Game at a Glance
USF Dons (13-7, 3-4 WCC) vs. San Diego Toreros (10-9, 3-4 WCC)
Saturday,  Jan. 21, 2017 • 6:00 p.m.
Jenny Craig Pavilion • San Diego, Calif.
Series Record: USF 42-36
Last Meeting: Dec. 29, 2016 (USF 80-74)
Video Stream: TheW.tv (Jack Cronin, Play-by-Play)
Radio: 95.7 FM The GAME (Pat Olson, Play-by-Play; Jim Brovelli, Analyst)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast

Complete USF Game Notes (PDF)

Opening Tip
USF (13-7, 3-4 WCC) meets the San Diego Toreros (10-9, 3-4 WCC) for the second time this season Saturday night at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on TheW.tv and broadcast on 95.7 FM The GAME. The Dons have won two straight following a 75-50 win over Portland on Thursday. The Toreros have also won each of their last two games against BYU (88-75) and Loyola Marymount (69-62).

The Dandy Dons

• Improved to 13-7 overall and 3-4 in the WCC with a 75-50 win over Portland on Thursday...it was the Dons second straight win following a four-game losing streak...at 13-7, USF is off to its best 20-game start since the 2004-05 season when the Dons were sported the same record at the 20-game mark
• At 13-7, USF is off to its best 20-game start since the 2004-05 season when the Dons were sported the same record at the 20-game mark...are two games ahead of last year's pace when the Dons were 11-9 after 20 games...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.
• Meet San Diego for the second time this season on Saturday...Dons won the first matchup 80-74 on Dec. 29 and have won 11 of the last 14 meetings with the Toreros dating back to the 2009-10 season including a 5-1 mark in at Jenny Craig Pavilion.
• Are 8-3 at home this season, 1-3 on the road and 4-1 on neutral courts...are 18-15 in 33 WCC road games dating back to the 2012-13 season but have dropped the first two conference roadies of this year at Santa Clara and BYU.
• Now rank third in the WCC in scoring at 75.7 points per game...averaging 69.5 ppg in seven WCC games after averaging 78.5 in 13 non-conference games.
• Rank third in the WCC in field goal percentage at 47.4...have shot over 50 percent from the floor in each of the last two games against Pacific (51.9) and Portland (50.)...have made at least half of their shots from the field in 10 games this season after shooting 50 percent or better in just six contests last year.
• Lead the WCC and rank 18th nationally in three's made per game (9.7)...have made 194 threes on the year (13th NCAA) and have made 10 or more three's in nine games this season, including a school-record 18 against Eastern Washington and 16 vs. Utah.
• Rank fifth in the WCC in three-point field goal percentage at 37.6...were shooting 43.3 percent from long distance 11 games into the season, but have since gone 68-for-226 (30.0) from distance over last nine games.
• Four players - Charles Minlend (36), Jordan Ratinho (34), Ronnie Boyce (31) and Chase Foster (31) -- have made 20+ threes this season while a total of seven players have made 10 or more shots from distance...Ratinho ranks fifth in the WCC in 3-PT FG percentage at 46.6 while Minlend ranks ninth (42.9).
• USF's reserves have combined to score 418 points over the last 11 games (38.0) and have outscored the opponent's bench 673-351 (+322) over the last 19 games.
• Have started a lineup consisting of three sophomores (Matt McCarthy, Nate Renfro, Mladen Djordjevic) and two freshmen (Charles Minlend, Jordan Ratinho) in each of the last four games...of USF's 15-man roster, 13 players are underclassmen.
• Have been led in scoring by a freshman in each of the last three games against BYU (Raitanen 16), Pacific (Minlend 16) and Portland Minlend (16)...freshmen or sophomores have accounted for 180 of USF's 222 total points in the last three games.
• With an 10.9 ppg scoring average, Charles Minlend ranks as the second-highest scoring freshman in the WCC. behind BYU's TJ Haws (13.5)...Minlend has 13 double-figure scoring games this season, topped off by a career-best 20-point effort in the WCC opener vs. San Diego.

