Game 9
San Francisco Dons (4-4, 0-0 WCC) vs. CSUN Matadors (2-6, 0-0 Big West)
Monday,  Dec. 7, 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)

USF at a Glance

• Now 4-4 on the season after Friday night's 82-50 loss at Montana...have lost two straight games for the first time this season.
• Face the CSUN Matadors for the first time ever on Monday...CSUN is the third of four first-time opponents on the schedule this season (Illinois-Chicago; UC Riverside; Coppin State).
• Are 1-1 against Big West teams this season, defeating UC Riverside (58-57) and falling to UC Santa Barbara (61-68).
• Friday night's 32-point loss at Montana was the Dons' largest margin of defeat since suffering a 39-point, 104-65 loss at Arizona State in the 2009-10 season.
• Of the Dons four wins this season, two have been by a combined total of four points (78-75 at Illinois-Chicago; 58-57 vs. UC Riverside) 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 eight games this season and are 2-4 in those contests...averaging 28.5 points (225 total) and shooting 34.7 percent (77-for-222) in the first half this season.
• Have allowed 81.5 points a game and 52.6 shooting over its last two games against Eastern Washington and Montana...last two opponents are 22-for-51 (.431) from long distance, compared to USF at 23.3 (10-for-43).
• Shuffled the lineup for the first time this season vs. Montana with Montray Clemons replacing Nate Renfro in the four position.
• Sophomore point guard Devin Watson ranks second in the WCC in scoring average at 19.1 ppg...has been in double-figures in all eight games this season including three 20-point games.
• Senior guard Tim Derksen is averaging 14.4 ppg and 6.5 boards a game...ranks in the WCC's top-10 in both scoring (10th) and rebounding (9th) from his two-guard position.
• Both Watson and Derksen have scored in double-figures in each of the first eight games of the year and are averaging 33.5 ppg this season (268 total) - nearly half of the Dons scoring average of 67.8.
• After scoring a combined 72 points in the first two games of the season, USF's bench has scored a total of 70 points in the last six games (11.7)..bench is averaging 17.7 points per game this season (142 total).
• After going 22-of-39 from the free throw line in the opener at Illinois-Chicago, USF is 93-for-130 (71.5) over its last seven games...shooting 68.0 percent from the line this season - fifth best in the WCC.
• With 116 wins in seven-plus seasons on the Hilltop, Rex Walters is ranks sixth on USF's all-time career win list among coaches.
• After the CSUN game, will be off for the 11 days for final exams before returning to action on Dec. 18 against Coppin State...WCC opener set for Dec. 21 at Saint Mary's.

Notables

Opening Tip
USF (4-4, 0-0 WCC) will look to snap its two-game losing streak on Monday when the Dons play host to the CSUN Matadors (2-6, 0-0 Big West) in War Memorial at The Sobrato Center. The Dons are coming off a 82-50 loss at Montana on Friday while the Matadors have lost four in a row, most recently to Pepperdine, 70-55, Saturday night in Northridge.

Series History with CSUN
Monday's game marks the first-ever meeting between USF and CSUN. With Monday's game, the Dons will have played every Division I school in California. CSUN is the third of four first time opponents on USF's schedule this season, including Illinois-Chicago, UC Riverside and Coppin State. USF is 1-1 against Big West schools this season, defeating UC Riverside (58-57) and losing to UC Santa Barbara (68-61).

Last Time Out 
After leading by just four points at halftime, Montana outscored USF 54-26 after intermission and coasted to an 82-60 win over the Dons Friday night in Missoula. It was USF's worse loss since suffering a 104-65 defeat at Arizona State on Nov. 20, 2009. Martin Breunig scored 24 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the floor while guard Walter Wright added 20 to pace the Grizzlies, which shot 54.2 percent from the field on the night. Devin Watson scored 15 points, Tim Derksen finished with 14 and Nate Renfro added 10 to lead the Dons. USF missed its first six shots and fell behind 9-0 less than five minutes into the game and trailed by as many as 14 points at 26-12 with 4:50 left before the break.However, the Dons outscored the Grizzlies 12-2 over the last 4:50 of the first half and trailed by just four points at the break, 28-24. Montana's led 30-27 early in the second half before outscoring USF 36-11 over the next 11 minutes to open a 28-point, 66-38 lead with 6:36 left. Montana led by as many as 36 points at 82-46 with 2:27 remaining in the game.

The Wins and Losses
Of the four victories, two have been by a combined total of four points (78-75 at Illinois-Chicago; 58-57 vs. UC Riverside) 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.

Lineups
USF altered its starting lineup for the first time this season at Montana, as senior Montray Clemons replaced freshman Nate Renfro at the four position. It was Clemons' first career start.

Call it Even
Through the first eight games of the season, USF has scored the same amount of points (542) that it has given up and have a 4-4 record.

