Nov. 30, 2011
USDvsUCI 
GAME #7: The USD Toreros (4-2) head up the I-405 freeway this Saturday, December 3rd, to take on the UC Irvine Anteaters (0-6). Game time is 7:05 p.m. at the Bren Events Center (5,000 capacity).
SERIES RECORD: This is the 26th meeting between USD and UCI with the Toreros holding a 14-11 advantage... The Anteaters won last year's meeting in San Diego on Dec. 1, 2010 in a shootout, 90-82... UCI guard Darren Moore poured in 30 points (9-9 shooting from field; 9-12 in free throws). USD was paced by Chris Manresa with 18 points. Prior to last season, the Toreros defeated UCI back on November 25, 2007 in a neutral site contest at the Anaheim Classic which was played in the Anaheim Convention Center. USD came out on top, 60-57.
RADIO/INTERNET: Saturday's game will be broadcast live on XTRA Sports 1360 AM with Ben Higgins filling in for Andy Masur; his pre-game show will air 15 minutes prior to tip-off. In addition to the live broadcasts airing on XTRA's terrestrial signal, fans will also be able to hear the broadcast on their computers via live stream at XTRASports1360.com and on their smart phones via the free iheartradio application. A audio feed is also available free of charge at www.usdtoreros.com.
WEST COAST CONFERENCE STANDINGS (thru Nov. 29th): Gonzaga (4-0), Saint Mary's (4-1), San Diego (4-2), BYU (4-2), Loyola Marymount (4-2), Santa Clara (4-2), San Francisco (5-3), Pepperdine (3-3), Portland (3-4).
A LOOK AHEAD: Following USD's trip to UC Irvine, the team begins a three-game homestand with crosstown rival San Diego State on Wednesday, Dec. 7th (7pm, 4SD TV). That contest will be followed by Maine (Dec. 10th, 6pm) and UC Santa Barbara (Dec. 13th, 6pm).
COACH GRIER (5TH YEAR): Coach Bill Grier (Oregon, 1990) is in his fifth season at the helm of the USD program... He enters the UC Irvine game with a record of 59-77... Last season was highlighted with the team's 74-66 home win over #23 Saint Mary's, along with a 67-64 win over Utah on Christmas... The 2009-10 season was highlighted by wins over Stanford, #25 Oklahoma, Houston and Boise State... His second campaign (16-16 mark in 2008-09) was highlighted by road wins over Oregon and Mississippi State... In his rookie year (2007-08) he guided the Toreros to an overall mark of 22-14 and 3rd place finish in the WCC race at 11-3... He guided the Toreros to three wins and the championship title at the WCC Tournament (hosted by USD) with wins over Pepperdine, Saint Mary's and No. 20 Gonzaga... The Toreros then upset No. 15 UCONN in the NCAA Tournament opener with a 70-69 overtime victory, before falling to Western Kentucky in the second round... His 11 WCC wins were the second most for league wins in a single season in program history... Hired on March 26, 2007, Grier is USD's 11th head coach overall and just the 4th head coach since the Torero program moved to the NCAA Division I ranks in 1979-80... His 22 wins in 2007-08 were also the most by a Torero coach in his first season at USD. In addition to knocking off Kentucky on the road, 81-72, the Toreros earned three wins over Top-25 teams: #21 Saint Mary's, #20 Gonzaga and #15 Connecticut... Prior to USD Grier spent 16 years at Gonzaga, including the last 8 seasons as Mark Few's top assistant. Bill and his wife, Nicole, have two daughters, Giselle & Ashley.
