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USF Men's Basketball - No. 18/15 Gonzaga Game Advance
Feb. 26, 2010
Complete Gonzaga Game Notes in PDF Format 
By Stacy Hicklin
USF Beat Writer
SAN FRANCISCO -- The University of San Francisco men's basketball team is set to end the regular season with one of its toughest challenges of the year.
USF (12-16, 7-6) travels to No. 18 Gonzaga (23-5, 11-2) for a 5 p.m. tip-off on Saturday, Feb. 27 at the McCarthey Athletic Center.
The Bulldogs have lost only four times at the McCarthey Athletic Center since it opened in 2004. And the Dons haven't won at Gonzaga since 1989.
Gonzaga secured at least a share of its 10th consecutive West Coast Conference title on Thursday night with an 88-51 thumping of Santa Clara. That moves Gonzaga into a tie with Connecticut (951-60) for the second-longest conference title win streak in NCAA history.
Do not, however, expect the Bulldogs to relax now against the Dons. USF pulled off an 81-77 overtime upset when the teams met in San Francisco in January.
"We don't want to share the title with anybody," Gonzaga center Robert Sacre said on the team's web site. "We have to get back at San Francisco."
If USF upsets Gonzaga again, the Dons will secure fourth place, but if USF loses and Loyola Marymount wins at Saint Mary's, the Dons will fall to fifth place. If both teams were to win or to lose, USF would keep fourth place.
St Mary's won at Loyola Marymount 85-67 at the end of January. The Gaels and the Dons were the only WCC teams to win at Loyola Marymount this season.
The Dons are coming off a tough game at Portland that was decided in the final three minutes of the contest.
Portland won 70-59 after USF went cold and was unable to score during the final three minutes and 21 seconds of the game. The Dons turned the ball over three times in the final two and a half minutes while the Pilots made four of their five free throws.
USF freshman forward Perris Blackwell was back on the court after missing five games due to an injury that occurred during practice. He played six minutes against the Pilots.
San Francisco's regular season finale at No. 18/15 Gonzaga is set for a 5:00 PM tip-off at the McCarthey Athletic Center. The game will be carried live on the flagship station of Dons Basketball, Green 960 and will be televised in the Pacific Northwest on Fox SportsNet.
GONZAGA PROBABLE STARTERS (As of 2/26/10)
G. #3 Demetri Goodson, 5-11, 164, So. (6.9 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 1.8 apg)
G. #15 Matt Bouldin, 6-5, 224, Sr. (16.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 4.1 apg)
G. #32 Steven Gray, 6-5, 208, Jr. (13.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.8 apg)
C. #00 Robert Sacre, 7-0, 247, So. (10.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.8 bpg)
F. #20 Elias Harris, 6-8, 215, Fr. (15.0 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 1.3 apg)
LAST THREE MEETINGS: at USF 81, Gonzaga 77, ot (1/30/10); Gonzaga 78, at USF 73 (2/14/09); at Gonzaga 85, USF 51 (1/17/09)
SERIES RECORD/STREAK: GON leads 39-21/USF won 1
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 concluding the regular season at defending West Coast Conference Champion No. 18/15 Gonzaga Saturday, USF sets its sights on the 2010 Zappos.com West Coast Conference Tournament. The Dons and Loyola Marymount are deadlocked at 7-6 heading into the final game of the regular season in a battle for the No. 4 seed and a first round tournament bye. A loss by the Lions at Saint Mary's will secure the No. 4 seed for the Dons. In case of a tie, the Dons own the tiebreaker courtesy of sweeping the regular season series against LMU.
