West Coast Conference Championships • First Round
San Francisco Dons (13-17, 7-11 WCC) vs. Pacific Tigers (12-18, 4-14 WCC)
Friday,  March 6, 2015 • 6:00 p.m.
Orleans Arena • Las Vegas, Nev.
Series Record: USF 64-34
Last Meeting: USF 65-55 (Feb. 28, 2015)
Video Stream: TheW.tv
Audio Only: USFDons.com/live (Pat Olson, Play-by-Play; Jim Brovelli, Analyst)
Television: BYUtv (Dave McCann, Play-by-Play; Blaine Fowler, Analyst)

Watch Inside USF Basketball: WCC Championship Special

Complete USF Game Notes (PDF)

The Dandy Dons

• Finished the regular season with a 13-17 overall record and a 7-11 mark in WCC...tied for 6th with Portland and Santa Clara but earned the eighth seed in the WCC Championships after a three-way tiebreaker..
• Face No. 9 seed Pacific in the first round of the WCC Championships on Friday...swept the season series with the Tigers and have won four straight overall in the series, including a 65-55 victory last Saturday on the Hilltop.
• Have won four out of its last five games following a five-game losing streak...entered last year's WCC Championships on a five-game winning streak.
• USF is 16-27 all-time in the WCC Championships dating back to the first event in 1987...reached the semifinals last season where it fell to BYU in overtime...won its only tournament title in 1998 with a win over Gonzaga.
• Enter the WCC Championships as the eighth-seed, which is the Dons lowest seeding in the history of the event...were seeded No. 7 three times (1991, '99 and 2009).
• Saturday's win over Pacific improved the Dons record to 26-15 in the month of February dating back to the 2009-10 season, including an 14-7 mark in the last three Februarys.
• Ten of USF's 13 wins this season have been by double digit margins and by and avergage of 22.3 points (80.1-57.8)...have six wins of 20-points or more this season.
• Of USF's 11 conference losses, six were by eight points or fewer (31 total), including a pair of one-point setbacks...however, also suffered three 31-point losses in conference play for the first time in program history.
• Have shot 50 percent or better from the floor eight times this season...now shooting 45.6 percent on the season - fourth best in the WCC.
• Were outboarded in 13 of 18 conference games after holding the advantage on the glass in 10 of 12 non-conference games...were +9.7 on the boards vs. non-conference foes and are -3.4 vs. conference opponents...rank fifth in the WCC in rebound average (34.8) and are sixth in rebound margin (+1.2).
• Three players - Matt Glover (5.4), Mark Tollefsen (5.4) and Kruize Pinkins (5.4) - are averaging at least 5.0 rebounds per game while Tim Derksen is averaging 4.4.
• Are 23-for-76 (30.2) from long distance over the last four games...shooting 34.7 percent from three-point range this season, which ranks sixth in the WCC...however, shot just 30.6 percent from beyond the arc in conference play.
• Shooting just 62.3 percent from the line, which ranks 10th in the WCC and is the ninth lowest percentage in the nation among Division I teams...slightly better in WCC play at 67.3 percent.

Notables

Opening Tip
USF (13-17, 7-11 WCC) opens play in the West Coast Conference Championships with a first round game on Friday night against the Pacific Tigers (12-18, 4-14 WCC) at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. The Dons and Tigers met closed out the regular season last Saturday, with USF claiming a 65-55 decision on the Hilltop. The winner of Friday's USF-Pacific game will advance to Saturday's quarterfinals against top-seeded Gonzaga.

USF in the WCC Championships
USF is 16-27 all-time in the WCC Tournament dating back to the first event in 1987. The Dons have reached the semifinals on nine occasions and have advanced to the championship game twice (1997 and '98), claiming its lone tournament title in 1998 with a 80-67 victory over Gonzaga. Last season, third-seeded USF defeated San Diego 69-60 in quarterfinal action before dropping a 79-77 overtime decision to BYU in the semifinals. USF has reached the semifinals three times in the last four years. The eighth seed is the Dons lowest in the history of the event (No. 7 on three occasions; last in 2009).

Series History with Pacific
In a series that dates back to the 1911-12 season, USF leads the all-time series with Pacific, 64-34. The Dons swept the season series from the Tigers, winning 77-71 in Stockton on Dec. 28 and 65-55 on Feb. 28 in San Francisco. USF has won four straight in the series, having swept the season series last year, posting an 81-72 overtime victory in Stockton and winning 64-59 on the Hilltop. However, Pacific holds a 10-7 edge in the last 17 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. Friday's game marks the first time the two schools have meet in the WCC Championships.

