Dons Host Denver In Opening Round NIT Game Wednesday

March 15, 2005

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DONS HOST UNIV. OF DENVER IN NIT WEDNESDAY
EVANS' DONS MAKE POSTSEASON IN HIS 1ST YEAR
*    John Cox ranked 25th nationally in scoring at 19.9 ppg.
	Selected second team all-region by NABC
*    Riley has excellent February with team leading 19.1 points, 10.4 rebounds per game
*	Denver finished 20-10 this year, lost to Louisiana Lafayette in Sun Belt Finals
	The Dons are the last team to beat top-25 teams Pacific and Gonzaga
EVANS GOES TO POSTSEASON FOR 4TH STRAIGHT SEASON

San Francisco, CA- USF (16-13) will host the University of Denver (20-10) in the first round of the NIT Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m at War Memorial Gymnasium.

It will be USF's first post-season appearance since the NCAA tournament appearance in 1998 (after USF won the WCC tournament) and its first NIT postseason appearance since 1976 (loss to NC Charlotte). Phil Mathews' Dons were defeated by NCAA finalist Utah in 1998 in Boise, Idaho.

EVANS IN POSTSEASON AGAIN: And while it has been a while since USF has made it to the postseason, it is nothing new for first year USF head coach Jessie Evans, who will be playing in his fourth straight postseason. Evans took Louisiana Lafayette to four postseason berths in his seven years there. And he led Arizona to the national championship in his final year as an assistant there in 1997.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE AND WINS EARN BERTH: USF earned its postseason bid by playing a strong non-conference schedule. The Dons played 10 games this season against teams that are playing in the NCAA tournament and two against other teams that are in the NIT. USF has wins against NCAA teams Pacific, Gonzaga, Penn and Montana. The Dons also lost narrowly to Stanford (ot), St. Mary's twice (once in 3ot), and Gonzaga (final second). USF also was helped by the West Coast Conference's strong league RPI rating of seventh.

A COUPLE OF FIRSTS: Wednesday's NIT game is the first ever hosted by a West Coast Conference school and the first ever men's postseason game ever held at Memorial Gymnasium.

IRONIC DATE: If USF wins its opening round game, it will be playing the first round game on March 19th, exactly the same date that USF won its first NCAA title fifty years ago in 1955. The ironic thing is that USF won its regional final games in Corvallis, Oregon (over Utah and Oregon State) on March 11th and 12th in 1955. Corvallis could be the site of the next NIT game for either USF or Denver.

FAMILIAR FOE FOR EVANS: Denver might be a team that USF has not before, but coach Jessie Evans is very familiar with them from his days of matching his Louisiana Lafayette teams against them in the Sun Belt Conference. In fact, it was ULL who knocked Denver out of the Sun Belt tournament finals this year. Evans has a 10-1 mark coaching against Denver.

A QUALITY OPPONENT: Denver is an NCAA level quality opponent, with a 20-10 mark and a solid team. They have started the same five players in all 30 of their games and have four players averaging in double figures. They won the Sun Belt regular season division championship with a 12-3 record, including sweeping Louisiana in the regular season.

Two of their losses are to two of the teams that USF lost to, Stanford and Loyola Marymount. Their best players are 6-10 junior center Yemi Nicholson (18.2 ppg., 58.6% FG), who was recently named to the USBWA All-District 8 squad and guard Erik Benzel, a shooting guard from Spokane who averages 13.8 points per game, while knocking down 42.4% from outside the arc. As a team they hit 47.2% of their shots, 37.3% from three point range. They also have an outstanding point guard in Rodney Billups (195 assists), brother of NBA star Chauncey Billups of the Detroit Pistons. USF leads the all-time series with Denver 2-1.

COX HONORED AGAIN: USF senior guard John Cox was named all-West Coast Conference for the second time. Cox, who was named all-WCC in his junior season of 2002-03 sat out last season as a redshirt after a knee injury. Cox led the WCC in scoring in both overall (20.4 - 19th NCAA at start of week) and league (19.9) play. Cox is currently eleventh in all-time career scoring at USF and is the son of former all-WCC USF guard Chubby Cox.

RILEY HONORABLE MENTION: For the second straight season, senior forward Tyrone Riley barely missed the all-WCC team and was named all-WCC honorable mention. Riley had a sensational senior season, which he culminated with a solid February. Over the past nine games, the Watts native averaged 19.3 points per game and 9.7 rebounds and recorded personal bests with 24 points at Portland and 20 rebounds against Loyola Marymount.

USF IS 2-1 VS. TOP 25: USF is 2-1 in games vs. the AP top 25. The Dons defeated #19 Pacific 67-64 in Stockton on December 18th, UOP's last loss prior to the WAC tournament, and their only loss in Stockton. USF also beat Gonzaga at USF when they were ranked #11, 73-70, which is Gonzaga's last loss. USF lost at Gonzaga 75-73 on February 19th on a shot in the final second.

USF HAS BEATEN LEAGUE FOUR LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: USF has beaten four conference champions this season, Gonzaga (WCC), Pacific (Big West), Penn (Ivy) and St. Joseph's (Atlantic-10). They also have a win over Big Sky tournament champion Montana.