Game Notes: DIXIE STATE - PDF | USC - PDF
Live TV: PAC-12 NETWORK (DISH Channel 406; check other local listings)
Live Video: PAC-12.com
Live Audio: ESPN RADIO 97.7 FM
Live Stats: at USC
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OPENING TIP: Dixie State (1-3/0-0 WAC) wraps up its SoCal road trip on Monday night as the Trailblazers head to Los Angeles to tangle with No. 24 USC (3-0). Tip-off inside the Galen Center is slated for 8 p.m. (PT). 

DIXIE STATE VS. USC: Monday's game at USC will be the first-ever meeting between the Trailblazers and Trojans on the basketball court. In fact, the match-up will be the first game Dixie State has played against both a PAC-12 and a "Power 5" opponent.
        That said, DSU has faced a current member of the PAC-12 before, that being in-state foe Utah, which the Blazers played when the Utes were still a member of the Mountain West Conference (1-8-08; L, 64-83), three years before they joined the "Conference of Champions."

DIXIE STATE ON THE AIR: All Dixie State Division I home and select road games this season will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio 97.7 FM, with Devin Dixon calling the play-by-play action and former DSU assistant coach Mike Olson providing color commentary. A live stream of the radio broadcast will be available at sportsradio977.com. 
    In addition, the DSU/USC game will be broadcast live on the PAC-12 Network (DISH Channel 406, or check local listings/service provider).
    Along with the radio coverage, all Dixie State home games and Western Athletic Conference games will be streamed live on ESPN+.
     In August, the WAC announced a new multi-year, multi-platform media rights agreement with the "The Worldwide Leader" that will see over 500 annual events on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.

LAST TIME OUT: Dixie State opened its SoCal road swing on a sour note as the Trailblazers dropped both games at the CSUN-hosted Good Sam Empire Classic in Northridge.
    DSU was plagued by a season-high 22 turnovers, 15 of which came in the first half, in an 85-65 loss to Texas State in the tourney's opening game last Friday.
   Then in Saturday's consolation game, the Blazers could not overcome a hot-shooting Matador squad as host CSUN rallied for a 79-73 win. 

TRAILBLAZERS PICKED 12TH IN THE WAC: Dixie State was voted to finish 12th by both the coaches and the media as the Western Athletic Conference announced its 2021-22 conference men's basketball preseason polls on Oct. 19. 
    New Mexico State was overwhelming pick to reclaim its crown in 2021-22 as the Aggies received eight first place votes and 138 points in the coaches' poll, and was favorite among the media pollsters as well. 
    Defending WAC champion Grand Canyon collected three first place votes and 131 points to finish second in the coaches' rankings, while the Lopes were voted third in the media poll. Meanwhile, conference newcomer Stephen F. Austin garnered one first place nod and 106 points to finish third in the coaches' poll and second in the media poll.
    The rest of the coaches poll listed Utah Valley (103 pts) in fourth, WAC newcomer (and 2020-21 Southland champion) Abilene Christian (1 FPV; 92 pts) in fifth, Seattle U (90 pts) in sixth, WAC newcomer Sam Houston (86 pts) in seventh, California Baptist (84 pts) in eighth, Tarleton State (48) and UTRGV (48 pts) in t-ninth, conference newcomer Lamar (41 pts) in 11th, DSU (35 pts) in 12th, and Chicago State (12 pts) in 13th. 
  Rounding out the media poll was ACU in fourth, followed by UVU, CBU, SHSU, Seattle U, Tarleton, Lamar, UTRGV, DSU and CSU.  

578 AND COUNTING: Head Coach Jon Judkins enters the 2021-22 season on the cusp of becoming the all-time leader in coaching victories in Utah college basketball history. Over his first 27 years as a head coach, Judkins currently owns a 578-277 (.676) overall record, including a 294-149 (.663) mark in 17-plus years at Dixie State (274-137 - NCAA era). 
    Judkins now stands five wins shy of passing legendary University of Utah head women's coach Elaine Elliott, who amassed 582 career wins (582-234) in her 27 seasons on the Utes' sideline.
    Coach Judkins became the first men's coach in Utah collegiate basketball history to reach the 500-win plateau when Dixie State defeated Hawai'i Hilo (81-72) back on January 28, 2017. Prior to his arrival at DSU, Judkins spent 12 full seasons at Snow (UT) College, where he went 284-128 on the Badger sideline.

