Game Information
San Francisco Dons (15-12, 8-8 WCC) vs. Pacific Tigers (7-19, 5-11 WCC)
Thursday,  Feb. 25, 2016 • 1:00 p.m.
Spanos Center • Stockton, Calif.
Series Record: USF 66-33
Last Meeting: Dec. 23, 2015 (USF 89-76)
Audio Stream: TheW.tv (Pat Olson, Play-by-Play; Jim Brovelli, Analyst)
Video Stream: TheW.tv (JB Long, Play-by-Play; Richie Schueler, Analyst)

Complete USF Game Notes (PDF)

Opening Tip
USF (15-12, 8-8 WCC) plays the last of three straight road games Thursday night when the Dons met the Pacific Tigers (7-19, 5-11) WCC at the Spanos Center beginning at 7:00 p.m. USF is coming off a 100-87 OT loss at Loyol Marymount on Saturday while Pacific dropped an 80-67 decision at Portland.

USF at a Glance

• Now 15-12 overall and 8-8 in the WCC after splitting a pair of road games last week against Pepperdine (W, 82-72) and Loyola Marymount (L, 100-87 OT).
• Enter the final week of the regular season in fifth place in the WCC standings...are two games ahead of sixth-place Santa Clara (10-18, 6-10 WCC) and a game and a half behind Pepperdine (17-11, 10-7)...are locked in as the fifth seed for next week's WCC Championships in Las Vegas.
• Play the last of three straight road games Thursday at Pacific...are 5-6 on the road this season and 18-12 in last 30 WCC road conference games dating back to 2012-13.
• Boast a 30-17 (.638) record in February since the 2009-10 campaign...went 4-3 last February and after back-to-back 5-2 marks in 2012-13 and 2013-14.
• Have won six straight over Pacific, including a 89-76 victory earlier this season in San Francisco...last loss in the series came in 2012-13 a season before the Tigers joined the WCC.
• Are averaging 85.0 points per game (1360 total) over the last 16 games...rank fourth in WCC scoring at 77.8 ppg...on pace to become highest scoring team by average since 1993-94 (88.9).
• Have allowed 100 or more points four times this season for the first time since the 1989-90 campaign.
• Have played four overtime games this season, the most since playing five in 2006-07.
• Rallied from deficits of 19 (Pacific) and 15 (Portland, Santa Clara) points in three of six conference wins.
• Have trailed at halftime in 17 of its 27 games this season and are 6-10 in those contests...are being outscored 1017-925 and shooting 41.9 in the first half compared to the second when the Dons are outscoring the opponent 1136-1034 and shooting 46.8 percent from the floor after intermission.
• Sophomore point guard Devin Watson ranks third in the WCC and 30th nationally in scoring average at 20.0 ppg...he has scored in double-figures in 26 of 27 games this season including 16 games of at least 20-points...he also ranks as the seventh-highest scoring sophomore in the nation.
• Senior guard Tim Derksen matched his career high with 27 points at Loyola Marymount...he ranks eighth in the WCC in scoring (16.5), eighth in rebounding (6.8) and sixth in three-point percentage (42.9)...is the only WCC player to rank in the top-10 in all three of those categories.
• The duo of Watson and Derksen is averaging 36.4 ppg (984 total) and account for 46.8 percent of USF's season point total (984 of 2101)...they are the second-highest scoring tandem by average in the WCC behind Kyle Wiltjer-Domantas Sabonis (1072; 38.2) of Gonzaga.
• Junior Ronnie Boyce has scored in double figures in 13 of 16 WCC games and is averaging 16.5 ppg in conference play....USF is averaging 84.3 points per game (1012 total) in Boyce's 12 starts this season.
• Wrap up the regular season Saturday night with a home game against Saint Mary's...seniors Tim Derksen, Montray Clemons and Sean Grennan will be honored prior to the game.

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, 66-34. USF has won six straight in the series, including a 89-76 victory on Dec. 23 in San Francisco. USF's last loss in the series came on Dec. 8, 2012 when the Tigers claimed a 67-59 non-conference victory at the Spanos Center. 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.

First Meeting With Pacific 
USF nailed a season-high 13 three-pointers and roared back from a 19-point first half deficit to defeat Pacific 89-76 on Dec. 23 in War Memorial at The Sobrato Center. Four Dons scored in double figures, led by sophomore Devin Watson, who made all five of his three-point attempts en route to a game-high 23 points. Ronnie Boyce III made his first career start and finished with a career high 20 points. Tim Derksen recorded his third double-double of the season with 16 points to go along with 14 rebounds while Uche Ofoegbu reached double figures for the fourth straight game, finishing with 14 points. Pacific had the upper hand early on, as the Tigers opened as much as a 19-point lead at 43-24 after Ray Bowles knocked down the Tigers eighth 3-pointer of the first half. However, USF outscored the Tigers 12-2 over the last 3:35 of the half to cut the Tiger lead to single digits at the break at 45-36. Three-pointers by Watson and Foster keyed the run. Trailing 68-66 with 8:14 remaining, the Dons outscored Pacific 23-8 down the stretch to defeat the Tigers for the sixth consecutive time dating back to the 2013-14 season.

