Sept. 9, 2009

Complete 2009-10 USF Men's Basketball Schedule in PDF Format

PLEASE NOTE: The schedule above does not include minor time changes to accomodate Comcast/other local cable broadcasts. A full Dons on TV schedule should be available by the end of September.

(San Francisco) - USF head men's basketball coach Rex Walters announces the 2009-10 schedule featuring five games against 2009 NCAA Tournament teams, and nine contests against teams competing in the postseason a year ago. The Dons open the 2009-10 campaign Friday, November 13 against the Mustangs of Cal Poly, kicking off six non-conference home games at the newly renovated War Memorial Gym.

"There are some really difficult games on the schedule, especially on the road," Walters said. "One of our goals for this year was to get more home games and to try and be at home as much as possible, but also to play a schedule that is very challenging. We play at Washington, at BYU, at Arizona State and we have to return games at Santa Barbara and Colorado State. It's a difficult schedule. It's going to be a challenging schedule for a young team, but I really believe it will help prepare us for conference play."

After taking on the Mustangs and Dominican November 16, San Francisco takes to the road for a pair of games at Arizona State on Friday, November 20 and then UC Santa Barbara Monday, November 23 in the Thunderdome. The Dons host Montana State at War Memorial Gym Wednesday, November 25 before starting a three-game Rocky Mountain road swing, beginning Sunday November 29 in Fort Collins against Colorado State. USF takes on Colorado Tuesday, December 1 in Boulder and then closes out the trip at 2009 NCAA Tournament participant BYU Saturday, December 5 in Provo.

San Francisco hosts Bay Area rival San Jose State Tuesday, December 8 before heading to the Windy City to take on Loyola Chicago Saturday, December 12 in a rematch of the 1949 NIT Championship game won by the Dons. USF competes in the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic beginning Saturday, December 19 against the "other USF", the Bulls of South Florida. The Dons close out tournament play the next night against Southern Illinois.

USF plays its final home game of 2009 when it welcomes Cal State Bakersfield to the Hilltop Wednesday, December 23 in the club's last contest before the Christmas holiday. The Dons close the book on 2009 in Seattle against rising Pac-10 power Washington Sunday, December 27.

San Francisco rings in the New Year by welcoming Holy Names to War Memorial Gym Saturday, January 2 in the final tune-up prior to league action.

Competition in the WCC figures to be fierce as usual in 2010, the 57th season of league play. Last season three teams - Gonzaga (NCAA), Saint Mary's (NIT) and Portland (CIT) - advanced to the postseason with the Bulldogs advancing to the NCAA Sweet-16 and the Gaels marching to the quarterfinals of the NIT. The league schedule retains the Thursday/Saturday format for the 2010 campaign.

"I want to see improvement for us in conference this year," Walters said. "I thought last year we were ok in non-conference and then we really struggled for a lot of different reasons in the conference schedule. It was a great conference last year and three teams played in the postseason, two that I definitely thought were NCAA Tournament teams. Portland is going to be very good again this year. They return basically everybody. Although Gonzaga loses a lot they return one of the top players in the league as well as some very good, young players that were hurt last season. Saint Mary's lost two good players but return (Omar) Samhan and they have a culture there. Randy has done a really good job there. Don't sleep on some of the teams that struggled last year. We're excited about the possibilities and playing in the WCC because it is a great basketball conference."

USF opens conference play by hosting 2009 NIT quarterfinalist and longtime Bay Area rival Saint Mary's to the Hilltop Friday, January 8. The Dons then tackle San Diego Sunday, January 10.

San Francisco heads to Southern California to take on Loyola Marymount Thursday, January 14 at Gersten Pavilion and then tackle Pepperdine Saturday in Malibu at Firestone Fieldhouse.

USF closes out the first half of the league loop when it opens a three-game homestand against ancient Bay Area foe Santa Clara Saturday, January 23. The Dons host Portland Thursday, January 28 in an ESPNU contest before a showdown against defending WCC Champion Gonzaga on Saturday.

San Francisco opens the second half of WCC play Thursday, February 4 in Southern California against the Toreros at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. The Dons then return to the Bay Area to take on the Gaels Saturday across the bay in Moraga.

USF wraps up the home portion of the regular season against the Waves and Lions, beginning Thursday, February 11 against Pepperdine. The Dons tackle LMU on senior night in the Hilltop curtain calls for Dontae Bryant, Dior Lowhorn and Blake Wallace.

San Francisco closes out the 2009-10 WCC schedule on a three-game road trip beginning at Santa Clara Saturday, February 20 before embarking on the two-game Pacific Northwest trip. The Dons take on the Pilots Thursday, February 25 at the Chiles Center before the season finale at perennial NCAA power Gonzaga Saturday in the McCarthey Athletic Center.

2010 Zappos.com West Coast Conference Tournament in Las Vegas - March 5-8: After a highly successful inaugural event, the WCC Men's and Women's Basketball Championships return to the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. Last season attendance and ticket records were shattered and the league recently inked a three-year deal to remain at the Orleans Arena through the 2011-12 season. The 2009 tournament was the first time in conference history that the league's premier event was held on a neutral site. The 2010 basketball championships will be the 24th annual event on the men's side and the 18th annual women's tournament, and takes place March 5-8.