HOME SWEET HOME: Since joining the NCAA ranks in 2006-07, Dixie State has played to a 141-36 (.796) overall record in the Burns Arena under Head Coach Jon Judkins, which includes the SUU win last Friday, along with a 5-7 record last season, and a 12-2 mark in DSU's final D-II year in 2019-20. 
    In fact, DSU has recorded 13 home winning season records in 15 years of NCAA competition overall, though last season's 5-7 result was the first time in that 13-year winning stretch that the Blazers did not finish above .500 at home. 
    DSU has posted eight 10-plus win seasons during its four-year era, highlighted by a perfect 12-0 record in 2009-10, and 11-1 records in consecutive seasons in 2015-16 and 2016-17. 

HOW ABOUT WHEN THE BAGS ARE PACKED?: Dixie State finished the 2020-21 campaign with a 3-6 overall road mark, which snapped an 11-year run that saw DSU post a winning road record.
    The last time Dixie State did not come away with a winning road record was all the way back in the 2007-08 season, when it went 4-11 away from home in the program's second year of Division-II competition.
    Dixie State is now 134-102 (.568) in 236 games away from home in its NCAA era under Coach Judkins, which includes an 0-3 start this season.
    DSU owns a 106-80 record (.570) in true road games, and a 28-22 mark (.560) in neutral site games during Judkins' tenure, with last Friday's Texas State game serving as the Blazers' first neutral court game in the program's new D-I era.
    DSU has won eight or more games away from home in 11 of its 15 NCAA campaigns overall, including a program best 15-5 record (10-2 in road contests) in 2010-11. 

AGAINST NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS: Following the two losses at CSUN over the weekend, Dixie State is now 82-74 (.525) all-time against non-conference opponents in 15-plus seasons of NCAA competition. That record includes a 4-3 record in the Blazers' NCAA D-I debut last season, a 6-2 mark in the program's last D-II season in 2019-20, and an 11-14 record in the program's first year of NCAA play (2006-07). 
    Additionally, DSU owns a combined 7-14 postseason record (4-4 PacWest, 1-2 RMAC, 2-8 NCAA). 
  DSU has recorded eight winning seasons in non-conference games in its four-year era, highlighted by a program-best nine wins in 2010-11 (9-4), eight wins in 2008-09 (8-7), and seven victories in 2012-13 (7-4).

IT'S NOT HOW YOU START....: Dixie State's loss at No. 1 Gonzaga (11/9) snapped Dixie State's modest two-game season opening win streak. DSU is now an even 8-8 all-time in season-opening games during the program's NCAA era. 
  On the flip side, the Blazers moved to 12-4 in 16 their Burns Arena debuts as a four-year program after the SUU back on Nov. 12, and DSU has won nine of its last 10 home openers overall.

RELEASE...ROTATION...SPLASH: Dixie State has hit at least one 3-pointer in 114-straight games, including eight made treys at Gonzaga (11/9), and six more vs. SUU (11/12).
     Dixie State reached double figures in made 3-pointers three times last season, all of which resulted in Trailblazer wins, which included 12 made treys (12-of-29) in a home win vs. Saint Katherine (12/5). 
    That effort was one off the school record of 13 first set at Carroll College on Nov. 11, 2008, while the Blazers have reached double-figures in made 3-pointers 21 times in its four-year era overall. 
    In all, Dixie State has hit at least one three pointer in 315 of its last 317 games overall, and in 410 of the program's 413 NCAA-era games since the beginning of the 2006-07 season.