First Meeting 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. The Dons finished with 19 assists and committed just three turnovers. USF also made 16-of-20 free throw tries. Stockton native T.J. Wallace of Pacific led all scorers with 26 points.
 
Second Meeting With Pacific
USF completed the season sweep of Pacific with a 65-55 victory on the Hilltop last Saturday. 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. The Dons enjoyed an eight-point lead at 53-45 and the Tigers could get no closer than than six points down the stretch before succumbing by the final score of 65-55. 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 Record
USF finished the regular season with an overall record of 13-17 and tied for sixth in the WCC standings with a 7-11 mark.  USF is seven games off its pace from last season when the finished the regular season with a 20-10 overall record and 13-5 mark in conference play before ultimately finishing with a 21-12 overall mark. After a 3-0 start, USF is 10-17 over its last 27 games.

The Wins
Of USF's 13 wins this season, 10 have been by double digit margins and an average of 19.8 points (77.1 to 57.3). The Dons have posted four wins of 30 points or more against South Carolina State (91-52), Notre Dame de Namur (86-46), Houston Baptist (85-54) and Portland State (77-40) and also own double digit victories over Hawaii (88-73), Montana (76-57), Portland (89-77), Pepperdine (71-59), Loyola Marymount (72-45) and Pacific (65-55).

The Losses
Of USF's 12 conference losses, four were by eight points or fewer. USF  has lost a pair of one-point games to San Diego (57-56) and LMU (70-69) on its home floor, dropped a six-point decision at Santa Clara (70-64), fell by four points at BYU (78-74) and lost by eight points at San Diego (77-69) after squandering a late lead. However, the Dons have suffered three, 31-point losses in conference play to Gonzaga (88-57), BYU (99-68) and Saint Mary's (84-53).

The Home Record
USF finished 8-8 at home this season, including 3-6 vs. WCC foes.  USF was 13-6 on the Memorial Gymnasium hadwood last season, including a 7-2 mark against WCC opposition with the losses coming to Gonzaga and BYU.

The Road Record
USF is 4-7 in true road games this season and is 5-9 in all games away from Memorial Gymnasium. All four of the Dons road wins came at the expense of WCC foes - 77-71 at Pacific (Dec. 27); 89-77 at Portland (Jan. 10), 72-45 at LMU (Feb. 19) and 56-54 at Pepperdine (Feb. 21). With its win at Pepperdine, USF is now 14-8 in its last 22 conference road games dating back to the 2012-13 season.

Fabulous in February
Over the last five seasons dating back to the 2009-10 campaign, USF has posted a 26-15 (.634) record in the month of February, including a 14-7 mark over the last three seasons (5-2 in 2012-13; 5-2 in 2013-14; 4-3 in 2014-15).

Dons Defensively
USF has held four out of its last five opponents under 70 points, with the notable exception being an 84-53 loss to Saint Mary's on Feb. 26.  USF ranks sixth overall in the WCC in points allowed per game (67.6) but the Dons are allowing 70.3 ppg in conference action. After limiting 12 non-conference opponents to 38.9 percent shooting from the floor, conference foes clipped the nets at 45.2 percent. USF ranks fifth overall in field goal defense at 42.6 percent.

Board Work
After outrebounding 10 of its 12 non-conference opponents by 8.3 boards a game, USF has been outrebounded in 13 of 18 conference games, 34.8 to 31.3. USF ranks fifth the WCC in rebound average at 34.8 per game and sixth in rebound margin (+1.2). Three players -- Matt Glover (5.4), Mark Tollefsen (5.4) and Kruize Pinkins (5.4) - are averaging at least 5.0 rebounds per game while Tim Derksen is averaging 4.4. All four players have pulled down 10 or more rebounds in a game this season.

From the Field
The Dons have shot 50 percent or better from the field in eight games this season, including four times in the last 11 games. USF is shooting 45.6 percent from the field this season, which ranks fourth in the WCC.

From the Line
USF is shooting 62.3 percent from the foul line, which ranks last in the WCC and is the ninth-lowest percentate among 345 Division I teams. The Dons are slightly better in conference action at 67.3 percent.

Beyond the Arc
The Dons have made just 52-of-215 (24.1) of its three-point attempts over the last 12 games and now rank sixth in the WCC in three-point field goal percentage at 34.7. USF is shooting 30.6 percent from long distance in conference play which ranks ninth among WCC teams.

Lineups
USF has employed eight different starting lineups this season, with the quintent of Mark Tollefsen-Matt Glover-Matt Christiansen-Tim Derksen-and Devin Watson staying intact for the last five consecutive games prior to the last regular season game against Pacific, which featured four seniors in the starting five. The Dons used just three different starting fives all of last season.