Game 19
San Francisco Dons (9-9, 3-5 WCC) vs. Santa Clara Broncos (7-13, 3-5 WCC)
Thursday,  Jan. 21, 2016 • 8:00 p.m.
Leavey Center • Santa Clara, Calif.
Series Record: Santa Clara 112-104
Last Meeting: Feb. 12, 2015 (USF 69-62 OT)
Audio Stream: TheW.tv (Pat Olson, Play-by-Play; Jim Brovelli, Analyst)
Television: CSNBA (Barry Tompkins, Play-by-Play; Dan Belluomini; Analyst)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com

Complete USF Game Notes (PDF)

Opening Tip
USF (9-9, 3-5 WCC) travels to the South Bay Thursday night to face longtime rival Santa Clara (7-13, 3-5 WCC) at the Leavey Center. Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m. and the game will televised locally on CSNBA with Barry Tompkins and Dan Belluomini calling the action from courtside. The Dons dropped a pair of home games last week to Loyola Marymount (87-83) and Pepperdine (98-84) while Santa Clara gained a split against the same schools. 

USF at a Glance

• Now 9-9 overall and 3-5 in the WCC after suffering a pair of home losses last week to LMU (87-83) and Pepperdine (98-84)...have lost three straight after winning five of seven.
• Split last year's season series with Santa Clara...are 8-4 in the last 12 games vs. SCU after the Broncos won eight of nine in the series...are 4-2 in last six trips to the Leavey Center.
• Will play the next three games on the road beginning with Thursday night's contest at Santa Clara...are 2-4 on the road this season with wins at Ilinois-Chicago and San Diego...are 15-10 in its last 25 WCC road games dating back to the 2012-13 season.
• Averaging 88.8 points (622 total) over its last seven games...however, have allowed 89.2 (625) during same stretch...rank fifth in the WCC in scoring average at 76.5 ppg.
• USF's last three opponents BYU (15-for-30), LMU (12-for-27) and Pepperdine (10-for-18) are a combined 37-for-75 (49.3) from distance...Dons have allowed 10 or more three-pointers nine times this season and opponents are shooting 38.2 percent from distance on the year...USF ranks 318 of 346 Division I teams in three-point field goal defense.
• Of the Dons nine wins this season, five have been by a combined total of 19 points while four others have been by a combined total of 72 points...were 1-4 in games decided by five points or fewer last season.
• Have trailed at halftime in 13 of its 18 games this season and are 5-8 in those contests...are being outscored 670-580 and shooting 40.7 in the first half compared to outscoring the opponent 773-696 in the second.
• Are 5-2 in games when at least four players hit double digits (losses to Gonzaga and BYU) and 4-7 in all other games.
• Sophomore point guard Devin Watson ranks second in the WCC and 22nd nationally in scoring average at 20.3 ppg..he has been in double-figures in 17 of 18 games this season including 10 games of at least 20-points.
• Senior guard Tim Derksen is averaging 15.1 ppg and 6.1 boards a game...he ranks eighth in the WCC in scoring, 10th in rebounding and fifth in three-point field goal percentage (44.9).
• The duo of Watson and Derksen is averaging 35.4 ppg (638 total) and account for 46.3 percent of USF's season point total (638 of 1377)...they are the second-highest scoring tandem in the WCC.
• Junior Ronnie Boyce scored a career high 25 points vs. Pepperdine and has scored in double figures in all eight WCC games...he is averaging 17.8 ppg in conference play.
• With 121 wins in seven-plus seasons on the Hilltop, Rex Walters is ranks sixth on USF's all-time career win list among coaches...he has coached 242 games, which ranks third all-time behind only Jim Brovelli (286) and Phil Mathews (262).
• Travel to the Pacific Northwest next week to face Portland on Thursday and Gonzaga on Saturday.

The Matchup

About Santa Clara
Are now 7-13 overall and 3-5 in the West Coast Conference…defeated Pepperdine last Thursday night on a last second shot by junior Jared Brownridge but were taken down by Loyola Marymount on Saturday…dropped their first seven games of the season but are 7-6 since Nov. 29…eight of Santa Clara's 13 losses have been by eight points or less…Brownridge ranks third in the WCC in scoring with a 19.3 point per game average…he also ranks third in the conference in free throw percentage (83.6) and is second in three-pointers made per game (2.9)…despite playing just two and a half seasons, Brownridge ranks third on Santa Clara's all-time list for three-pointers made…he is the only player in the nation to rank in the top-30 in both free throws made (102) and three-pointers made (57)…junior forward Nate Kratch ranks second on the team in scoring (11.8) and is the conference's third-leading rebounder with a 8.8 per game mark…he also ranks fourth in the WCC in field goal percentage at 57.6…SCU is getting solid play out of freshman point guard KJ Feagin who has scored in double figures in seven of his last 12 games…he scored 25 points vs. Portland earlier this season.

