The University of San Francisco men's basketball team travels to the unfriendly confines of the McCarthy Athletic Center for a Thursday night showdown against No. 2 Gonzaga.  The Dons (17-10/6-6 WCC) and Bulldogs (26-1/12-0 WCC) will tip off at 8:00 p.m. on ESPN2 with Fran Fraschilla and Jimmy Dykes serving as co-analysts.  Thursday's broadcast will not feature a regular play-by-play announcer.  Pat Olson and Jim Brovelli will have the call on the official home of USF Dons basketball, KNBR 1050-AM.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Feb. 20, 2020 – 8:00 p.m.
Opponent: Gonzaga Bulldogs (26-1/12-0 WCC)
Site: McCarthy Athletic Center (6,000)   
TV:  ESPN2
Talent: Fran Fraschilla (analyst) and Jimmy Dykes (analyst)
Radio:  KNBR 1050-AM
Talent: Pat Olson (play-by-play) and Jim Brovelli (analyst)
Live Stats: GoZags.com
 
USF AT A GLANCE
• USF is 17-10 on the year and 6-6 in the WCC.  On the road this season, USF is 6-5.  In WCC play the Dons are 2-3 on the road - with wins over Pacific and Santa Clara. 
• Last time out: The Dons overcame an early eight point deficit against Santa Clara winning 70-61 on the road. With the win, the Dons swept the season series against the Broncos for the first time since the 2015-16 season.
• Doubling Up: In the win over Santa Clara, the Dons had a pair of double-doubles by Jimbo Lull (16 pts. 14 reb.) and Charles Minlend (11 pts. 10 reb.)  It is the fifth career double-double for Lull and third career double-double for Minlend.  The last time the Dons had two players with a double-double in the same game came on Mon. Nov. 11 in the 84-79 win over Yale when Khalil Shabazz and Jamaree Bouyea finished with their only double-double of the seasons.  This year, the Dons have had 10 double-doubles - USF is 5-3 when a player records a double-double this season.
• The NET:  In the latest update to the NCAA Evaluation Tool the Dons are up to 98th - they are fourth in WCC behind Gonzaga (2), BYU (23) and Saint Mary's (34).  The Dons are fourth in the WCC in Avg. Net Win at 177 - Gonzaga is third in the WCC at 166, SMC second at 162, and BYU is first at 155.  Fifth in the conference is Pepperdine with an average Net Win of 204.
• The Dons are averaging 75.9 points per game which ranks 64th in the nation - they are +6.0 in scoring margin which is 86th in the nation.  The Dons are 64th in the nation in adjusted efficiency on offense at 107.9 according to KenPom.com
• From the Field:  USF is shooting .445 percent from the field which is 133rd in the nation. USF is 16-5 when shooting .400 or better. When the Dons outshoot their opponent, they are 12-0.
• Taking on the Top-25:  Thursday will mark 132nd time the Dons have played a ranked opponent.  All-time the Dons are 34-97 (.260) against opponents in the top-25.  They are 0-52 against the top-25 in true road games. Against a ranked Gonzaga squad, the Dons are 1-11 - with their last win coming on Feb. 18, 2012 when USF defeated the Bulldogs 66-65 at War Memorial Gym.  The last time USF defeated a ranked opponent came on Feb. 15, 2018 when the Dons defeated No. 15 Saint Mary's 70-63 at home - the last time the Dons defeated a team in the top-5 came on Dec. 29, 1981 when No. 6 USF defeated No. 2 Wichita State 84-74 at a neutral site.
• Coming Back: In the win over the Broncos - the Dons came back from an early eight point deficit - it was USF's fifth win of the season when trailing by at least eight.  In USF's win over BYU on Jan. 25 the Dons came back from 14 down for the win. 
• Power Outage From Deep: The Dons who average 9.1 3's per game have struggled from long range over the last five games going just 25-for-112 (.223).  When the Dons make 10 or more 3-point field goals they are 17-0 this season.  The Dons are 0-9 when they make 6.7 3-point field goals or fewer. USF is still one of the Nation's elite 3-point shooting teams.  The Dons are 37th in 3-point field goals per game, averaging 9.0 - they are 24th in the nation in 3-point field goals made with 243.
• "DIMA" Heating UP:  Sophomore forward Dzmitry Ryuny is heating up - the swing-four played a career-high 22 minutes in the win over the Broncos.  He was 4-for-7 from the field and finished with 10 points. He was also 1-for-4 from beyond the arc - for the season he is 30-for-74 from 3-point range.  He is one of five USF players to have made 30 or more 3-point field goals. The only other team in the conference with 5 or more players with 30 or more made 3-point field goals is BYU.  
• Dons on Nationally Televised Games:  Thursday marks the seventh time the Dons have appeared coast to coast on television.  They are 2-4 on nationally televised broadcasts, 1-2 on CBS Sports Network, 0-1 on ESPN's family of networks and 1-0 on Stadium.
• Bouyea In the Conference Leaders:  Entering this week, junior guard Jamaree Bouyea is the only player in the WCC who ranks in the top-15 in the following categories: scoring 14th (13.1), FG% 4th (51.5), Assists 9th (3.6), blocked shots 11th (0.8), steals 1st (1.9), Assist/TO Ratio 10th  (1.5), Minutes Played 7th (33.5).
• On the Glass:  The Dons were plus-six in rebounds against the Broncos last Thursday.  USF is 92nd in the nation in rebound margin at +3.2.  When USF is plus-6 or better they are 8-3 this season against their opponents.  As a team, the Dons are third in the WCC in rebounds per contest at 36.1. 

