GAME NOTES: With 800 career wins under his belt, San Francisco head coach Eddie Sutton leads his Dons into Moraga for a West Coast Conference clash with the 25th-ranked Saint Mary's Gaels. Not much has gone right for USF, which is just 6-16 this season, which includes a 2-5 mark in league play. After Sutton earned the milestone win versus Pepperdine last Saturday, his team was knocked off by Loyola Marymount on Monday by a 72-67 final. The Dons are 2-11 in true road games this season, so there isn't much reason for optimism tonight. Saint Mary's has won two straight games and seven of the last eight overall to move to 19-3 on the season and 6-1 in the league. The Gaels recorded a major statement victory on Monday, as they defeated Gonzaga in overtime by an 89-85 final. Saint Mary's crushed San Francisco last month (79-57), overshadowing the fact that the Dons still own a 103-60 series lead over the Gaels.

San Francisco is scoring 66.4 ppg this season, but the team is allowing 72.6 ppg to the opposition. The Dons are led by Dior Lowhorn, who is netting 20.9 ppg on 49.9 percent shooting from the floor. Lowhorn is also tops on the boards with 7.5 rpg and is playing nearly 38 minutes per game. Manny Quezada is generating 15.0 ppg to go along with his 99 assists, and Myron Strong rounds out a trio of double-digit scorers with 11.1 ppg. Even Danny Cavic has been solid with his 9.0 ppg, but here is a glaring lack of production by the rest of the team. No other player is scoring more than 3.9 ppg. In the loss to Loyola Marymount on Monday, both Lowhorn and Quezada scored 20 points, which Cavic had 10 points. Unfortunately, the Dons connected on only 37.7 percent of their field goal attempts.

Give Todd Golden plenty of credit for helping Saint Mary's knock off Gonzaga on Monday. Golden only attempted six shots from the floor, but all six were three- pointers and all six fell for the starting guard. He finished with 19 points, second only to the 23 points of backcourt starter Patrick Mills. Omar Samhan tallied 15 points for the Gaels, and Diamon Simpson pitched in 10 points and 11 rebounds. Saint Mary's only committed nine turnovers in the clash and earned a 26-12 advantage in points from the foul line. Mills is averaging a team-high 15.2 ppg this season, and he is dishing out 3.8 apg as well. Simpson checks in with 12.4 ppg, 9.5 rpg and 41 blocks, while Samhan is contributing 12.3 ppg, 7.9 rpg and 32 blocks. The Gaels are posting 78.2 ppg while limiting opponents to 64.2 ppg on 41 percent overall shooting.

There is no reason to believe that San Francisco will be able to knock off Saint Mary's on the road tonight. The Gaels are the type of team that can make some noise in the NCAA Tournament, as they are strong both up front and in the backcourt.