Dons' Notebook

The Record
At 15-12, USF has surpassed its win total from a year ago when the Dons finished 14-18 overall and 7-11 in the WCC. At 8-8 in the WCC, the Dons have clinched fifth place in the WCC standings. The Dons are 6-3 over their last nine games dating back to Jan. 21.

What's Left
Following Thursday's game at Pacific, the Dons will wrap up the regular season Saturday night with a home game against Saint Mary's beginning at 8:00 p.m. Seniors Tim Derksen, Montray Clemons and Sean Grennan will be honored prior to the game.

The Road Record
USF is 5-6 on the road this season and boast a 18-12 in last 30 WCC road conference games dating back to 2012-13. The Dons are averaging 70.7 points a game and shooting 40.4 percent from the field away from home this season compared to 81.7 ppg and 46.4 shooting in 16 games on the Hilltop.

Fabulous in February
USF is now 30-17 (.638) in the month of February dating back to the 2009-10 season. The Dons went 4-3 last February after posting back-to-back 5-2 marks in 2012-13 and 2013-14.

The Lineups
USF shook up its lineup for the first time in nine games at Pepperdine, as sophomore Chase Foster made his 12th start of the season in place of Ronnie Boyce, who came off the bench to score 25 points. The quintet of Devin Watson-Ronnie Boyce-Tim Derksen-Uche Ofoegbu and Dont'e Reynolds has been intact for 12 games this season, giving the Dons four players no taller than 6-foot-4 in the starting five. USF is averaging 84.3 points per game (1012 total) in Boyce's 12 starts this season. A total of eight players have drawn starts this season with Devin Watson, Tim Derksen and Dont'e Reynolds holding their sports of all 27 games. Chase Foster (13), Nate Renfro (10), Boyce (12) and Montray Clemons (1) have also earned starts this season.

The Wins and Losses
Of USF's 15 victories, six have been by a combined total of 23 points (78-75 at Illinois-Chicago; 58-57 vs. UC Riverside; 65-61 CSUN; 96-93 vs. Coppin State; 73-65 at San Diego; 89-86 vs. Santa Clara). USF erased a 19-point deficit to defeat Pacific and rallied from 15 down to defeat both Portland and Santa Clara. The Dons never led in losses to Fresno State, UC Santa Barbara, Montana, Saint Mary's, Pepperdine or Gonzaga and led for only briefly in losses to Eastern Washington and BYU. USF squandered a 16-point lead with 8:49 left to play before falling to Gonzaga at home, 102-94 in overtime and dropped games to BYU and LMU when those two teams combined to make 44 three-pointers.  The Dons are averaging 80.9 points a game in 15 wins this season and 72.8 a game in 12 losses.

The Half of It
USF has trailed at haftime in 16 of 27 games and is 6-10 in those contests. The Dons have been outscored 1017-925 while shooting 41.9 from the floor over the first 20 minutes of games this season compared to after intermission when USF is outscoring the opposition 1136-1034 and shooting 46.3 percent from the floor.

The Scoreboard
USF is averaging 84.1 points (1346 total) over its last 16 games, boosting the team's scoring average to 77.8, which ranks fourth in the WCC.  USF is on pace to post the highest scoring average since the 1993-94 season, when the Dons averaged 88.9 points a game (2488 total). USF has scored 90 or more points five times this season, including a season-high 107 vs. Portland on Dec. 31, which marked the first time the Dons had scored a 100 points in a game since they defeated the Pilots, 104-70 on Jan. 12, 2012. It was also the Dons highest scoring output since tallying a school record 129 points against Holy Names on Jan. 2, 2010.

The Century Mark
USF has scored 100 or more points twice this season (107 vs. Portland; 100 vs. Menlo) marking the first time the Dons' have accomplished that feat since 1994-95, when the Dons topped the century mark on three occasions (123 vs. Stephen F. Austin; 120 Mount St. Mary's; 106 vs. Gonzaga). USF has also allowed 100-points or four times this season (102 vs. Gonzaga; 102 at BYU; 114 vs. BYU; 100 at LMU) for the first time since the 1989-90 season, when foes also topped the century mark in four games.

