Dons Open Play in WCC Quarterfinals vs. San Diego Saturday at 6:00 PM

March 1, 2007

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The USF men's basketball team (13-17, 8-6 WCC), after finishing the season tied for third place in the WCC, will face San Diego in the quarterfinals of the WCC Tournament in Portland Saturday (6:00 p.m., KQKE 960 AM, Sirius 126).

DEVA VU: The WCC tournament bracket is very similar to last year's for USF when they faced San Diego in the quarterfinals. The Toreros and Pepperdine also met in 2006's first round. Last year San Diego took a close 62-59 decision from the Dons to advance to play top-seed Gonzaga, the same road that USF or USD will face this season. USF tied for third in the standings but received the fourth seed because they lost both regular season games to Saint Mary's this season.

ALL-WCC HONORS: Alan Wiggins, Jr., a fourth year senior from San Diego, was named first team all-West Coast Conference in a poll of the league's coaches. Teammates Armondo Surratt and Antonio Kellogg were named honorable mention, while Jay Watkins was named to the all-freshman team. Wiggins recorded his second straight outstanding season averaging 14.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game and 14.3 points and 7.4 caroms in league action. He led the league with eight double-doubles on the season and was among the conference leaders in field goal percentage at 52.6%, free-throw percentage 74.0% and blocked shots at 1.5. Surratt, who missed USF last five conference games after a knee injury, is listed as day-to-day for the league tournament. The 2006 WCC Newcomer of the Year and all-WCC player averaged 14 points and 3.5 assists per game as a senior. Kellogg had an outstanding first season in Dons' Green and Gold. He led the team in scoring in overall play at 15.4 points per game and became the second USF player in the last three seasons to lead the league in scoring (17.2 ppg.) during conference play. John Cox in 2005 also accomplished that feat. According to the WCC record book, he is the first player to lead the league in scoring and not make all-WCC since 1970-71 when Nevada's Romie Thomas was not selected. Kellogg also led the WCC in steals (2.4) and was fifth in assists (3.52), as well as being USF's second leading rebounder. USF forward Jay Watkins was selected to the WCC's all-freshman squad averaging 6.1 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. "Alan Wiggins is truly deserving of the all-WCC honors," said Dons' Head Coach Jessie Evans. "He has been a warrior for us, every night playing against someone bigger in the post. He has provided everything we have asked of him. He has had a heck of a career at USF." Wiggins is currently 22nd in career scoring at the University of San Francisco with 1,092 points.

USF FINISHES STRONG, WINNING SIX OF FINAL NINE: USF finished the regular season winning six of its last nine contests. During that period, USF shot 46.3% floor to opponents 44.8%, outscored opponents 76.9 to 74.8 and had a +1.4 turnover margin. USF also improved its rebound differential, being outrebounded by just 1.8 during the span. Individually, three USF players averaged over 16 points per game over the last nine contests, Manny Quezada (16.8), Alan Wiggins, Jr. (16.6) and Antonio Kellogg (16.1). Armondo Surratt, who did not play in the last six games, averaged 12.3 and Johnny Dukes 10.8.

SWEEP OR SWEPT: The Dons finished 4-3 at home in league play and 4-3 on the road. The Dons did not split any WCC series, sweeping Portland, San Diego, Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine while they were swept by Santa Clara, Gonzaga and St. Mary's.

SURRATT BACK?: In a season where players have been hurt and have been forced to miss games for various other reasons, the Dons hope to have starting all-WCC guard Armondo Surratt return for the league tournament. The senior from Oakland slipped late in the game at Santa Clara on February 5th, clutching his left knee. He is on a day-to-day basis. Surratt was averaging 14 points per game and leading the team in minutes played (34.1 mpg), field goals and three-pointers when he went down.

WIGGINS MOVES INTO 22ND PLACE IN USF CAREER SCORING: Alan Wiggins scored on a dunk late in the Santa Clara game on Feb. 5 to tally his 1,000th career point. On Feb. 26th he moved past Shammell Stallworth (1087) and into 22nd place on the USF career scoring list and stands at 1092 points. Joe Ellis (1120) and John Hegwood (1130) are 21st and 20th on the chart.

EIGHT OF 14 WCC GAMES DECIDED IN FINAL POSSESSION: Eight of USF's 14 WCC games came down to the final possession. USF played four overtime games (won-2, lost 2), two one-point games (won both) and two three-point games (split). USF lost by 12 at Santa Clara was was only a possession away with less than three minutes to go. The Dons first five WCC games were all close. After slipping by San Diego in double-overtime in their opening league contest, USF earned a sweep of the Los Angeles schools on the road with a 86-81 ot win at LMU and a 72-71 victory over Pepperdine. The Dons then returned home to drop a 71-64 ot decision to St. Mary's and a 61-58 heartbreaker to Santa Clara. After a decisive loss at Gonzaga, USF held on for a one-point win (66-65) at Portland. USF lost in overtime at home to Gonzaga. The WCC finale was close at the end, but Portland failed to put up a tying three-point shot.

KELLOGG TAKES WCC SCORING CROWN IN LEAGUE PLAY: USF basketball player Antonio Kellogg, who leads the Dons in scoring (15.4 ppg) became the second USF player to lead the WCC in scoring in three seasons during conference play with 17.2 ppg. After playing the first four league contests, Antonio sat out three games to get off to a strong academic start in the spring semester. The sophomore from Oakland, who was NCAA eligible, worked closely with the University in making the decision. He returned to the lineup at Feb. 3rd at San Diego and made an immediate contribution with 21 points, three assists and three steals. USF was 7-4 in WCC play with him in the lineup.

MANNY BREAKS OUT: USF sophomore guard Manny Quezada has scored 70 points in his last three games. He scored 21 in the Gonzaga loss after a career best 35 point outburst in the loss to Saint Mary's. In that contest he scored 27 points in the last 14:16 and nailed eight of 13 shots (11-19 overall) after intermission. It was the second best scoring performance by a Don this year, with Kellogg scoring 37 vs. San Diego in double overtime. Quezada is the Dons leading scorer over the past nine games, averaging 16.8 ppg. while USF has gone 6-3.

FOUR PLAYERS LEADING THE WAY: The Dons have been paced by two seniors, returning 2006 all-WCC guard Armondo Surratt (14.0 ppg.) and 2007 all-WCC forward Alan Wiggins, Jr. (14.4), and two sophomores, transfers Antonio Kellogg (15.4) and Manny Quezada (13.1).