Game at a Glance
San Francisco Dons (8-2, 0-0 WCC) vs. Utah Runnin' Utes (7-2, 0-0 Pac-12)
Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic
Thursday,  Dec. 22, 2016 • 6:00 p.m. (HT) / 8:00 p.m. (PT)
Stan Sheriff Center • Honolulu, Hawaii
Series Record: USF 7-3
Last Meeting: March 12, 1998 (Utah 85-68)
Audio Stream: TheW.tv (Pat Olson, Play-by-Play; Jim Brovelli, Analyst)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Television: ESPNU (Roxy Bernstein, Play-by-Play; Dino Gaudio, Analyst)

Complete USF Game Notes (PDF)

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Opening Tip
USF (8-2, 0-0 WCC) opens play in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic on Thursday against the Utah Runnin' Utes (7-2, 0-0 Pac-12). It marks the first game between the two schools since a first round matchup in the 1998 NCAA West Regional in Boise (see below). The Dons are coming off a 86-51 victory over Abilene Christian on Monday night while the Utes improved to 7-2 on the year after defeating Prairie View A&M, 92-60 last Saturday in Salt Lake City. Thursday's game will be televised nationally on ESPNU with Roxy Bernstein and Dino Gaudio calling the action.

The Dandy Dons

• Improved to 8-2 on the season after Monday night's 86-51 win over Abilene Christian...Ronnie Boyce and Charles Minlend came off the bench to score a team high 16 points...the 35-point margin of victory was the largest of the season.
• At 8-2, are off to its best seven-game start since the 1999-2000 team was 9-1 after nine games on the way to a 12-1 start.
• Dons' record under Kyle Smith also marks the best start by a USF first-year coach since Pete Barry's 1980-81 USF team got off to a 10-1 start.
• Face Utah in the first round of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic on Thursday...marks the first meeting with the Utes since the 1998 NCAA West Regionals in Boise...face either Illinois State or Hawaii in second round action on Friday.
• Making a return visit to the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic after going 1-2 in the 2012 event...dropped games to San Diego State and Ole Miss before downing East Tennessee State...are 22-14 against teams in this years field.
• Rank second the WCC and rank 14th nationally in field goal percentage at 50.2...have shot better than 50 percent from the field in six of 10 games this season...shot 50 percent or better in six games last season.
• Also top the WCC and rank ninth nationally in three-point field goal percentage (41.8)...also rank fifth nationally in three-pointers made per game (11.0)...made a school-record 18 three-pointers against Eastern Washington and have 10 or more treys in six games this season, including Monday night against Abilene Christian (15)...Marquill Smith leads the WCC in three-point field goal percentage at 55.6 (10-of-18).
• Have outrebounded six opponents this season and are even on the boards in two other games..are +69 on the boards over the last nine games and rank third in the WCC in rebound margin (+5.4)...sophomore Nate Renfro leads the Dons in rebounding at 6.5.
• Averaging 81.8 points a game this season -- third-highest in WCC...have scored no fewer than 75 points this season.
• USF's reserves outscored Abilene Christian, 58-18 on Monday...Don's bench has outscored the opponents 313-183 (+130) over the last nine games
• Senior Ronnie Boyce ranks eighth among WCC scoring leaders with a 17.7 points per game average...he has scored 20 or more points in four of 10 games this season, including a career-high 31 at UCSB...Boyce has 10, 20-point scoring games for his career.
• Two other Dons - Chase Foster (13.3) and Charles Minlend (10.8) are also averaging in double figures after 10 games.
• Nate Renfro ranks in among the WCC's top-10 in three categories - rebounding (7th; 6.5), offensive-rebounds (9th; 1.9) and assist-to-turnover ratio (6th; 2.1).
• Have not trailed at halftime this season...were tied at UC Santa Barbara (33-33).

Scouting Report

About Utah
Are off to a 7-2 start after defeating Prairie View A&M, 92-60 last Saturday in Salt Lake City…Sedrick Barefield and Kyle Kuzma each scored 18 points to pace the Utes…averaging 83.9 points a game and allowing just 64.1…picked to finish eighth in the Pac-12's Preseason Poll…return two starters from last year's team which finished 27-9 overall and ranked 13th in the final AP poll…Kuzma scored 18 points and pulled down 15 rebounds against Prairie View A&M for his fifth straight double-double…point guard Lorenzo Bonam, who averaged 10.2 points and 2.9 rebounds, joins Kuzma as holdovers in last year's starting five…Barefield, a sophomore guard, leads the Utes in scoring at 18.0 per game while Kuzma is averaging 16.0 per game…Bonam (14.3), JoJo Zamora (11.3) and David Collette (11.0) are also averaging in double figures… limiting opponents to 37 percent shooting from the floor…have played eight of their nine games at home…fell to No. 13 Xavier, 77-69 in its only road test of the season…under the direction of Larry Krystkowiak, who is in his sixth season guiding the Utes after serving as head coach at Montana for two seasons.

Series History with Utah
In a series that dates back to the 1946 season, USF leads the all-time series with Utah, 7-3. The two schools last met in the first round of the 1998 NCAA West Regional in Boise, Idaho, with Utah coming away with a 85-68 victory on its way to reaching the national championship game against Kentucky. The last regular season meeting came on Dec. 11, 1976, when No. 6 USF posted a 91-81 victory in Salt Lake City. USF also downed Utah, 78-59 in the second round of the 1955 NCAA Championship on its way to winning the first of two straight national titles.