Dons Defensively
USF has allowed 80 or more points 12 times this season. The 114 points scored by BYU were the most my an opponent since USF dropped a 117-73 decision at Duke on Jan. 26, 1993 and were the most scored by a WCC opponent since Jan. 26, 1991, when LMU defeated the Dons, 118-90. The Dons have allowed 78.1 ppg this season, which ranks ninth in the WCC. That figure rises to 84.1 ppg in WCC games. Opponents are shooting 43.2 percent from the field which ranks sixth in the WCC.

From the Floor
USF is shooting 44.0 from the floor on the season, which ranks fifth in the WCC. The Dons have shot 50 percent of better in five games this season (50.8 vs. Rice; 55.8 vs. Montana; 55.0 vs. Coppin State; 58.3 vs. Portland; 51.4 vs. Menlo). Junior Uche Ofoegbu ranks 11th in the WCC in field goal percentage at 50.3.

Toeing the Line
The Dons made 20-of-32 free throws at LMU and now rank fifth in the WCC in free throw percentage at 68.6, which is quite an improvement from last year's mark of 62.0 at the same point of the season. 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
USF made just 7-of-29 three-point attempts Saturday at LMU and is now shooting 35.1 from distance this season - fifth best in the WCC. The Dons rank fifth in the WCC in 3's made per game at 7.7. The 14 threes against Gonzaga were the most in a single game since the Dons drilled a school-record 17 treys against Idaho State in 2013-14. Devin Watson ranks eighth in 3's made per game (2.2) while Tim Derksen ranks sixth in three-point percentage (42.9).

Defending the Three
The Dons have allowed 10 or more three-pointers in 14 games this season, including a season-high 17 to BYU. USF ranks 10th in the WCC in three-point field goal defense at 38.3 percent.

Board Work
USF was outrebounded 52-41 at LMU and is averaging 40.0 boards a game, which ranks third in the WCC. The Dons are fourth in rebound margin (+3.2) and lead in the WCC in offensive rebounds per game at 12.8. Three players -- Dont'e Reynolds (67.0), Tim Derksen (6.8) and Uche Ofoegbu (4.7) - are averaging at least 4.0 boards per game. Derksen's 14 rebounds vs. Pacific were the most by a USF player since Kruize Pinkins also pulled down 14 boards last season vs. Eastern Washington. Reynolds, who pulled down a career high 13 boards at Portland, ranks seventh in the WCC in rebounding while Derksen is eighth.

Assists, Turnovers and Steals
USF is averaging 12.8 turnovers a game (346 total), compared to the opponents at 11.5 per game (313). USF ranks ninth in the WCC in turnover margin (-1.22) and eighth assist-turnover ratio (1.0). USF is also averaging 5.4 steals a game to rank fifth in the WCC.

The Bench
USF's reserves are averaging 18.1 ppg this season (490 total), compared to the opponent's at 23.0 (6232). The bench scored a season-high 37 points against Rice and has scored 20 or more points in 10 games this season.

High Scoring Tandem
Devin Watson and senior Tim Derksen has combined to average 36.4 ppg (984 total) points a game this season to rank as the WCC's second-highest scoring tandem by average behind Gonzaga's Kyle Wiltjer and Damontas Sabonis, who are averaging 38.2 per outing (1072 total). BYU's high-scoring duo of Chase Fischer and Nick Emery are averaging 34.6 ppg (970). Either Watson or Derksen have led the team in scoring 21 of 27 games this season and have accounted for 46.8 percent (984 of 2101) of USF's total point production. Watson has scored 20 or more points in 16 games this season, including a pair of 30-point games,  while Derksen has nine 20-point contests.

WCC's Top Scoring Tandems by Average
    Players    Total    Avg.
1.    Wiltjer/Sabonis, Gonzaga    1072    38.2
2.    Watson/Derksen, USF    984    36.4
3.    Fischer/Emery, BYU    970    34.6
4.    Wintering/Pressley, Portland    951    32.7
5.    Brownridge/Feagin, SCU    883    31.5
6.    Murray/Davis, Pepperdine    877    31.3

Watson Ranks 30th Nationally in Scoring
Sophomore point guard Devin Watson is averaging 20.0 points a game, which ranks third in the WCC and 30th nationally among all Division I players. He is the seventh-highest scoring sophomore in the nation. The last USF player to win a conference scoring title was Dior Lowhorn who averaged 20.1 pgg in 2008-09. Watson has been in double-figures in 26 of 27 games this season, including 16 games of at least 20 points (24 at Fresno State; 27 vs. UC Riverside; 25 vs. Eastern Washington; 31 vs. Coppin State; 23 vs. Pacific; 22 vs. Portland; 33 vs. Gonzaga; 25 at BYU; 20 LMU; 21 vs. Pepperdine; 22 at Santa Clara; 20 vs. Menlo; 24 vs. Santa Clara; 29 vs. BYU; 20 at Pepperdine; 22 at Pepperdine).