USF-Santa Clara Series History
In a series that dates back to 1908-09, Santa Clara leads the all-time series with USF, 112-104. Santa Clara represents USF's oldest rival in terms of games played (216). The two teams split a pair of games last year with the Broncos claiming a 70-64 decision at the Leavey Center on Jan. 17 and the Dons prevailing 69-62 in overtime on the Hilltop on Feb. 12. USF has won eight out of the last 12 and nine out of the last 14 in the series following a seven-game Santa Clara winning streak. The two schools have met seven times in WCC Championship play, with Santa Clara holding a 5-2 advantage.

Last Year's Meetings With Santa Clara
Santa Clara made 10-of-21 three-pointers and knocked down 24-of-30 free throws en route to a 70-64 victory over USF on Jan. 17 at the Leavey Center. The Broncos led 39-28 at the half and by as many as 20 points at 61-41 with 8:21 remaining. USF cut the lead down to six at 65-59 with 1:38 left but could get no closer. Kruize Pinkins led all USF scorers with 16 points while Mark Tollefsen recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Devin Watson chipped in with 13. Santa Clara's guard trio of Brandon Clark (23), Jared Brownridge (18) and Denzel Johnson (11) accounted for 52 of the Broncos 70 points.

In the return game on the Hilltop, USF overcame a nine-point 49-40 deficit with 8:02 left in the game to defeat Santa Clara, 69-62 in overtime on Feb. 21. Santa Clara was nursing a six-point lead at 56-50 with 4:43 left in the game when the Dons scored the next eight points, half of them coming from Kruize Pinkins, whose tip-in tied the game at 56 with 2:04 remaining.  USF had the two chances to win the game at the end of regulation, but Matt Glover misfired on a three-pointer and Mark Tollefsen missed an awkward shot just to the left of the foul line as time expired. The Dons controlled the overtime period. With the game tied at 60, USF finished off the Broncos with a 9-2 run to salvage a season split with its longtime South Bay rival. Tim Derksen scored a team-high 18 points while Devin Watson added 13 to pace USF scorers. Pinkins overcame a shaky start and finished with 12 points while Matt Christiansen added 10. Glover and Pinkins each pulled down 10 rebounds to help USF outrebound Santa Clara, 41-34. Brandon Clark scored a game-high 21 points for Santa Clara while Jared Brownridge finished with 14. USF shot just 37.5 percent from the field but made 24-of-31 free throws compared to Santa Clara, which cashed in on 7-of-9 attempts.

Last Time Out 

Ronnie Boyce scored a career-high 25 points while Devin Watson added 21 but USF dropped a 98-84 decision to Pepperdine on Saturday in War Memorial at The Sobrato Center. Lamond Murray, Jr. led all Pepperdine scorers with 29 points while Jeremy Major added 20. Stacy Davis (12), Jett Raines (11) and Amadi Udenyi (10) also reached double figures for the Waves, which snapped a seven-game losing streak to USF dating back to the 2009-10 season. Pepperdine made eight of their first 10 three-point attempts and finished the game shooting 55.6 percent (10-for-18) from distance. The Waves also took advantage of 28 free throws compared to USF, which made just 13-of-21 of its attempts. USF never led in the game and trailed at halftime 51-28, as the Waves shot 62.5 percent from the floor in the first period, including 8-of-12 from distance. Pepperdine's lead was never fewer than 11 points after the 13:52 mark of the first half and the Waves opened up as much as a 31-point lead with 16:51 remaining in the game. The Dons could draw no closer than 12 points with :21 left in the game.

Dons' Notebook

The Record
At 9-9, USF is one game ahead of its pace of last season, when the Dons were 8-10 at the 18-game mark. USF the dropped its 19th game of the season at Santa Clara to fall to 8-11. USF has lost three straight after going 5-2 in its previous seven games.

The Road Record
USF 2-4 on the road this season with wins at Illinois-Chicago and San Diego. The Dons are averaging 69.3 ppg and shooting 39.2 percent away from home this season while allowing 79.3 points a game to its opponent.

Let's Get Small
Ronnie Boyce returned to the starting lineup for Thursday night's game against LMU, giving the Dons four players no taller than 6-foot-4 in the starting five. The Dons have scored no fewer than 83 points and are averaging 91.4 (457 total) in five games with the smaller lineup. A total of eight players have drawn starts this season with Devin Watson, Tim Derksen and Dont'e Reynolds holding their sports of all 17 games. Nate Renfro (10), Chase Foster (11), Ronnie Boyce (5) and Montray Clemons (1) have also earned starts this season.

