The San Francisco Dons open up their 2011-12 WCC season with a road game against the Pepperdine Waves, with tip off set for 7:00pm PT. The Dons enter conference play with a 9-4 record following a loss to Holy Cross on December 22. The 9-4 mark is USF's best record since they started 12-1 in 1999-00.
The Dons are led by senior forward Angelo Caloiaro who leads the team in scoring (13.7) and rebounds (6.8). Caloiaro enters conference play ranked No. 33 on the USF career scoring list with 965 points (9.0 ppg). Next up is former Dons star guard, USF head coach and 1977 AP National Coach of the Year Bob Gaillard (1959-62) at No. 32 with 976. Caloiaro gets help inside from Rashad Green and Perris Blackwell, who each average 5.2 rebounds per game.
The Waves enter West Coast Conference play with a winning record (6-5) for the first time since 2004-05 and have won three of their last five contests. Pepperdine dropped a 67-56 decision to Washington State at the Cougar Hardwood Classic in Seattle (12/22/11) in its final non-conference tune-up. Senior forward Taylor Darby leads Pepperdine on offense averaging 12.1 points and 7.0 rebounds, while senior center Corbin Moore adds 10.5 points and a team-high 8.5 rebounds. Longtime assistant coach Marty Wilson is in his first season as head coach at his alma mater after serving under mentor Tom Asbury as associate head coach for the last three years. Pepperdine posted a 12-21 record in 2010-11 and went 5-9 during WCC play.
The game will not be televised, but the radio broadcast is available at USFDons.com. Video will be streamed at Pepperdinesports.com.