Worth Watching

• Both team's rosters feature just one junior and one senior.
• USF and San Diego were picked to finish ninth and 10th, respectively in the WCC by the conference coaches prior to the season…after Saturday's game, one team will be now lower than fifth in the conference standings.
• Both teams enter Saturday's game having won their last two outings.
• Of San Diego's four conference losses, three have been by six points or less.
• In the first meeting on Dec. 29, USF built a 25-point halftime lead but was outscored 46-29 in the second half, including 23-4 over the last 7:36, and hung for an 80-74 win.
• Dons have shot 50 percent in each of their last two games and are 10-0 on the year when reaching the 50 percent mark.
• USF head coach Kyle Smith spent eight seasons as an assistant coach at San Diego (1992-2000) before moving onto Air Force for one season and then to Saint Mary's…among the players Smith coached at San Diego was current Torero head coach Lamont Smith.

Scouting Report

About San Diego
Are now 10-9 overall and tied with USF for fifth place in the WCC with a 3-4 conference mark…have won two straight, including a 88-75 home win over BYU on Jan. 14…coming off a 69-62 win at Loyola Marymount on Thursday…are 8-4 over last 12 games after a 2-5 start…three of the four conference losses have been by six points or less…balanced scoring attack led by senior forward Brett Bailey who ranks fifth in the WCC in scoring with a 17.4 average…he also is tied for fifth in rebounding at 6.8…sophomore guard Olin Carter III is one of the top young players in the WCC…he's averaging 16.4 points a game which ranks eighth in the WCC and is second in three-pointers made per game (3.8)…junior forward Cameron Neubauer, who scored 22 points against BYU, is averaging 10.9 points an outing…second-best free throw shooting team in the WCC at 75.2 percent.

Series History With San Diego
USF leads the all-time series with San Diego, 42-36. USF has won 11 out of the last 14 contests vs. the Toreros dating back to the 2009-10 season, including a 5-1 mark at Jenny Craig Pavilion. The Dons took the first meeting of the year between the two schools, winning 80-74 in San Francisco on Dec. 29. USF swept the season series last year, winning 73-65 in San Diego and 68-51 in San Francisco after the Toreros swept the Dons in 2014-15, winning 57-56 on New Year's Night in San Francisco and 77-69 on Jan. 31 in San Diego.

First Meeting With San Diego 
USF used a dominating first half into a 80-74 victory over San Diego on Dec. 29 in San Francisco. The Dons shot 73.9 percent from the floor over the first 20 minutes and opened a 51-28 lead at intermission. USF still led by 20 points at 67-47 with 7:36 remaining when the Toreros went on a 23-7 run to cut the lead down to four at 74-70 with just under a minute left. San Diego could get no closer as the Dons fended off the Toreros at the foul line. Charles Minlend came off the bench to score a career high 20 points for USF while Olin Carter III had 19 points to pace the Toreros. Minlend scored 14 of his 20 points in the first half and canned 4-of-5 three-pointers on the night. The Dons never trailed in the game.

Last Time Out: USF 72, Pacific 51 
The Dons jumped on the Tigers early and raced out to a 14-2 lead at the 14:58 mark of the first half and posted a wire-to-wire win over Pacific to snap a four-game losing streak. USF regained its early season form from beyond the three-point line, nailing 14-of-34 three-point attempts, including 10 in the first half as the Dons opened up a 43-18 lead at intermission. The Dons shot 51.9 percent from the field on the night. Charles Minlend scored a game high 16 points while Jordan Ratinho added 12 and Chase Foster 10 to lead the Dons to their 12th win of the season.The Dons limited the Tigers to just 33.3 percent shooting on the night and held Pacific to its second-lowest scoring output of the season.

Up Next
USF will be in Moraga on Thursday night to face the Saint Mary's Gaels beginning at 8:00 p.m. The game will be televised in the Bay Area on CSNBA.