The University of San Francisco men's basketball (19-15, 9-9 WCC) will face the Utah Valley University Wolverines (23-10, 10-4 WAC) in the second round of the College Basketball Invitational Monday night at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.  The Dons are making their 26th postseason appearance, and second in a row under second year head coach Kyle Smith.  With a win Monday night, the Dons will even up their CBI record at 2-2 and will win 20-games in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1981-'82.  The game will be streamed live on TheW.tv with Pat Olson and coach Jim Brovelli calling the action courtside.


GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Mar. 19, 2018 – 7:00 p.m.
Opponent: Utah Valley Wolverines (23-10, 10-4 WAC)
Site: San Francisco (War Memorial Gym at the Sobrato Center)
Streaming: TheW.tv
Talent: Pat Olson (Play-by-Play) and Jim Brovelli (Analyst)
TV: None
Live Stats: USFDons.com
Game Notes: USF vs. Utah Valley
 
TOMORROW'S GAME
After defeating Colgate in the opening round of the CBI, the Dons improved to 30-21 all-time in postseason play.  With a win Monday night, the Dons will have won 20 games in back-to-back seasons, the first time since 1981-'82. USF has seven players on the active roster who saw action in last year's CBI.  Following last Wednesday's win, senior Chase Foster leads the team with 22 career points in 43 career minutes played in the CBI.  Foster scored nine points Wednesday and 13 points against Rice last season.  Matt McCarthy is second on the team with 20 career points and 24 career rebounds in the CBI.  Jimbo Lull has 14 career points and 15 rebounds, Jordan Ratinho has 11 points and 11 rebounds, Frankie Ferrari has 18 points and eight assists in two contests.  Freshman Souley Boum made his postseason debut in spectacular fashion, scoring a game-high 26 points, which matches his career-best that he scored against Portland on Dec. 30.  Ratinho is having a historic season.  The native of Livermore, Calif. is second all-time in made 3-point field goals in a single season with 72.  He trails only Ali Thomas, how made 75 in the 1997-98 season.  Ratinho is currently ninth all-time for made 3-point field goals and has scored 622 points.  

For a second straight season, UVU accepted a bid to play in the College Basketball Invitational and has already advanced to the quarterfinal round with an 87-65 win over Eastern Washington in the first round on March 13 at the UCCU Center.  UVU is making its fourth appearance at a national postseason tournament. It marks the team's second straight appearance at the College Basketball Invitational as the Wolverines made a run to the Final Four of the tournament last season after picking up the school's first-ever post season national tournament victories with road wins at Georgia Southern and Rice in 2017.  With its win over Eastern Washington on March 13, Utah Valley recorded its 23rd win of the season, the most wins ever recorded in a single season in UVU history.  At home, UVU is 16-1, on the road the Wolverines are 6-8.  As a team, they are averaging 78.3 points per game while shooting 48.3 percent from the field.  Their opponents are averaging 67.6 points per game and shooting 41.2 percent.  Leading the team in scoring is Kenneth Ogbe who is averaging 13.3 points per contest. 
 
THE SERIES
The Dons and Wolverines have played each other twice both coming in the 2007-08 season.  The Dons hosted Utah Valley on Nov. 28, defeating UVU 69-64 at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center. A month later, the Wolverines evened up the series, defeating the Dons 73-61 in Orem, Utah. 
 
UP NEXT
The winner of Monday's game will advance to the semifinals of the CBI with the opponent and location to be determined.