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STOCKTON, Calif. –\u00a0West Coast Conference (WCC) Championship seeding is on the line on Saturday afternoon as the University of San Francisco (USF) men’s basketball team (15-15, 7-10 WCC) will make the short trip east to battle Pacific (17-13, 8-9 WCC) on the final day of regular season action.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS:<\/p>\n
SERIES HISTORY:<\/p>\n
FOLLOW US:
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\nGAME 31 DETAILS:
\nOpponent: Pacific (17-13, 8-9 WCC)
\nDate: Saturday, February 28, 2026
\nTime: 3:00 p.m. PT
\nLocation: Alex G. Spanos Center\/Stockton, Calif.
\nWatch: CBS Sports Network<\/a> (Rich Waltz, Dan Dickau)
\nListen: KNBR 1050<\/a> (Pat Olson)
\nLive Stats: SIDEARM Stats<\/a>
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\nDONS AT A GLANCE:<\/p>\n
\n\tClosing out the season’s home schedule, San Francisco could not overcome an\u00a0offensive onslaught from Santa Clara last Saturday night as the Dons fell to the Broncos,\u00a094-73, on senior night. The Broncos’ 94 points and 13 made three-pointers were the most by a USF opponent this season, with SCU also limiting the green and gold to a season-low 23 rebounds in the contest.
\n\tDespite the defeat, three Dons scored in double figures, with Ryan Beasley<\/a> scoring a team-high 22 points and five assists, good for his seventh 20-point game of the season. Junjie Wang<\/a> had an efficient night with 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 shooting from deep.
\n\tWith one game remaining in WCC action, the Dons have been one of the best teams in the league at getting to the charity stripe, ranking second in the conference in both free throws made (16.0 per game) and attempted (21.9 per game).
\n\tTied for the sixth-best record in conference play heading into Saturday, a win over\u00a0Pacific would clinch the fifth-seed for\u00a0USF\u00a0in the 2026 Credit Union 1\u00a0WCC Championship, giving the Dons a double-bye into the third round\u00a0in Las Vegas on Saturday, Mar. 7. A loss on Saturday would put San Francisco at either the seventh or eighth-seed, forcing the green and gold\u00a0to first suit up in the second round\u00a0on Friday, Mar. 6.
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\n\tAfter suffering a dismal 0-16 conference record just two years ago, Pacific is potentially one game away from securing a top-four seed in the WCC Championship, and its first conference season with a record of .500 or better since the 2019-20 campaign (11-5 WCC).
\n\tHowever, the Tigers enter Saturday’s regular season finale on a season-worst three-game losing streak after an 8-6 start to conference play. Last time out, UOP made a valiant effort in their final WCC\u00a0game in Spokane, but ultimately fell to No. 11\/8 Gonzaga, 71-62, last Saturday night. The Tigers held a two-point lead with under 12 minutes to play in the second half (45-43, 11:51 – 2nd), but a late surge from the Bulldogs was enough to keep Pacific at bay.
\n\tLeading Pacific in conference play, the Tigers have two of the top-20 scorers in the league in fifth-year forward Elias Ralph (15.9, seventh) and senior guard TJ Wainwright (13.9, 14th).\u00a0Wainwright has been sharp from beyond the arc this season,\u00a0having made 42 three-pointers in league play, which ranks third\u00a0in the WCC, on 43.8 percent shooting. On the glass, Ralph also ranks fifth in the league in rebounding within conference play, grabbing 7.1 boards per game, which is\u00a0right behind David Fuchs<\/a>\u00a0(8.0, fourth).
\n\tAs a team, UOP has been one of the conference’s top\u00a0three-point shooting teams, ranking second in the league in three-point percentage at 39.6 percent. The Tigers have also dominated the boards as they rank\u00a0second in rebounding margin (8.3) and\u00a0third in rebounds per game (37.5) within conference play.
\n\tIf second-year head coach Dave Smart can lead Pacific to its first top-four finish in the conference in six years, the Tigers are poised for\u00a0their\u00a0first postseason appearance since the program reached the semifinals of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) in 2014.
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\n\tSaturday’s\u00a0regular season finale will mark the 118th meeting all-time between San Francisco and Pacific, with the Dons holding an 85-32 all-time series advantage. USF has won 23 of its\u00a0last 26 matchups with UOP, including\u00a0nine straight wins, not having lost in Stockton since Feb. 27, 2021 (76-69). Excluding the COVID-impacted 2019-20 season, the Dons have not lost in the Alex G. Spanos Center with fans in attendance in over a decade, with USF’s\u00a0last defeat coming on Feb. 25, 2016 (79-70).
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\nFor updates and more information on the San Francisco men’s basketball program, follow the Dons @USFDonsMBB<\/a> on Twitter, @USFDonsMBB<\/a> on Instagram, and @USFDonsMBB<\/a> on Facebook.
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\nMERCHANDISE:
\nWant to dress like the Dons? Get your official San Francisco Dons gear from the University of San Francisco bookstore today! Click here to purchase<\/a>.
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\nSPONSOR US:
\nThe USF Athletics Department would like to acknowledge and thank our sponsor – Coca-Cola<\/a> – for their continued support of USF\u00a0Athletics. Interested in sponsoring the Dons? Please contact Frank Allocco<\/a>, the Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director of External Relations, at fallocco@usfca.edu or at (415) 422-4561.<\/p>\n