FROM WAY DOWNTOWN...CLANG: While Dixie State knocked down 12 3-pointers vs. Saint Katherine (12/5), the Trailblazer defense made a little history on the defensive side of things. 
    For the FIRST TIME in the program's NCAA era (390th game overall), DSU held a team without a 3-point make as the Firebirds misfired on all 18 of their shots from beyond the arc. 
    Prior to the SKU win, the previous 3FGM opponent low was one, which was recorded in consecutive games all the way back in the 2012-13 season at Notre Dame de Namur (1-of-9; 2/16/13) and at home vs. BYU-Hawaii (1-of-10; 2/23/13). 

"SCORE"FIELD GETTING IT DONE IN-STATE: Senior forward Hunter Schofield continued his dominant play against in-state opponents with a season-high 29 points in DSU's 83-76 win over Southern Utah back on Nov. 12. 
    The senior knocked down 12 of his 19 shot attempts, including 8-of-12 shooting in the first half, and just missed his chance to tie or set a new career high in points after he fouled out with 1:12 to play.
    In six career games vs. in-state foes, Schofield is averaging an even 20.0 points on nearly 57 percent shooting, highlighted by a career-high 31 points (11-of-16 FG) in a road win at Utah Valley last February (2/13/21). In addition, Schofield has scored double figures in five of those six in-state games overall with three 25-plus point outings. 
    Schofield kept that vibe going in Northridge as he averaged 15.0 points on 52.4 percent shooting, including 16 points in the opening game vs Texas State last Friday.
    Schofield's current run has vaulted him into 10th place on DSU's career scoring list (823 points), and he is ranked third all-time in career scoring average (14.9 ppg). 

GOODEN-PLENTY: Junior guard Cameron Gooden earned All-Tournament Team honors at the CSUN Good Sam Empire Classic over the weekend. The 5-11 guard led the team in scoring (19.0 ppg) AND rebounding (6.0 rpg), highlighted by a season-high 20 points and a career-best eight boards at CSUN last Saturday. The junior also recorded his first blocked shot as a Trailblazer against the Matadors. 
    Gooden also averaged 3.0 assists, including four dimes to go with a team-high 18 points vs. Texas State.
    Gooden picked up right where he left off from last season as went for a team-high 15 points in 31 minutes at No. 1 Gonzaga (11/9). Gooden hit on 6-of-12 shots to go with a team-high five assists and three rebounds.
    The junior then followed that up with 10 points and a career-high nine assists in the win over Southern Utah (11/12). His nine dimes bested his previous career high of six set at California Baptist (1/30/21) last season.
    Gooden has now scored in double figures in 17 of 25 games as a Trailblazer and has led the team in scoring 12 times overall. Gooden also paced the Blazers with 20 points at Gonzaga last season (12/29/20), which was three points off his career high of 23 set in a road win at Denver (12/12/20).