Dons Defensively
After holding Delaware State to a season-low 47 points on 33.3 percent shooting from the floor, the Dons have allowed 81.5 points and 52.6 shooting from the floor in losses to Eastern Washington and Montana. Montana shot a season-best 54.2 percent, including 62.5 percent in the second half. The Dons are allowing opponents 67.8 points and 40.7 percent shooting from the floor this season.

From the Floor
The Dons shot a season-best 55.8 percent from the field in a loss to Eastern Washington, only to follow up with a 30.9 percent shooting night at Montana. the Dons are now are 42.3 percent from the field for the season 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.

Toeing the Line
After making just 22-of-39 (56.4) of its free throws at Illinois-Chicago, USF has knocked down 93-of-130 (71.5) of its free throws over its last seven games and is now shooting 68.0 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).

From Distance
After making a season high nine 3-pointers against Delaware State, USF have managed to connect on just 10-of-43 (23.2) of its long distance tries over its last two games. On the flipside, USF's last two opponents are shooting 43.1 percent (22-for-51) from long distance. The Dons are now shooting 30.5 percent (53-for-174) from three-point range on the year -- seventh-best in the WCC. Sophomore Devin Watson tops the team in 3's made (15) while Chase Foster leads the team in three-point accurary (40.6; 13-for-32).

Board Work
USF has outrebounded four of its first eight opponents and is +47 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 are averaging 40.4 boards a game, which ranks third in the WCC. USF also ranks fourth in the conference in rebound margin (+5.9). Five players - Dont'e Reynolds (6.8), Tim Derksen (6.5), Montray Clemons (4.5) and Matt McCarthy (4.1) - are averaging at least 4.0 boards per game.

The Hands Numbers
The Dons have commited 17 turnovers in each of its last two games against Eastern Washington and Montana. USF has turned the ball over at least 15 times in five of the eight games this season and has committed 118 turnovers in seven game (14.7) compared to the opponents, which have made 81 on the year. USF ranks 10th in the WCC in turnover margin (4.62) and ninth in assist-turnover ratio (1.0). Of the Dons 187 total field goals, 102 (54.5) have come via an assist. USF is also averaging 4.3 steals a game to rank 10th in the WCC.

The Bench
USF's bench scored a combined 72 points over the first two games of the season vs. Illinois-Chicago (35) and vs. Rice (37), but has been outscored 129-70 in its last six contests at Fresno State (12-24), UC Riverside (0-19), UC Santa Barbara (19-20), Delaware State (13-33), Eastern Washington (13-11) and Montana (13-22). USF's reserves are averaging 17.7 ppg this season (142 total), compared to the opponent's at 22.1 (177).

Only the Half of It
USF has been plagued by slow starts in each of its last six games. The Dons have scored just 146 first half points over its last six games (24.3) against Fresno State (27), UC Riverside (23), UC Santa Barbara (20), Delaware State (23), Eastern Washington (29) and Montana (24-28). USF has trailed at haftime in six of eight games and are averaging 28.1 points (225 total) while shooting 34.7 (77-for-222) from the floor over the first 20 minutes of games this season.

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 34.1 ppg (267 total) and have led the team in scoring in all eight games this season. The duo accounts for 49.2 percent (267 of 542) 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 19.1 points a game, which ranks second in the WCC behind Gonzaga's Kyle Wiltjer's 21.3 ppg average. Watson has been in double-figures in all seven games this season, including three 20-point contests (24 at Fresno State; 27 vs. UC Riverside; 25 vs. Eastern Washington). He is also averaging 5.6 assists per game (6th WCC). Watson is averaging 8.3 ppg in the first half of games and 11.4 over the final 20 minutes.

War Memorial at The Sobrato Center
On Nov. 18, USF announced the largest individual gift ($15 million) in the history of the University from John A. and Susan Sobrato, which will support the athletic department's facility master plan, which includes significant rennovations to the basketball facility and the construction of a practice facility. USF's basketball facility, first opened in 1958 as War Memorial Gymnasium, is now referred to as War Memorial at The Sobrato Center.

Scouting Report

About CSUN
Dropped to 2-6 overall after Saturday night's 70-55 home loss to Pepperdine…loss was the Matadors fourth in a row…own wins over Wright State and Vanguard…have been picked to finish seventh in the Big West Conference this season, along with UC Davis…averaging 66.0 points a game…shooting 42.2 percent from the field and just 28.4 percent from long distance…three Matadors are averaging in double figures, led by Micheal Warren's 13.5 points per game…freshman Jason Richardson is close behind at 13.3 points while Tavrion Dawson is contributing 11.5 and a team high 7.1 rebounds per game…senior Tre Hale-Edmerson holds CSUN's career record for blocks with 141…he is averaging 8.4 points and 4.0 rebounds a game this season…point guard Landon Drew ranks third all-time in assists with 381…senior transfer Olalekan Ajayi is averaging 7.7 points and 8.4 rebounds…under the direction of former UNLV and Chicago Bull standout Reggie Theus, who is in his third season in Northridge.

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.