SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Continuing their road swing with another matchup away from the Hilltop, the University of San Francisco men's basketball team (21-7, 8-5) will head to Stockton for a Monday night showdown with Pacific (8-18, 3-8 WCC) at the Alex G. Spanos Center.
 
GAME 29 INFORMATION:
Date/Time: Monday, Feb. 21, 2022- 6:00 pm
Opponent: Pacific (8-18, 3-8 WCC) 
Site: Alex G. Spanos Center (Stockton, Calif.) 
Watch: WCC Network (Zack Bayrouty)
Listen: KNBR 1050 (Pat Olson + Jim Brovelli)  
Live Stats: SIDEARM Live Stats 
 
DONS AT A GLANCE:

• Coming down to the wire for the second time this season, USF narrowly fell on the road, 69-64, at Saint Mary's on Thursday, Feb. 17 in their last time on the hardwood. Despite the loss, Gabe Stefanini finished with a team-high 23 points and 4 assists while Khalil Shabazz tied his season-high with five made three pointers en route to 22 points. Down low, Yauhen Massalski logged his ninth consecutive double-double and fourteenth overall this season with 10 points and 10 rebounds in 35 minutes played.
• Heading into the final week of conference play, USF currently ranks No. 24 in KenPom's College Basketball Ratings and No. 29 in the NCAA's Net Rankings. Additionally, the Dons are 8-5 in Quad 1 + 2 games, including wins over Davidson (Net 50/KenPom 56), UAB (KenPom 49/Net 51), Fresno State (KenPom 65, Net 74), Towson (Net 75, KenPom 75) and a season sweep of Santa Clara (Net 73, KenPom 74).
• Overall, USF is one of only 35 teams in the country with 21 wins or more and one of only three teams in the WCC (Gonzaga- 23, Saint Mary's- 22). Notably, the Dons rank in the top 40 in Division I in three-point field goals per game (9.5/25^th), scoring margin (10.6/30^th) and rebounding margin (5.8/34^th).
• Individually, Massalski currently paces the WCC in rebounds per game (9.7) and is second in field goal percentage (61.5 percent) while Shabazz is second in steals per game (1.9). Proving to be a consistent force on both ends, Jamaree Bouyea also ranks first in the conference in minutes played (95), second in minutes per game (35.5), third in total steals (46), third in total points (485), fourth in points per game (17.3) and sixth in total blocks (24). 

SCOUTING THE TIGERS:

• Squeezing past LMU 69-68 in their last time out on Saturday, Feb. 19, Pacific was powered by 22 points from Jeremiah Bailey and 17 points from Luke Avdalovic as UOP grabbed their first victory since Feb. 3 with their win over the Lions. Adding to the offense, Pierre Crockrell also notched 8 points and 9 assists while Nick Blake tallied 10 points and 6 rebounds.
• Serving in his first year at the helm of the Tigers, Leonard Perry was promoted to head coach this past offseason after 2019-20 WCC Coach of the Year Damon Stoudamire departed to join the Boston Celtics as an assistant coach. Prior to his tenure at Pacific, Perry was previously a head coach at Idaho from 2001-06, where he finished with a 48-97 (.331) record in his five years. In addition to Perry, the rest of the bench was also revamped as Josh Newman, Justin Brown and Jason Levy all joined Perry's staff in Stockton last fall.
• Similar to USF, Pacific took down BYU, 76-73, as the Tigers limited the Cougars to 31.8 percent from behind-the-arc on Jan. 29. Leading the charge, Bailey logged a double-double with 15 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal while Blake finished with a team-high 20 points to go along with 8 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block on 9-of-16 from the floor.
• As a team, Pacific is aggressive in getting to the charity stripe as UOP currently sits third in the WCC in free throw attempts per game (17.7). On defense, the Tigers rank fourth in the conference in steals per game (6.5) and sixth in blocks per game (2.7).

SERIES HISTORY:

• Monday's meeting will be the 109^th meeting all-time between the two programs as the Dons currently hold a 76-32 record against the Tigers. Although USF fell on the road in Stockton in their lone matchup last season, San Francisco is 29-22 all-time in Stockton. 

TRACK THE ACTION:
Monday's contest will air live on WCC Network and on KNBR 1050 at 6:00 pm PT. Zack Bayrouty will have the call on the WCC Network while Pat Olson and Jim Brovelli will air on KNBR 1050 from Stockton. Live streaming, live audio and live statistics are available above and via the team's schedule page.
 
TICKETS AND MERCHANDISE:
Single-game tickets for West Coast Conference basketball games are currently on sale at www.usfdons.com/tickets. 

Want to dress like the Dons? Rep USF today by visiting the all-new USF Dons online store at www.usfdons.com/shop.
 
FOLLOW US:
For updates and more information on the USF men's basketball program, follow the Dons @USFDonsMBB on Twitter, @USFDonsMBB on Instagram and @USFDonsMBB on Facebook.