March 1, 2013
USDvsPEPmar2 
GAME #31: The USD Toreros (13-7; 6-9 WCC) close out their regular-season schedule Saturday afternoon against the Pepperdine Waves. Game time is 12 noon at the Jenny Craig Pavilion (5,100 capacity). These two teams will meet again in next week's WCC Tournament on Thursday, March 7th.
SERIES RECORD: This is the 95th meeting between USD and Pepperdine with the Waves owning a commanding 56-38 series lead... The Toreros own a 4-game winning streak in the series after winning in Malibu this season (60-52, Jan. 12th), and all three games last season... Johnny Dee paced the Toreros with 17 points, and was followed in the scoring column by Ken Rancifer (16 points) in this season's first contest.
RADIO-TV: All USD home and away games will be broadcast live on The Mighty 1090 or ESPN 1700 AM with Andy Masur (6th season) bringing you all the action; his pre-game shows air 15 minutes prior to tip-off. Saturday's game airs on The Mighty 1090 with Jack Cronin filling in for Masur. The game will also be televised on Time Warner Cable Sportsnet (Ari Wolfe & Jarron Collins).
SENIOR DAY: It will be Senior Day for a trio of Toreros - Chris Manresa, Cameron Miles and Ken Rancifer. All three Toreros will be recognized in a pre-game ceremony.
WCC STANDINGS (thru Mar. 1st): #2 Gonzaga (15-0 WCC, 28-2), #23 Saint Mary's (13-2, 25-5), Santa Clara (9-6, 21-9), BYU (9-6, 20-10), San Francisco (7-9, 14-15), San Diego (6-9, 13-17), Pepperdine (4-11, 12-16), Portland (4-11, 11-19), Loyola Marymount (1-14, 8-21). OTHER WCC GAMES: (Mar. 2) Portland at Gonzaga, SCU at Saint Mary's, BYU at LMU.
COACH GRIER (6TH YEAR): Coach Bill Grier (Oregon, 1990) is in his sixth season at the helm of the USD program... He enters the Pepperdine contest with a 13-17 mark and 6-9 WCC record... Last season's squad finished 13-18, but won 4 of its final 6 regular-season WCC games and then advanced to the quarterfinals of the WCC Championships before falling to BYU by just 5 points... The 2010-11 season was highlighted by a 74-66 home win over #23 Saint Mary's, along with a 67-64 win over Utah... The 2009-10 season was highlighted by wins over Stanford, #25 Oklahoma, Houston and Boise State... His 2008-09 campaign (16-16) 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 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... 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... Bill and his wife, Nicole, have two daughters, Giselle & Ashley.
DEE NAMED TO WCC ALL-ACADEMIC SQUAD: Sophomore guard Johnny Dee is one of eleven WCC men's basketball players to be named to the 2012-13 WCC Men's Basketball All-Academic Team. To be considered, playes must maintain at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and be a significant contributor to the team. Running mate Christopher Anderson was selected honorable mention.
TORERO TIDBITS: The Toreros close out their regular season slate today against the Pepperdine Waves... USD will be looking to snap their 5-game skid and gain some momentum heading into next week's WCC Tournament... A win over Pepperdine would give USD a final WCC mark of 7-9, same as San Francisco... For WCC Tournament seeding purposes, the Dons hold the tie-breaker edge since they have a higher RPI than the Toreros... For the season the Toreros are being paced by Johnny Dee's 14.6 points per game (9th in WCC) and his league-best 90.2% from the free throw line... Ken Rancifer joins Dee in the double-digit column at 10.2 ppg (25th in WCC)... Point guard Christopher Anderson continues to rank among the league's best in assists (5.6, 3rd in WCC; #32 NCAA) and steals (2.1, 2nd WCC; #34 NCAA)... Closing in on the end of his second season, Anderson has 60 games under his belt with 318 assists and 123 steals... Senior center Chris Manresa ranks 8th in the WCC in field goal percentage (.497) and 9th in rebounding (6.6)... USD continues to rank 1st in WCC in three-point FG% defense (.317; #84 NCAA)... USD is 9-6 at home this season... The Toreros are averaging 69.8 ppg while limiting opponents to 66.0 ppg... Johnny Dee averages 16.4 ppg at the JCP, and is followed by Ken Rancifer (10.1 ppg), Christopher Anderson (9.7 ppg), and Chris Manresa (9.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg)... USD's trio of seniors that will be recognized Saturday in a pre-game ceremony include Chris Manresa (113 career games with 59 starts; 851 points and 611 rebounds; 50 percent field goal percentage), Cameron Miles (110 games; 336 points, 134 assists, 82 steals... It is also a tradition for head coach Bill Grier to start all of his seniors, so look for Miles to step in for point guard Christopher Anderson.
TOREROS AT THE JCP: USD is 9-6 at home this season in games played at the JCP... The Toreros are averaging 69.8 ppg while limiting opponents to 66.0 ppg (+3.8 scoring margin)... Johnny Dee averages 16.4 ppg at the JCP, and is followed by Ken Rancifer (10.1 ppg), Christopher Anderson (9.7 ppg), and Chris Manresa (9.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg).
SCOUTING THE PEPPERDINE WAVES: The Pepperdine Waves (12-16; 4-11 WCC) come to San Diego looking to snap a three-game losing streak... In their most recent outing this past Wednesday, the Waves were dealt an 87-48 home defeat by the #23 Saint Mary's Gaels (25-5; 13-2 WCC)... Pepperdine was paced by forward Stacy Davis (12 points, 7 rebounds) and guard Jordan Baker (11 points)... Prior to the SMC game, Pepperdine had dropped road contests at Santa Clara (70-60) and San Francisco (64-58)... Pepperdine owns WCC wins against Portland and Loyola Marymount, winning both games in each series... For the season Pepperdine has three players averaging in double-figures - guard Lorne Jackson (13.4 ppg), guard Jordan Baker (11.5 ppg) and forward Stacy Davis (10.9 ppg, team-best 7.3 rpg)... As a team, Pepperdine is averaging 62.7 ppg and 34.6 rpg while surrendering 67.2 and 33.6 rpg on average to its opponents... Baker leads the team in WCC scoring with his 13.1 points per game average... In first meeting with USD earlier this year, a 62-50 loss, Jackson and Davis led the way with 9 points each.
