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USF Men's Basketball - No. 13/8 Gonzaga Advance
Jan. 29, 2010
Complete Gonzaga Game Notes in PDF Format 
By Stacy Hicklin
USF Beat Writer
SAN FRANCISCO -- What began as a tough homestand for the University of San Francisco men's basketball team will only get more challenging as the weekend continues.
The Dons host nationally ranked Gonzaga with a 6:30 p.m. tip-off set for Saturday, Jan. 30th at War Memorial Gym. The game against the No. 8 Bulldogs is being billed a "Gold Out" with the school encouraging USF fans to wear gold to the contest.
Gonzaga (17-3, 6-0 WCC) began the season unranked, but jumped into both the AP and ESPN/USA Today top 25 polls during the third week. The Bulldogs have stayed in the ESPN/USA Today for eight consecutive weeks now.
This looks to be the 13th straight 20 or more win season for Gonzaga -- a program that has won the West Coast Conference Tournament nine of the past 11 years and has advanced to the NCAA Tournament for 11 consecutive seasons.
Two of the Bulldogs' three losses (to Michigan State and Wake Forest) came by a combined six points. Gonzaga's other loss was by way of a 35-point defeat to Duke. The Bulldogs have wins against Colorado, Wisconsin, Cincinnati, Washington State, Davidson, Oklahoma and Illinois on their resume.
Gonzaga has four players averaging double-digit scoring with preseason all-WCC selection Matt Bouldin leading the way with 16.5 points and 4.26 assists a game. Freshman forward Elias Harris is making an immediate impact with 16.1 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Another preseason all-WCC player, junior Steven Gray, is averaging 14.2 points with sophomore Robert Sacre chipping in with 10.1 points.
The Dons lost by just five points when the teams faced off last year at USF. It has been five years since USF has posted a win over Gonzaga, with the Dons having beat the Bulldogs just once in the past 22 meetings.
Gonzaga is coming off a seven-point win at Santa Clara on Thursday night; a game that was went down to the wire.
GONZAGA PROBABLE STARTERS (As of 1/29/10)
G. #3 Demetri Goodson, 5-11, 164, So. (6.4 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 1.8 apg)
G. #15 Matt Bouldin, 6-5, 224, Sr. (16.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 4.3 apg)
G. #32 Steven Gray, 6-5, 208, Jr. (14.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.8+ apg)
C. #00 Robert Sacre, 7-0, 247, So. (10.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 1.5 bpg)
F. #20 Elias Harris, 6-8, 215, Fr. (16.1 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 1.1 apg)
2008-09 MEETINGS: Gonzaga 78, at USF 73 (2/14/10; at Gonzaga 85, USF 51 (1/17/09)
SERIES RECORD/STREAK: GON leads 39-20/GON won 9
ON THE AIR/ON THE WEB:
Television: KHQ/Fox Sports Northwest (No Bay Area coverage)
Television Talent: Greg Heister & Craig Ehlo
Radio Broadcast: Green 960 - Pat Olson & Jim Brovelli
Internet Audio: Yes - USFDons.com (Yahoo Broadcast)
GameTracker: Yes Official Website: GoZags.com
UP NEXT FOR THE DONS: After hosting defending West Coast Conference Champion No. 13/8 Gonzaga Saturday, USF opens the second half of the league schedule on the road. The Dons travel to Southern California to take on San Diego Thursday, February 4 at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. Game time is set for 7:00 PM. USF then travels across the Bay Bridge to tackle Bay Area rival Saint Mary's Saturday, February 6.
THIS WEEK IN DONS BASKETBALL: This Week in Dons Basketball is presented by USF Athletics in partnership with KUSF, 90.3 FM. Each Friday at 8:30 PM, join longtime voice of the Dons Pat Olson for a weekly preview of USF Basketball, featuring head coach Rex Walters and interviews with members of the 2009-10 squad.
