Game at a Glance
San Francisco Dons (11-3, 1-0 WCC) vs. Santa Clara Broncos (6-8, 0-0 WCC)
Saturday,  Dec. 31, 2016 • 3:00 p.m. 
Leavey Center • Santa Clara, Calif.
Series Record: Santa Clara 112-106
Last Meeting: Feb. 6, 2016 (USF 89-86 OT)
Television: CSNBA (Barry Tompkins, Play-by-Play; Dan Belluomini, Analyst)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com
Radio: 95.7 FM The GAME (Pat Olson, Play-by-Play; Jim Brovelli, Analyst)

Complete USF Game Notes (PDF)

Opening Tip
USF (11-3, 1-0 WCC) ventures to the South Bay on Saturday to face the Santa Clara Broncos (6-8, 0-1 WCC) in a West Coast Conference game which gets underway at 3:00 p.m. in the Leavey Center. USF is coming off a 80-74 win over San Diego on Thursday while the Broncos fell to BYU in Provo, 89-59. Saturday's game will be televised on CSNBA with Barry Tompkins and Dan Belluomini calling the action. The game will also be broadcast on 95.7 FM The GAME.

Worth Watching

• USF and Santa Clara meet for the 219th time on Saturday, with the Broncos holding a six-game lead in head-to-head meetings, 112-106. The two schools first met back in 1908, with the Santa Clara Missionites prevailing 19-11 over St. Ignatius College. Santa Clara represents USF's oldest rival in terms of games played.
• USF and Santa Clara represent two of the WCC's five charter schools, along with Saint Mary's, Pacific and San Jose State.
• USF has won five of the last six games in the series and are 10-5 vs. Santa Clara since the Broncos reeled off seven straight wins in the series…the Dons have also come out on top in five of the last seven meetings in the South Bay.
• Santa Clara guard Jared Brownridge is the NCAA's third active leading scorer with 1,973 career points. Brownridge, who scored just eight points in Thursday night's loss to BYU, has moved into 12th place on the WCC's all-time career scoring charts.
• USF guard Charles Minlend has bettered his career high in each of the last three games vs. Illinois State (17), Utah (18) and San Diego (20). He leads the WCC in three-point field goal percentage at 51.7 (30-for-58).
• USF has shot over 50 percent from the floor in eight games this season and rank third in the WCC in field goal percentage at 48.7. Bronco opponents are shooting 44.8 on the year, the second-highest percentage among WCC teams. 

The Dandy Dons

• Improved to 11-3 overall and 1-0 in the West Coast Conference with a 80-74 victory over San Diego on Thursday night...Charles Minlend came off the bench to score a career-high 20 points.
• At 11-3, are off to its best 14-game start since the 1999-2000 team was 12-2 after 13 games on the way to a 13-3, 16-game start...USF's 10 non-conference wins were the most since 2011-12 (10) and marked the fourth time since 1985-86 the Dons had won at least 10 non-conference games.
• 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 12-2 start.
• Face longtime rival Santa Clara for the 219th time on Saturday at the Leavey Center...Dons swept last year's season series and have won five of their last seven games against the Broncos in the South Bay .
• Have played just two road games this season...defeated UC Santa Barbara, 75-63 on Nov. 16 and droppped at 96-90 decision at Eastern Washington on Nov. 27...are 6-1 at home and 4-1 on neutral courts.
• After putting up season-low scoring totals in back-to-back games vs. Illinois State (66) and San Diego State (48), bounced back to tally 80 points against San Diego...rank third in the WCC in scoring at 78.6 points per game.
• Shot 52.6 from the field against San Diego, marking the eighth time this season the Dons shot 50 percent or better from the floor...had six such shooting games al of last year...rank third in the WCC in field goal pct. at 48.7.
• Still lead the WCC and rank 12th nationally in three-point field goal percentage (41.5)...also lead the conference and rank seventh nationally in three's made per game (10.6)...made 10-of-23 (43.5) of its long distance tries against San Diego, marking the eighth game this season USF has connected on 10 or more treys in a game, including a school-record 18 against Eastern Washington and 16 vs. Utah.
• Four players - Charles Minlend (30), Ronnie Boyce (28), Chase Foster (24) and Jordan Ratinho (22) -- have made 20+ threes this season while a total of seven players have made 10 or more shots from distance.
• Have outrebounded eight opponents this season and are even on the boards in two other games..are +64 on the boards over the last 13 games and rank fifth in the WCC in rebound margin (+3.5).
• Rank 10th in the WCC in free throw percentage at 64.1 percent...shooting 62.2 (71-for-114) from the line over the last six games.
• USF's reserves have combined to score 228 points over the last five games against Abilene Christian (58), Utah (52), Illinois State (45), San Diego State (33) and San Diego (40)...Dons' bench has outscored the opponents 483-257 (+226) over the last 13 games.
• Have trailed at the half in just two games (Illinois State and San Diego State) this season and were tied in another (UC Santa Barbara).
• Face Gonzaga and Saint Mary's in back-to-back home games next week...potentially the first time USF will have face AP-ranked teams in back-to-back games since 1993-94 (No. 5 Kentucky and No. 10 Purdue).

Scouting Report

About Santa Clara
Dropped to 6-8 on the season after suffering a 89-59 loss at BYU on Thursday night in its WCC opener…closed out the non-conference schedule with a road win at Valparaiso, 87-80 in double overtime…have had nine of 14 games decided by 10 points or fewer on the season…senior guard Jared Brownridge ranks fifth in the WCC in scoring with a 18.36 average…he recently moved into 12th on the WCC's all-time scoring list…with 1,973 career points, he is the third active leading scorer in the NCAA…second leading scorer is sophomore point guard Matt Hauser, who is averaging 10.9 points a game…Hauser is also one of the top playmakers in the WCC, as he ranks fourth in assists per game at 5.5…senior Nick Kratch ranks 10th in the WCC in rebound average at 10.2 per game…received a boost with the return of guard KJ Feagin, who missed the first 12 games of the season with a broken foot…Broncos are shooting 42.3 percent as a team – ninth in the WCC – while allowing opponents to shoot 44.8 on the year, which is the ninth-highest…being outrebounded by 2.9 boards game…under the direction of first-year head coach Herb Sendek, who previously headed up programs at Miami (Ohio), North Carolina State and Arizona State…he was named the coach of the year in the Mid-American, ACC and Pac-12 Conferences.

Series History with Santa Clara
In a series that dates back to 1908-09, Santa Clara leads the all-time series with USF, 112-106. Santa Clara represents USF's oldest rival in terms of games played (218). USF won both meetings with the Broncos last season, 74-61 at the Leavey Center on Jan. 21 and 89-86 (OT) on Feb. 6 on the Hilltop (see below). USF has won 10 out of the last 14 and 11 out of the last 16 in the series following a seven-game Santa Clara winning streak. USF is 5-2 in its last seven trips to the Leavey Center. The two schools have met seven times in WCC Championship play, with Santa Clara holding a 5-2 advantage.

Ticket Information
Reserved and general admission tickets for USF's upcoming games against Gonzaga (Jan. 5) and Saint Mary's (Jan. 7), along with all other WCC home games, are currently available for purchase on-line at USFDons.com/tickets or by calling (415) 422-2USF (2873).

Fans may also purchase the Box Out Big Three ticket package, which includes a general admission seat to all three games against Gonzaga, Saint Mary's and BYU, for $105 (adults) and $90 for seniors and children 12-under.

For information regarding USF Basketball tickets for the remainder of the 2016-17 season, please call the USF Athletic Ticket Office at (415) 422-2USF (2873) or go on-line to USFDons.com/tickets.