The University of San Francisco men's basketball team wraps up non-conference play on Sunday in Las Vegas.  The Dons will take on Grand Canyon at T-Mobile Arena at 4:00 p.m. Sunday's game will not have a video stream, Pat Olson will have the radio broadcast on KNBR 1050-AM.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Dec. 20, 2020   
Opponent: Grand Canyon (4-1, 0-0 WAC)
Site: T-Mobile Arena (Las Vegas, Nev.)
TV:  None
Talent:
Radio:  KNBR 1050-AM
Talent: Pat Olson (play-by-play)
Live Stats: USFDons.com

USF AT A GLANCE
• USF is 5-4 and are mired in a two-game losing streak.  The Dons have dropped back-to-back contests on the road to Pac-12 foes, falling to Cal in Berkeley on a last minute 3-point field goal and by 10 at Oregon on Thursday.  The Dons are averaging 77.0 points per game which ranks 110th in the nation and fifth in the WCC.  The Dons +8.6 scoring margin is 122nd in the nation and sixth in the West Coast Conference. 
 
• 25-3:  With the loss to the Golden Bears, USF falls to 25-3 in the Golden Era when holding the lead with 5:00 minutes to play.  The only other losses came at the hands of Gonzaga at home last season and at the WCC Semi Finals last March. 
 
• Block Party: In a weird stat - the Dons are 4-1 this year when recording four or more blocks in a game.  The one loss came at Oregon.  USF ranks 25th in the nation in total blocks with 33 - that number leads the WCC.  Dzmitry Ryuny and Samba Kane lead the Dons with 1.11 and 1.00 blocks per game respectively. Ryuny had a career-high three blocks against the Ducks last Thursday.
 
• Dons From Distance:  The Dons rank second in the nation in 3-point field goal attempts with 275, the trail only Liberty who has taken 305 3-point field goals.  USF is 10th in 3-pt field goals per game at 11.4 which is tops in the WCC.  They are 66th in 3-pt field goal percentage shooting 37.5 from beyond the arc.  USF is second in total 3-point field goals made at 103.  USF gets 44% of its scoring from beyond the arc this season.
 
• Power Outage: In the loss at Oregon the Dons saw their program record streak of seven consecutive games with 10 or more 3-point field goals made snapped. The Dons finished 8-for-35 from beyond the arc.  USF struggled from Distance going 2-for-14 in the opening half.  In the second USF started the period 0-for-8 from 3-point range before warming up to go 6-for-13 down the stretch. The Dons are 0-2 when making less than 10 3-point field goals a game.
 
• Hello Old Friend:  When junior Damari Milstead takes the court on Sunday he will be doing it against his old teammates.  Milstead, who averages 6.7 points per game for the Dons in his first year in the lineup, played his first two seasons at Grand Canyon.  In two years, he played in 60 games making 26 starts.  He averaged 7.82 points per game - 10.3 his sophomore season.
 
• From the Charity Stripe: The Dons, who are known as a jump shooting 3-point team, have actually done a great job of getting to the free throw line this year.  USF ranks 67th in free throw attempts at 137 - that number is 5th in the WCC.  USF's 101 made free throws ranks 56th in the nation.  Khalil Shabazz is a big reason for that, the junior is 28-for-33 for the year (.848).  Julian Rishwain (.824), Damari Milstead (.857), and Jonas Visser (.800) are all shooting north of 80% from the line.
 
• Against the WAC: Sunday marks just the second time the Dons and GCU have played - and first since GCU joined Division I.  Against the current Western Athletic Conference, the Dons are 26-7 all-time - most of that coming against Seattle University which used to be part of the WCAC. The Dons are 20-6 against Seattle U.  USF is 0-1 against Chicago State, 2-4 against New Mexico State, 1-0 vs. UT Rio Grande Valley, and 2-1 against Utah Valley.  The last WAC opponent for the Dons was a 78-73 win over Utah Valley in the CBI on Mar. 19, 2018.
 
Series
The Dons and Lopes have met once coming on Nov. 28, 1980 with the Dons defeating the Lopes 78-63 at War Memorial Gym. Grand Canyon began playing basketball in 1949-50 and own three NAIA National Championships.  GCU joined Division I in 2013-14 and are 140-90 (.609) as a Division I program.
 
About the Antelopes
Members of the Western Athletic Conference, Grand Canyon enters Sundays' contest with a 5-1 record.  The Lopes, in year one of the Bryce Drew era, have a 10-point win over Nevada and lost to Arizona State by one their last time out.  As a team, they are averaging 81.6 points per game while holding opponents to 62.6 points per contest. Grand Canyon does an excellent job on the boards, averaging 42.6 rebounds per contest.  Alessandro Lever leads the team, averaging 17.4 points per game, he is one of three Antelopes in double figures.  As a team, GCU is shooting 51.5 percent from the field and 32.7 percent from 3-point range.  Their opponents are shooting 37.9 percent as a team. Sunday will be the Lopes first contest away from GCU Arena.  All five of their games have been at home this year.
 
Last Time Out Versus GRAND CANYON
The Dons and Lopes first met on Nov. 28, 1980 - it kicked off what would be a 24-7 season for the Dons culminating with a trip to the NCAA Tournament.  The Dons defeated Grand Canyon 78-63 at War Memorial that day.  Former Dons Wallace Bryant and Rouge Harris combined to score 35 points in the win over the Lopes.  USF jumped out to an early lead - but took their foot off the gas and allowed Grand Canyon to hang around. 
 
Said assistant coach Vince Combs: "We played great in the first 10 minutes of the game, especially on defense. But after we established a good lead the team slowed down.  That's not the mark of a good team. We have to play well no matter what the score is."
 
NEXT UP
The Dons begin West Coast Conference on New Year's Eve when USF hosts San Diego.  That game will be streamed on The WCC Network with Pat Olson calling the action live from War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.  Tip off for the New Year's Eve game against the Toreros is still to be determined.