The Wins and Losses
Of the nine victories, five have been by a combined total of 20 points (78-75 at Illinois-Chicago; 58-57 vs. UC Riverside; 65-61 CSUN; 96-93 vs. Coppin State; 73-65 at San Diego) while four others have been by a combined total of 72 points (80-54 vs. Rice; 67-47 vs. Delaware State; 89-76 vs. Pacific; 107-95 vs. Portland). USF erased a 19-point deficit to defeat Pacific and rallied from 15 down with 12:59 left to play against Portland. The Dons never led in losses to Fresno State, UC Santa Barbara, Montana, Saint Mary's or Pepperdine  and led for only :32 seconds in a loss to Eastern Washington. USF squandered a 16-point lead with 8:49 left to play before falling to Gonzaga, 102-94 in overtime and dropped games to BYU and LMU when those two teams combined to make 27 three-pointers. USF has faced deficits of at least 10 points in 10 of 18 games this season, including six of nine conference games.

Non-Conference vs. Conference Opponents
In 10 non-conference games this season, USF averaged 70.3 ppg and shot 43.7 percent from the floor, including 32.2 percent from distance. In seven WCC games, the Dons are averaging 84.2 ppg and shooting 45.3 from the floor, including 41.5 percent from beyond the arc. USF allowed just 69.6 ppg to its non-conference foes but are yielding 87.4 ppg in conference action.

The Half of It
USF has trailed at haftime in 13 of 18 games and is 5-8 in those contests. The Dons have been outscored 670-580 while shooting 40.7 from the floor over the first 20 minutes of games this season compared to after intermission when USF is outscoring the opposition 773-696 and shooting 48.1 percent from the floor.

The Scoreboard
USF is averaging 88.8 points (622 total) over its last six games, boosting the team's scoring average to 76.5, which ranks fifth in the WCC. The Dons have scored 90 or more points three times in the last six games. USF's 107-95 win over Portland marked the first time the Dons had scored a 100 points in a game since they defeated the Pilots, 104-70 on Jan. 12, 2012. It was also the Dons highest scoring output since tallying a school record 129 points against Holy Names on Jan. 2, 2010.

Dons Defensively
USF's last six opponents are averaging 91.5 ppg (549 total), which includes a pair of 102-point games by Gonzaga (OT) and BYU. The 102 points scored by Gonzaga and BYU were the most points USF has allowed since suffering a 104-65 loss at Arizona State on Nov. 20, 2009 and were the most scored by a WCC opponent since Feb. 23, 1995, when Gonzaga defeated the Dons, 106-67 in Spokane. The Dons have allowed 77.5 ppg this season, which ranks ninth in the WCC. Opponents are shooting 43.7 percent from the field which ranks eighth in the WCC.

From the Floor
USF is shooting 44.4 from the floor on the season, which ranks sixth in the WCC. The Dons have shot 50 percent of better in four games this season (50.8 vs. Rice; 55.8 vs. Montana; 55.0 vs. Coppin State; 58.3 vs. Portland). Junior Uche Ofoegbu ranks 10th in the WCC in field goal percentage at 52.4.

Toeing the Line
The Dons were just 29-for-49 (59.1) from the line in losses last week to Loyola Marymount (16-for-28) and Pepperdine (13-for-21), dropping the season percentage down to 67.9, which ranks eighth in the WCC.  That is still an improvement from last year, when USF was converting just 57.9 percent of its free throw attempts at the same point of the season. Over the last seven games, opponents have made 23 more (156-123)  free throws than USF. Devin Watson (77.1) ranks ninth among all WCC players in free throw percentage. Last season, USF ranked last in the WCC with a 62.9 free throw percentage, which was the lowest mark since the 1985-86 season (62.4).

From Distance
USF has made 71 three-pointers in its last seven games and is shooting 42.5 percent (71-for-167) from distance during that stretch. The 14 threes against Gonzaga were the most in a single game since the Dons drilled a school-record 17 treys against Idaho State in 2013-14. The Dons are now shooting 36.6 percent from three-point range on the year, which ranks fifth in the WCC. Tim Derksen ranks fifth in the WCC in three-point field goal percentage at 44.9 while Devin Watson ranks ninth in 3's made per game (2.2).

Defending the Three
USF's last three opponents BYU (15-for-30), LMU (12-for-27) and Pepperdine (10-for-18) are a combined 37-for-75 (49.3) from distance. The Dons have allowed 10 or more three-pointers nine times this season and rank 10th in the WCC in three-point field goal defense at 38.2 percent.

Board Work
USF has outrebounded 10 of its first 18 opponents and is +61 in the rebound column on the year. The Dons are averaging 38.6 boards a game, which ranks third in the WCC and are fourth in rebound margin (+3.4). USF ranks second in the WCC in offensive rebounds per game at 12.5. Three players - Dont'e Reynolds (6.7), Tim Derksen (6.1) and Uche Ofoegbu (4.4) - are averaging at least 4.0 boards per game. Derksen's 14 rebounds vs. Pacific were the most by a USF player since Kruize Pinkins also pulled down 14 boards last season vs. Eastern Washington. Reynolds ranks eighth in the WCC in rebounding while Derksen is 10th.

