SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Off to their best start in conference play in 17 years, the University of San Francisco men's basketball team (14-4, 3-0 WCC) looks to continue its dominance on the Hilltop this week as the Dons will host LMU (8-9, 1-2 WCC) on Thursday night before welcoming Bay Area rival Saint Mary's (13-6, 4-0 WCC) on Saturday evening at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.

GAME 19 INFORMATION:
Date: Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024
Time: 8:00 p.m. PST
Opponent: LMU (8-9, 1-2 WCC)
Site: War Memorial at the Sobrato Center
Location: San Francisco, Calif.
Watch: CBS Sports Network
Listen: KNBR 1050
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Tickets: Purchase Here
 
GAME 20 INFORMATION:
Date: Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024
Time: 7:00 p.m. PST
Opponent: Saint Mary's (13-6, 4-0 WCC)
Site: War Memorial at the Sobrato Center
Location: San Francisco, Calif.
Watch: CBS Sports Network
Listen: KNBR 1050
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Tickets: Purchase Here
 
DONS AT A GLANCE:

• Last week, San Francisco comfortably extended its win streak to six games as the green and gold picked up an 83-63 victory on the road in San Diego last Thursday, Jan. 11 before securing a 96-69 win over Portland at home on the Hilltop on Saturday, Jan. 13.
• In their first home game in two weeks, all five starters for the Dons scored in double figures in the win against Portland. Malik Thomas once again eclipsed his career-high in scoring as the guard finished with 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting. Ndewedo Newbury was tabbed Player of the Game after setting career-highs in both points and three-pointers, scoring 22 points on 6-of-10 shooting from beyond-the-arc against the Pilots.
• On Monday, Jan. 15, Jonathan Mogbo was awarded WCC Player of the Week honors for the second consecutive week as the forward averaged 18.5 points, 12.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists on 72.7 percent shooting across USF's two victories last week. On Wednesday, Jan. 10, Mogbo was also named to the Lou Henson Award Mid-Season Watch List, which is awarded annually to the top mid-major player in college basketball.
• Within conference play, Mogbo leads the WCC in points per game (22.3), rebounds per game (14.3), field goal percentage (74.3), free throw percentage (93.8), and assist-to-turnover ratio (7.0). Additionally, Newbury leads the conference in blocks per game (2.7) in WCC action, along with being second in both field goal percentage (69.6) and three-point percentage (53.3).
• As a unit, the Dons lead the WCC in points per game (90.3), rebounds per game (40.0), and rebounding margin (12.3) in conference play. Being one of the only two undefeated teams left in the conference, San Francisco owns a margin of victory of 17.8, currently good for seventh in Division I.
• San Francisco has started conference play 3-0 for the first time since the 2006-07 season. The Dons are seeking their first 4-0 start to conference play since 1978-79 and their first 5-0 start to conference play since 1976-77, when USF went a perfect 14-0 in conference play and 29-2 overall.

SCOUTING THE LIONS:

• Dropping their first two contests to begin conference play, LMU picked up their first conference win last Saturday, Jan. 11 in an 81-64 victory over Pacific. Senior guard Justin Wright shined for the Lions with a team-high 22 points on 10-of-15 shooting off the bench. Senior Alex Merkviladze added his first career double-double in the win over the Tigers with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
• LMU is one of two teams in the conference to have four players averaging double figures in scoring, with guard Dominick Harris leading the team at an average of 14.4 points per contest. Harris also currently leads the conference in three-pointers made per game (2.5) along with ranking fifth in three-point percentage at 41.0 percent.
• Thursday night's game will be just the second road game of the season for the Lions, after falling at Nevada, 73-59, on Dec. 2. In WCC action, LMU leads the conference in opponent field goal percentage (40.7) along with ranking second in both opponent three-point percentage (26.0) and rebounds per game (37.3).

SCOUTING THE GAELS:

• After an unexpected 3-5 start to the season, Saint Mary's has found its groove in the last few weeks as the Gaels will come onto the Hilltop having won 10 of their last 11 games and currently on a five-game win streak. The Gaels hold the WCC's best conference record at 4-0 after defeating Portland and Santa Clara last week by an average margin of 33.5 points.
• Aidan Mahaney has been on a tear to start conference play as the sophomore is averaging 20.5 points per game (third-most in the WCC), shooting 52.8 percent from the field and a conference-high 55.2 percent from three in WCC contests. Augustas Marciulonas is averaging 7.3 assists per game in conference play, which leads the WCC, as the junior has two double-digit assist performances in the last four games for SMC.
• Saint Mary's leads the WCC in assists per game (20.0), blocks per game (4.75), free throw percentage (81.7), scoring margin (20.5), and turnover margin (6.5) across the first two weeks of conference games.
• The Gaels will enter Saturday's matchup with a 4-0 record on the road - one of only eight perfect road records across Division I - as they are set to face the WCC's only undefeated team at home in San Francisco, who is 9-0 this season at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.

SERIES HISTORY:

• San Francisco and LMU will meet for the 154^th time on Thursday with the green and gold holding a 104-48 advantage in the all-time series. Thursday night's game will be the first meeting between the Dons and the Lions on the Hilltop in two years as the two schools only faced each other once last season, which resulted in a thrilling 72-70 victory for USF on Jan. 7, 2023 in Los Angeles.
• Saturday's meeting between San Francisco and Saint Mary's will mark the 190^th matchup all-time between the two programs as the Dons currently lead the all-time series, 101-88. Saint Mary's has won the last eight meetings between the two schools as USF looks for its first win over SMC since Jan. 3, 2019, when current Dons assistant coach Frankie Ferrari posted 19 points, seven assists and six rebounds to lead San Francisco to a 76-72 victory in War Memorial.

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SPONSOR THE DONS:
The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to acknowledge and thank our sponsor - Planet Orange - for their continued support of USF Athletics. Interested in sponsoring the Dons? Please contact Frank Allocco, the Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director of External Relations, at fallocco@usfca.edu or at (415) 422-4561.