Sharing the Wealth
The Dons are 10-2 this season when at least four players score in double figures, with the only losses coming against Gonzaga and BYU.

RBIII in the WCC
Junior Ronnie Boyce III has scored in double figures in 13 of 16 conference games and is averaging 16.5 ppg against WCC foes this season. He has scored 20 or more points in six games this season, including a pair of 25 point game against Pepperdine. Boyce scored in double figures in each of the first two games of the season vs. Illinois-Chicago (13) and Rice (11), but scored just six points over his five appearances before this recent stretch. He made his first career start against Pacific on Dec. 23.

No Rest for the Weary
Devin Watson (4th; 34.6) and Tim Derksen (9th; 32.4) both rank in the top-10 among all WCC players in minutes played. Derksen has logged 3,250 minutes over his career, which ranks sixth on USF's all-time career list and needs 61 more minutes to move into fifth all-time.

Derksen 15th on USF's All-Time Scoring List
With 1,375 career points, senior Tim Derksen ranks 15th on USF's all-time scoring list and needs one more point to tie Mark McCathrion (1985-89) for 14th place. Here's a look at where Derksen ranks on USF's all-time scoring list...

USF's Career Scoring Leaders
13.    Pete Cross (1967-70)    1,415
14.    Mark McCathrion (1985-89)    1,376
15.    Tim Derksen (2012-Present)    1,375

Derksen on USF's 3-Point Charts
Tim Derksen is shooting 42.9 percent (42-for-98) from distance this season, which ranks fifth in the WCC. Derksen is shooting 40.1 percent (139-for-347) from long distance for his career, which ranks sixth 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).

USF's Career Three-Point Percentage Leaders
1.    Shawn Sykes (1988-90)    98-218    .444
2.    Danny Cavic (2005-08)    130-295    .440
3,    Avry Holmes (2012-14)    98-223    .439
4.    Kevin Weeks (1990-92)    60-142    .423
5.    Joel DeBortoli (1987-90)    60-142    .423
6.    Tim Derksen (2012-    139-344    .404
7.    Gerald Walker (1992-96)    142-359    .395
8.    Shamell Stallworth (1999    153-389    .393
9.    Darrell Tucker (1999-03)    116-301    .385
10.    Tim Owens (1990-92)    65-170    .382

Rare Combination
Tim Derksen is the only player in the WCC to rank in the top-10 in scoring, rebounding and three-point percentage. Derksen ranks eighth in both in scoring (16.5) and rebounding (6.8) and is sixth in 3-point percentage (42.9). Kyle Wiltjer of Gonzaga ranks first in scoring (21.3), t-ninth in rebounding (6.4) and but is 11th in 3-point percentage.

Dons in Overtime
USF is 2-2 in overtime games this season, defeating Coppin State (96-93) and Santa Clara (89-86) and falling to Gonzaga, 102-94 and Loyola Marymount, 100-87. The four overtime games are the most USF has played in a season since the 2006-07 season, when the Dons played five extra period games. The Dons are now 5-5 in its last 10 overtime games and 14-8 in overtime games under head coach Rex Walters.

Last Time Out 

USF rallied from an 18 point second half deficit to force overtime on a last second shot by Dont'e Reynolds but Loyola Marymount outscored USF 18-5 in the extra period to earn a 100-87 victory in Gersten Pavilion. Tim Derksen matched his career high with 27 points, Devin Watson added 22 and Sean Grennan finished with a career high 15 points to pace USF's scorers. Steven Haney's 25 points led five Lion scorers in double figures. Playing without leading scorer Adom Jacko, the Lions got off to a fast start and made six of their first seven shots from the field to build a 15-5 lead at the 14:32 mark of the first half and led by as many as 18 points at 45-27 before taking a 45-31 into the break. Trailing 51-38, the Dons outscored LMU, 23-3 to whittle the lead to 54-52 with 10:03 remaining following  driving layup by Watson. The Dons tied the game at 57 on a lay-in by Boyce and the game was still tied at 73 with 1:22 left. Loyola Marymount was holding onto a 82-77 lead with :14 left after a pair of free throws by Haney. Derksen brought the Dons to within two points at 82-80 when he converted a three-point play after being fouled by Shamar Johnson with 8.7 left. USF got the ball back under its own basket when the Lions failed to inbounds the ball within the allotted five seconds. Watson misfired on awkward attempt to tie the game but Reynolds gathered the rebound and converted his own put back to send the game into overtime tied at 82. The overtime period belonged to Loyola Marymount, as the Lions scored the first 10 points of extra time en route to the 13-point win.