Assists, Turnovers and Steals
USF has turned the ball over at least 15 times in seven of the 18 games this season and are averaging 13.4 turnovers a game, compared to the opponents at 11.2 per game. USF ranks 10th in the WCC in turnover margin (-2.17) and ninth assist-turnover ratio (1.0). Of the Dons 472 total field goals, 231 (48.9 percent) have come via an assist. USF is also averaging 4.8 steals a game to rank ninth in the WCC.

The Bench
USF's reserves are averaging 18.1 ppg this season (345 total), compared to the opponent's at 24.5 (442). The bench scored a season-high 37 points against Rice and has scored 20 or more points in five of its last eighh games.

High Scoring Tandem
Devin Watson and senior Tim Derksen has combined to average 35.4 ppg (638 total) points a game this season to rank as the WCC's second-highest scoring tandem behind Gonzaga's Kyle Wiltjer and Damontas Sabonis, who are averaging 40.2 per outing (725 total). BYU's high-scoring duo of Chase Fischer and Kyle Collinsworth are averaging 33.2 ppg (632). Either Watson or Derksen have led the team in scoring 15 of 18 games this season and have accounted for 47 percent (638 of 1377) of USF's total point production. Watson has scored 20 or more points in 10 games this season, including a pair of 30-point games,  while Derksen has five 20-point contests.

Watson Ranks 22nd Nationally in Scoring
Sophomore point guard Devin Watson is averaging 20.3 points a game, which ranks second in the WCC and 22nd nationally among all Division I players -- 18th among guards. The last USF player to win a conference scoring title was Dior Lowhorn who averaged 20.1 pgg in 2008-09. Watson has been in double-figures in 17 of 18 games this season, including 10 games of at least 20 points (24 at Fresno State; 27 vs. UC Riverside; 25 vs. Eastern Washington; 31 vs. Coppin State; 23 vs. Pacific; 22 vs. Portland; 33 vs. Gonzaga; 25 at BYU; 20 LMU; 21 vs. Pepperdine). If the season ended today, Watson's scoring average would rank 13th on USF's all-time single-season charts.

Sharing the Wealth
USF is 5-2 this season when four players score in double figures, with the only losses coming against Gonzaga and BYU.

RBIII Heating Up
Junior Ronnie Boyce III has scored in double figures in all eighth conference games and is averaging 17.8 ppg against WCC foes this season. He has scored 20 or more points in four of his last seven games, including a career-high 25 points vs. Pepperdine. Boyce scored in double figures in each of the first two games of the season vs. Illinois-Chicago (13) and Rice (11), but scored just six points over his five appearances before this recent stretch. He made his first career start against Pacific on Dec. 23.

No Rest for the Weary
Devin Watson (4th; 34.8) and Tim Derksen (10th; 31.5) both rank in the top-10 among all WCC players in minutes played. Derksen has logged 2,928 minutes over his career, which ranks ninth on USF's all-time career list. At his present rate, Derksen will move into USF's top-5 for minutes played at year's end.

Derksen Joins 1,000-Point Club
With 1,202 career points, senior Tim Derksen ranks 21st on USF's all-time scoring list and needs 35 more points to tie Ali Thomas (1997-01) for 20th all-time. Here's a look at where Derksen ranks on USF's all-time scoring list...

USF's Career Scoring Leaders
16.    Marlon Redmond (1973-77)    1,308
17.    Angelo Caloiaro (2008-12)    1,271
18.    Dennis Black (1966-68)    1,269
19.    Cole Dickerson (2010-14)    1,252
20.    Ali Thomas (1997-01)    1,237
21.    Tim Derksen (2012-Present)    1,194

Derksen on USF's 3-Point Charts
Tim Derksen is shooting 44.9 percent (31-for-69) from distance this season -- fifth-best among all WCC players.  Derksen is now shooting 40.6 percent (128-for-315) from long distance for his career, which ranks sixth on USF's all-time career list. Shawn Sykes (1988-90) is USF's all-time leader in 3-point percentage at 44.4 (98-for-218).

USF's Career Three-Point Percentage Leaders
1.    Shawn Sykes (1988-90)    98-218    .444
2.    Danny Cavic (2005-08)    130-295    .440
3,    Avry Holmes (2012-14)    98-223    .439
4.    Kevin Weeks (1990-92)    60-142    .423
5.    Joel DeBortoli (1987-90)    60-142    .423
6.    Tim Derksen (2012-    128-315    .406
7.    Gerald Walker (1992-96)    142-359    .395
8.    Shamell Stallworth (1999    153-389    .393
9.    Darrell Tucker (1999-03)    116-301    .385
10.    Tim Owens (1990-92)    65-170    .382