BLAZING TRAILS:
* - Junior guard Brock Gilbert made his fourth career start in the Southern Utah win (11/12) and responded with a season-high eight assists to go with two points, one rebound and steal ... In fact, Gilbert and Gooden combined for 17 assists to just three turnovers against the Thunderbirds. 
* - Gilbert also started at CSUN last Saturday and poured in a career-high 10 points with a game-high seven assists ... Gilbert hit on 3-of-6 from the floor with a 3-pointer and picked off two steals in a career-high 33 minutes played. 
* - Junior forward Dancell Leter made the most of his Trailblazer debut, pouring in 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers at No. 1 Gonzaga (11/9) ... Leter, who got the start, also collected four boards, one steal and one block in 23 minutes.
* - Sophomore guard Isaiah Pope just missed reaching double figures at No. 1 Gonzaga (11/9) as he finished with eight points on a pair of 3-pointers and two free throws in 14 reserve minutes. 
* - Sophomore forward Frank Staine notched his first double-digit point game of the year with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting vs. SUU (11/12) ... Staine, who scored in double figures in 10 of 20 games last year with a pair of 19-point nights, has scored 10 or more points in 24 of his 54 career games as a Trailblazer ... the sophomore is also four 3-pointers shy of moving into 10th place on DSU's career 3FGM list.  
* - Junior forward Jacob Nicolds provided a spark off the bench for DSU in the CSUN loss with a season-high 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting ... Nicolds also went 4-of-5 at the line and collected three boards and an assist in nearly 28 reserve minutes. 
* - Freshman forward Trevon Allfrey capped Dixie State's big 15-2 first half run vs. SUU (11/12) with a conventional 3-point play as part of a 10-point, three-rebound night ... the freshman hit three of his four shot attempts and blocked a shot in just over nine reserve minutes.  
* - Dixie State wrapped up its first year of D-I play with an 8-13 overall record, which included a 4-10 mark in WAC play ... the Trailblazers posted six wins against Division I opponents in its debut season at the D-I level. 
* - DSU was the only program in the WAC that did not have to go through an extended COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, and was the only team in the conference to play their full slate of league games (not including the Chicago State season shutdown).
* - Schofield was named to the 2020-21 CoSIDA Division I Men's Basketball CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team ... Schofield (3.95 GPA) is the third Trailblazer player in the program's NCAA era to earn Second Team Academic All-America honors, joining former Blazers Josh Fuller (2016-17) and Brandon Simister (2017-18) on the prestigious list. 
* - DSU's bench outscored Southern Utah's reserves by a season best 37-20 count in the big in-state win (11/12) ... DSU also outscored Texas State's bench (21-16), though the Blazer reserves are trailing by a 107-100 count through the first four games overall. 
* - Last season DSU outscored its opponent reserves by a 466-406 margin (22.2-19.3 ppg) in 21 games (11-of-21 games overall) ... in 2019-20, DSU reserves outscored its opponents' reserves in 22 of 30 games played (748-571/24.9 ppg-19.0 ppg). 
* - Since the 2016-17, Dixie State has shot 50 percent or better in just 46 of its last 135 games overall, though the Blazers managed to shoot 51.7 percent (31-of-60) in the SUU win (11/12), including a 57.6 clip in the first half. 
*- DSU only shot better than 50 percent twice last season, the first being a season-high 63.2 percent vs. Bethesda (12/19) ... that performance broke a string of 66 games from the last time the Trailblazers shot at least 60 percent from the floor (60.0% vs. Holy Names - 2/19/18).
* - DSU also shot a WAC (and D-I opponent) season high 51.7 percent (30-of-58) in the win at Utah Valley (2/13).
* - Also dating back to the 2016-17 season, Dixie State has had 70 of its last 138 games decided by nine points or less, including 11 of 25 games in D-I contents to this point of the program's transition.
* - Uncharacteristically, Dixie State lost the "Battle of the Boards" in 12 of 21 games last season, and has been outrebounded in all four games this season ... overall, the Blazers have outrebounded an opponent in 75 of its last 111 games going back to the 2017-18 campaign. 
* - DSU is 20-13 all-time in overtime games ... four of those 33 games have gone to double-overtime (2-2), the last was a 79-75 loss at Cal Poly Pomona (11/10/17) in the 2017-18 season opener.

ABOUT THE USC "TROJANS": USC is off to a 3-0 start to its 2021-22 campaign with two of its three wins coming by double digits, including an 89-49 rout of CSUN in the Trojans' season opener (11/9) in the Galen Center. The Trojans also picked up road wins at Temple (76-71; 11/13) and at FGCU (78-61; 11/16), where USC Head Coach Andy Enfield (160-110; 9th season) served as head coach prior to his arrival to LA. 
    The Trojans boast three players averaging double figures, with junior guard Boogie Ellis (6-3) leading the way at 16.3 ppg on 56.7 percent shooting. Meanwhile, junior forward Isaiah Mobley (6-10) is USC's top rebounder at 8.7 rpg to go with a 12.3 ppg clip.

UP NEXT: Dixie State returns home for six-straight games inside the Burns Arena, starting with a post-Thanksgiving match-up against in-state foe Weber State this Saturday night. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.