390) of his 3-point tries this season and is now shooting 39.3 percent (113-for-287) from long distance for his career, which ranks t-seventh 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).

Game 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.