VS. NO. 2 GONZAGA
Series
Thursday will be the 84th match-up between the Dons and Bulldogs.  All-time Gonzaga owns a 61-22 advantage in the series - including 17-straight.  In Spokane, the Dons are 3-35 all-time. The series dates back to Jan. 28, 1961 when USF defeated Gonzaga 64-62.  Thursday will be the 13th time the Dons have squared off against a ranked Gonzaga Squad.  In those contests, USF is just 1-11 - including 0-5 up in the Kennel.  The last time the Dons beat a ranked Gonzaga team came on Feb. 18, 2012 when USF defeated No. 24 Gonzaga 66-65 at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center, which was also the last time USF defeated Gonzaga.
 
About the Bulldogs
The Bulldogs remain No. 2 in the nation and are riding an 18 game winning streak. In WCC play the Bulldogs are 12-0 and have won all 12 games by an average score of 21 points.  The Dons are one of two teams in WCC play to finish within five points of the Bulldogs - the other was Pepperdine in a 75-70 loss on Jan. 4 in Malibu.  As a team, Gonzaga is averaging 88.6 points per game which is tops in the nation - their +21.3 point scoring margin is also tops in Division I.  From the field, Gonzaga is shooting 51.6 percent going 864-for-1674, they are shooting 39.4 percent from beyond the arc.  Seven players are averaging better than 10 points per game with Filip Petrusev leading the team with 17.6 points per game.  He is also the team's leading rebounder.
 
Last Time Out Versus Gonzaga
On a Saturday matinee at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center, the Dons gave No. 2 Gonzaga everything they had.  After trailing at the half 43-35 the Bulldogs came back to win 83-79.  USF's senior center Jimbo Lull played a season-low 13 minutes thanks to foul trouble and fouled out with over seven minutes remaining.  With 1:55 in the contest Taavi Jurkatamm gave the Dons a one point lead, up 76-75 20.  Twenty seconds later Corey Kispert hit a jumper in the paint and gave the Bulldogs a 77-76 lead - a lead they wouldn't relinquish.  USF had five in double figures as the Dons shot just 25 percent from 3-point range going 7-for-28, 2-for-11 in the second half.
 
UP NEXT
The Dons return home on Saturday for the only regular season matchup against Pepperdine.  The Dons and Waves will tip off after the completion of the women's game against BYU.  During Saturday's game the Dons will honor the 46^th Hall of Fame Class which will be formerly inducted on Friday evening.  At halftime, the Dons will also honor Hall of Famer Joe Ellis by retiring his No. 31 jersey.
 

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 Tickets for Saturday's game are available at USFDons.com/mbbtix  

Please mark your calendars for the Hall of Fame Dinner on February 21st at 6:30 PM in the McClaren Conference Center on USF's campus. We will honor our Dons of the Year, Kevin and Susan Hanley, as well as our inductees that include Dior Lowhorn (men's basketball, 2010), Joy Boyenga (women's basketball, 1992), and Kyle Zimmer (baseball, 2012). Tickets are available now at usfdons.com/halloffame or contact Julie Conji.