Jan. 27, 2004
GAMES #20 & #21: The USD Toreros (0-4 WCC; 3-16) return home to host the 10th-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs (5-0 WCC; 15-2) on Thursday, January 29th and the Portland Pilots (2-3 WCC; 8-10) on Saturday, January 31st. Both games tipoff at 7:05 p.m. at Jenny Craig Pavilion (5,100-seating capacity).
SERIES RECORD: This is the 60th meeting between Gonzaga and USD with the Bulldogs leading the overall series, 39-20 ... USD won the last meeting, last year's WCC Tournament Championship game in San Diego on March 10th (72-63) ... that win snapped a 9-game winning streak for the Bulldogs. This is the 54th meeting with Portland and the Toreros lead the overall series, 34-19 ... San Diego won both meetings last year and has won the last four contests.
TV/RADIO/WEBCAST: Thursday's game with Gonzaga will be televised by San Diego Channel 4 (Jim Laslavic, play-by-play; Jim Brogran, color analyst). Both games can be heard on KCBQ 1170 AM with Jerry Gross (play-by-play) and George Young (color) calling the action. Additionally, the games will be webcast via the internet at www.usdtoreros.com and www.kcbq.com. The Brad Holland Show, hosted by Gross, airs 20 minutes before tipoff.
TIO LEOS TORERO TALK: Every home game Jack Murray will webcast a 40 minute pre-game show from 6:00 p.m. to 6:40 p.m. that will include interviews with USD coaches, players, alumni and administration. Click on www.usdtoreros.com to hear Tio Leos Torero Talk each and every home game.
Brad Holland (10TH YEAR): Coach Brad Holland (UCLA, 1979) is in his tenth season at the helm of Torero basketball. Last season he directed the Toreros to an overall 18-12 record and 2nd place finish in the WCC at 10-4. The Toreros won their first WCC Tournament title and played in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in sixteen years. In 1999-2000, Holland was chosen WCC Coach of the Year by his peers for the second straight season after he guided the Toreros to a 20-9 mark -- including wins over every WCC foe. In 1998-99 he guided the Toreros to an 18-9 mark and 2nd place finish in the WCC (9-5; tie for 2nd). Holland's USD career mark heading into the Gonzaga game is 147-127; including two seasons at CS Fullerton, his overall coaching record is 170-158. Since the start of 1998-99 season, Holland is 91-72. Holland, who played four years of basketball at UCLA (1976-79), was the 14th player taken in the first round of the 1979 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers. He was a member of the 1980 NBA Los Angeles Lakers championship team. Brad and his wife Leslie, who reside in Carlsbad, have three children: twin daughters Kristin and Lisa, seniors at USD, and a 11-year-old son, Kyle.
WCC STANDINGS (thru 1--27-04): Gonzaga (5-0; 15-2), Saint Mary's (3-1; 12-7), Santa Clara (3-2; 11-9), Pepperdine (3-2; 8-12), San Francisco (2-3; 12-9), Portland (2-3; 8-10), Loyola Marymount (1-4; 10-8), San Diego (0-4; 3-16). THIS WEEK IN WCC: (Jan. 29) SMC @ PEP, POR @ SCU, GON @ USD, USF @ LMU. (Jan. 31) SMC @ LMU, USF @ PEP, POR @ USD, GON @ SCU. All games 7:00 p.m. except Saturday's Gonzaga-Santa Clara game which begins at 7:30 pm. TORERO TIDBITS: USD will be looking to snap an 8-game losing skid when they take on No. 15 Gonzaga on Thursday ... the Toreros are 3-3 at home this season this past weekend the Toreros dropped WCC road contests at San Francisco (78-68) and Saint Mary's (86-67) ... Brice Vounang (22 points/8 rebounds) and Brandon Gay (18 points/6 rebounds) paced the Toreros against USF, while Brett Melton poured in 20 points against the Gaels on Saturday ... turnovers hurt the Toreros in both games with 24 misques at USF and 20 at Saint Mary's ... Vounang leads the Toreros in scoring at 16.2 ppg (19.5 in WCC contests) and in rebounding at 6.7 rpg (8.8 rpg in WCC games) ... among WCC players Vounang ranks 4th in scoring and 5th in rebounding ... Brandon Gay's scoring average has increased to 13.2 ppg ... for the season USD is being outscored by its opponents 78.3 to 66.9 (82.0 to 705 in WCC play) ... Mike McGrain ranks 2nd in the WCC in assists (6.5).