TOREROS PLACE 2ND AT HOOPS FOR HOPE CLASSIC IN NEW ORLEANS: The Toreros traveled to the Crescent City and came away with a second place showing in the four-team/three-game format involving host Tulane University, University of New Orleans and Alcorn State University... The Toreros defeated New Orleans (64-56) and Alcorn State (66-65) on the campus of Tulane before falling in the championship to Tulane (65-46) in a game played at the New Orleans Arena on Sunday... Senior guard Darian Norris and freshman guard Johnny Dee were both named to the 5-member All-Tournament team... Over the three-game stretch Norris averaged 12.7 ppg with Dee close behind at 12.3 ppg... Norris scored in double figures all three games with a high of 15 points against Alcorn State, including the game-winning basket with 25 seconds to go... Dee scored a game-high 18 points in the win over Alcorn State... In USD's first win over New Orleans, Ken Rancifer and Chris Manresa each tallied double-doubles in scoring and rebounding... Rancifer scored 14 points while grabbing a career-high 11 rebounds; Manresa notched his fourth straight "Double-D" with 11 points and 10 rebounds... Tulane improved to 7-0 on the season with their championship win over San Diego.
TORERO TIDBITS: USD's current 4-2 start out of the gates matches their 2009-10 beginning... The last time a USD team began the season 5-2 was back in 2005-06; that squad eventually stretched it to a 7-2 start... Freshman guard Johnny Dee is leading the team in scoring at 15.2 points per game - that mark currently ranks 8th among West Coast Conference players... His 85% accuracy from the free throw line ranks fifth among WCC players... Junior forward Chris Manresa is USD's only other player averaging in double figures at 11.5 points and 9.3 rebounds... He ranks 2nd among WCC players in rebounding; he also began the season with four straight double-doubles before falling one rebound shy (10 points, 9 rebounds) in the team's win over Alcorn State... Freshman guard Christopher Anderson ranks 7th in the WCC in steals (1.3), while 6-11 sophomore forward Dennis Kramer is 5th in blocked shots (1.2)... With one senior (Darian Norris) and just four upperclassmen overall on this year's squad, the Toreros once again field one of the youngest teams in the WCC with 11 underclassmen.
SCOUTING THE UC IRVINE ANTEATERS: The UC Irvine Anteaters (0-6) return to their home floor for just the second time this season... This past week they were in Anchorage, Alaska for the Great Alaska Shootout and they dropped three games to Southern Mississippi (78-67), Central Michigan (82-72) and host Alaska Anchorage (77-63)... They opened the season with road losses at Cal (77-56) and San Jose State (51-50) before dropping their lone home game against Weber State (80-72) on November 19th... Junior guard Daman Starring is the lone Anteater averaging in double figures at 14.0 points... He is followed by 6-2 junior guard Michael Wilder (9.2 ppg) and 6-4 sophomore guard Chris McNealy (8.8 ppg)... 6-8 freshman forward Will Davis is the team's top rebounder (7.2 rpg), followed by McNealy (6.7 rpg)... Through six games UCI is averaging 63.3 ppg adn 38.0 rpg while giving up 74.2 ppg and 42.8 rpg to its opponents on average... Head coach Russell Turner is in his second season (13-25 record).
WCC PRESEASON COACHES POLL: The West Coast Conference welcomes BYU to its league membership, marking the first time it has altered its membership in over thirty years. The following is the WCC Preseason Coaches Poll with first place votes in parenthesis: 1- Gonzaga (7) 63 points; 2- Saint Mary's (1) 56 points; 3- BYU (1) 52 points; 4- San Francisco 42 points; 5- Santa Clara 35 points; 6- Loyola Marymount 27 points; 7- Portland 25 points; 8- Pepperdine 13 points; 9- San Diego 11 points.
WCC TOURNAMENT RETURNS TO LAS VEGAS: The 2012 Zappos.com WCC Tournament returns to Las Vegas, Nevada and The Orleans Arena from February 29 through March 5th. The tournament will begin with an opening round game between the eighth and ninth seed. The winner will then play on Thursday, March 1st, against the tournament's fifth seed. Also on Thursday, the sixth and seventh seeds will square off. Friday's action will see seeds No. 3 and No. 4 play for the first time, while the top two seeds will advance all the way to the semifinals on Saturday, March 3rd. There will be no games played on Sunday, March 4th, with both the men's and women's championship games on Monday.
