The San Francisco Dons will face off with the Santa Clara Broncos on Saturday in the West Coast Conference Tournament. Tip-off from Orleans Arena in Las Vegas is at 9:30 p.m. PT.
San Francisco (19-13 SU, 15-16 ATS) defeated Pacific on Friday. The Dons are 4-1 straight-up in their last five overall and were 7-9 in WCC play.
Santa Clara (23-8 SU, 16-14 ATS) defeated San Diego in its regular-season finale. The Broncos were 5-0 straight-up in their last five overall and 11-5 in WCC play.
Santa Clara defeated San Francisco twice this season: 79-67 on December 29 and 84-70 on February 4. In the first meeting, the Broncos shot 51.8 percent and held the Dons to 38.7 perc ent, including 7-for-26 shooting (26.9%) from three. In the 14-point road win, Santa Clara shot 47.6 percent from three and 18-for-22 at the free-throw line with a +14 rebounding advantage. USF was held to 34.4 percent shooting.
The series is tied 83-83 since the 1949-50 season.
San Francisco advanced past Pacific in the second round of the West Coast Conference tourney on Friday in Las Vegas. The Dons shot 46.7 percent from the floor, while the Tigers shot 40.8 percent, including 4-for-21 (19%) from three-point range. USF boasted a +7 rebounding margin and only trailed by four points in the ballgame.
Khalil Shabazz paces San Francisco in scoring. The senior guard averaged 17.2 points and 5.5 rebounds in the regular season with a 40.9 FG%. Other players to watch when the Dons take the floor are senior guard Tyrell Roberts (15.9 PPG, 39.5 3PT%), junior forward Zane Meeks (10.9 PPG and 5.1 RPG), and junior guard Marcus Williams (7.2 PPG).
Threw it down??@USFDonsMBB | #WCCHoops | ??: https://t.co/Z7KP2yQ6uX pic.twitter.com/csVejndpik
— WCC Basket ball (@WCChoops) March 4, 2023
USF averaged 75.6 points per game (90th) and shot 44.9 percent from the field (176th) with a 35.4 three-point shooting percentage (121st) this season. The Dons converted 74.9 percent of their free throws (54th) and averaged 31.6 rebounds (190th) with a +1.5 rebounding margin. They ranked 89th in schedule-adjusted offensive efficiency and 43rd in effective field goal percentage (53.6%).
USF surrendered 73.0 points per game on defense (266th), and its opponents shot 44.0 percent from the floor (206th) with a 34.2 three-point shooting percentage (212th). The Dons ranked 147th in adjusted defensive efficiency, 265th in assist-per-turnover ratio, and 103rd in adjusted tempo.
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