Gonzaga-San Francisco key matchup: Jamaree Bouyea hoping game No. 12 against Zags brings better fortunes

SAN FRANCISCO – In five years at San Francisco, Jamaree Bouyea has never experienced the euphoria of beating Gonzaga. He’s 0-11 in that department entering Thursday’s game at War Memorial Gym. Bouyea has never won more than 22 games in a season with the Dons, nor has he played in the NCAA Tournament.

All three things could be attainable for Bouyea on Senior Night this week if the fifth-year senior point guard and USF (22-7, 9-5) pull off a major upset of No. 1 Gonzaga (23-2, 12-0).

Bouyea hasn’t always been a thorn in Gonzaga’s side, but the Bulldogs would be grateful if Thursday is their last encounter with the Seaside, California, native who scored 33 total points in his first eight matchups against Mark Few’s team but has combined for 58 in the past three.

“It’ll be a great atmosphere, great support,” USF coach Todd Golden said. “Senior Night, getting to honor guys like Jamaree Bouyea, Yauhen Massalski. Analytically, we have a legitimate opportunity to win this game. I think the guys will pull the confidence from our 22 wins and our many close losses this year that we can play with and compete with anybody. We’ve been elite in all settings, whether it’s home, away or neutral.”

Through his career, Bouyea has demonstrated the ability to score at all three levels, hitting nearly 40% of his shots from the 3-point line this season while picking his spots in the midrange and constantly applying pressure on the defense when he slashes to the hoop.

Bouyea registered 25 points in the last meeting with Gonzaga, matching the third-highest total by an opposing player against the Bulldogs this season.

He ranks third in the conference, averaging 17.4 points per game.

But his game is multidimensional. Bouyea is coming off the third double-double of his career – a 15-point, 11-assist effort against Pacific that saw him post a career high in the latter category.

When Gonzaga and USF met last month, the Bulldogs did their best to match speed on speed, sticking Rasir Bolton on Bouyea while Andrew Nembhard took on another tough assignment in the Dons’ backcourt, guarding Khalil Shabazz.

The Zags have to be conscious of what Shabazz and Bouyea can do on the offensive end, but they’re also among the conference leaders in steals, respectively ranking second and third at 1.8 and 1.7 spg.