St. Mary’s, San Francisco start conference play
Saint Mary’s (13-2, 0-0) vs. San Francisco (11-4, 0-0)
War Memorial Gymnasium, San Francisco; Thursday, 11 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Saint Mary’s and San Francisco meet in the first conference game of the season for both teams. In conference play last season, Saint Mary’s finished with 11 wins and five losses, while San Francisco won nine games and lost seven.
SUPER SENIORS: Saint Mary’s has relied heavily on its seniors. Jordan Ford, Malik Fitts, Tanner Krebs, Tommy Kuhse and Dan Fotu have collectively accounted for 74 percent of the team’s scoring this year and 96 percent of all Gaels points over the last five games.JUMPING FOR JORDAN: Ford has connected on 42.7 percent of the 89 3-pointers he’s attempted and has gone 8 for 17 over his last three games. He’s also converted 77.4 percent of his free throws this season.
UNBEATEN WHEN: The Dons are 8-0 when they shoot at least 75 percent from the foul line and 3-4 when they fall shy of that mark. The Gaels are 11-0 when they hold opponents to a field goal percentage of 44.8 percent or worse, and 2-2 when opponents exceed that percentage.
ASSIST RATIOS: The Dons have recently used assists to create buckets more often than the Gaels. San Francisco has an assist on 44 of 84 field goals (52.4 percent) over its past three outings while Saint Mary’s has assists on 47 of 94 field goals (50 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: Saint Mary’s has committed a turnover on just 15.2 percent of its possessions this season, which is the seventh-lowest percentage among all Division I teams. The Gaels have turned the ball over only 9.7 times per game this season.