VOUNANG & GAY SOLID OVER LAST 5 GAMES: First year junior college transfers Brice Vounang (6-8 center; Dschang, Cameroon) and Brandon Gay (6-8 forward; Missouri City, TX) have been USD's most consistent players over the last five games ... both scored personal-highs in USD's last nonconference game at New Mexico on January 6th - Vounang (25) & Gay (24), and they both have carried that play through USD's first four WCC games ... over the past five games Vounang is averaging 20.6 ppg and Gay is averaging 17.4 ppg. Overall on the season Vounang has scored in double-digits 15 games; Gay 9 times in 13 games.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS: The Gonzaga Bulldogs come to town with an overall mark of 15-2 and national ranking of No. 10 (USA Today/ESPN Top 25) ... this past weekend they defeated their travel-partner, Portland, on the road (80-65) ... Ronny Turiaf led the way with 21 points and 14 rebounds ... the Zags two losses this season are to Saint Joseph's (73-66) and Stanford (87-80) - both teams are ranked in Top-3 currently ... Gonzaga is 4-0 in "true" away games and 9-2 in overall road contests ... the Zags have a balanced offensive attack led by Turiaf (15.9 ppg), Blake Stepp (14.6 ppg/7.1 apg), Cory Violette (13.6 ppg/7.7 rpg) and freshman Adam Morrison (11.5 ppg). The Portland Pilots will take a record of 8-10 (2-2 WCC) to their Thursday game at Santa Clara ... in their home loss to Gonzaga on Saturday the Pilots were paced by Eugene "Pooh" Jeter with 18 points and Donald Wilson with 15 ... Dustin Geddis tallied a season-best 13 boards ... Jeter leads the club in scoring at 17.9 ppg while Wilson follows at 13.3 ppg ... Portland's WCC wins are at LMU (77-68) and home against San Francisco (77-63) ... UP headed to Santa Clara with a 4-6 road mark.
Brad Lechtenberg SUSPENDED INDEFINITELY: Senior guard Brad Lechtenberg (Walnut Creek, CA) has been suspended indefinitely by head coach Brad Holland for violating team rules. He did not suit up or play in the last three games, and he will miss at minimum the team's next two games.
TORERO MASH UNIT: Junior forward Corey Belser (Tacoma, WA), USD's lone returning starter from last year's 18-12 club that advanced to the NCAA Tournament, was lost for the season in the team's second exhibition on Nov. 7th. After grabbing an offensive rebound 3 minutes into the contest, he injured his right knee. Belser and sophomore guard Travis Smith (right shoulder) are both out for the season. Abdou Sane (leg injury) is still out indefinitely with a stress fracture in his right leg; more than likely he is lost for the remainder of the season.
FOLLOW USD ATHLETICS ON THE WEB: Get all the current notes and statistics on San Diego basketball, as well as all USD athletic teams, via the internet at www.usdtoreros.com.
UP NEXT: Following this week's home games, the Toreros will play back-to-back contests against their WCC travel-partner Santa Clara. USD will head up to the Bay Area to take on travel-partner Santa Clara on Thursday, Feb. 5th; USD then returns two days later to host those same Broncos on Saturday, Feb. 7th. USD PICKED 5TH IN WCC PRESEASON POLL: In the 2003-04 WCC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll the Toreros have been picked to finish 5th. Gonzaga was tabbed as the favorite after receiving 7 first place votes and 49 points. Saint Mary's received one first place vote and tied with Pepperdine for second with 37 points. They were followed by San Francisco (32), San Diego (23), Santa Clara (22), Portland (13) and Loyola Marymount (11).
TORERO SPOTLIGHT ON ESPN 800 AM: Every Tuesday and Friday the University of San Diego will air four 'Torero Spotlights' hosted by Jack Murray. Murray will interview USD coaches and student-athletes and promote upcoming Torero events. The Torero Spotlights air at 8:22 a.m, 1:22 p.m., 4:25 p.m. and 8:20 p.m. every Tuesday and Friday.
WCC TOURNEY RETURNS TO BAY AREA: For the first time in four years, the WCC men's and women's Basketball Championships return to the Bay Area. Santa Clara's Leavey Center will be the site of the 2004 championship, while San Francisco will serve as the host site in 2005. Santa Clara has hosted the men's championship on eight different occasions, and the last time was in 2000. The WCC will again use the championship format that was adopted in 2003 where the #5 through #8 seeds will compete in the opening round to determine who will advance to the next round of the tournament. Waiting for the winners in the quarterfinals will be the #3 and #4 seeds, who will have first round byes. The winners of the quarterfinal match-ups will go head-to-head with the #1 and #2 seeds, who will have byes through the first two rounds of the tournament.
A LOOK BACK: Last season the Toreros finished 18-12, won the West Coast Conference Tournament Championship with a 72-63 win over Gonzaga, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the program's first time in sixteen seasons ... the Toreros dropped a tough 77-69 decision to Stanford in the 1st round of the NCAA's played in Spokane, WA ... USD had the luxury of four seniors in the starting lineup that accounted for 73% of its scoring average of 75.5 ppg ... 6-10 center Jason Keep led the way with averages of 18.0 ppg an 9.1 rpg ... 6-8 forward Jason Blair wasn't far behind at 17.1 ppg and 7.4 rpg ... 6-2 guard Roy Morris chipped in 12.3 ppg and 6-2 point guard Matt Delzell added 8.0 ppg.
NOTE TO MEDIA: Media are welcome to attend all USD practices. USD's basic weekly schedule is 2 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. (M-W-F) and 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. (T-TH). Times and site of practice are subject to change. To check times and site of practices, or to set up an interview with either a student-athlete or coach, please contact the Media Relations office at 619/260-4745.
