SAN DIEGO – Holding a 4-1 record in its last five games, USD begins conference play with a road game at LMU on Thursday at 7 p.m.

The Toreros, who have held their opponents to an average of 57.6 points in the last five games, open WCC action with a two-game road trip that starts against the Lions. Picked to finish tied for eighth in the preseason WCC coaches poll, USD will face LMU - who was picked seventh in the preseason poll - for the first time in its conference opener since the 2005-06 campaign.

Thursday's game can be watched on the WCC Network and heard here, with the Voice of the Toreros Jack Cronin on the call.

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST LMU
- Thursday will be the 102nd all-time meeting between USD and LMU. The Toreros lead the series, 52-49.

- The Toreros have won four straight against the Lions. They have won the season series in each of the last two campaigns.

- USD has also won three straight at the Gersten Pavilion. Last year, Isaiah Wright made three lay-ups in the final two minutes to lead USD to a 65-63 comeback road win on February 7, 2019.

- The Toreros have won 11 of the last 16 meetings since 2012-13 (last seven seasons). They are 4-3 at LMU over the same stretch.

LOOKING BACK AT DECEMBER
- San Diego is coming off a December in which it won four of its last five games and finished with a 4-3 record. The Toreros were 3-0 at home and 1-0 in true road contests (0-3 in neutral site matchups).

- USD shot 44.5% in the month (187-of-420) and averaged 69.7 points.

- Defensively, the Toreros held opponents to 41.1% from the field and 63.9 points against.

- The Toreros outrebounded their opponents, 270-231 (average: 38.6-33.0).

- They improved their assist-to-turnover ratio from November to December. In the seven games during December, USD had a 1.03 ratio. In eight games in November, it was 0.8.

LAST 5: INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- The Toreros are 4-1 in their last five games, helped by being at full strength for the first time all season following the return of junior forward Yauhen Massalski with the game against Holy Cross on December 7.

- USD is holding opponents under 60 points during the five-game stretch (57.6) while averaging nearly 70 points (68.8). The Toreros are shooting 45.2% from the field (135-of-299) while limiting opponents to 38.0% (109-of-287).

- Meanwhile, USD is outrebounding its opponents, 40.0-31.4, over the last five games and forcing them into an average of 16.0 turnovers per game. Opponents only have 56 assists on 109 field goals made (51.4%) and have a 0.7 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Last 5 Games vs. First 10 Games
USD Defense
 

Last 5 Games		First 10 Games
57.6	Points Allowed	72.5
38.0%	FG % Allowed	44.6%
29.4%	3FG % Allowed	30.2%
42.7%	2FG % Allowed	51.5%
+8.6	Rebounding Margin	-3.2
21.8	Average FG Made/Game	26.2
4-1	USD's Record	3-7

UNDER 60
- USD has held opponents to less than 60 points four times this season, going 4-0 in such contests.

- Last year, the Toreros held 10 opponents to 59 points or less and posted a 10-0 record in those games. They have won 15 consecutive games, dating back to 2017-18, when holding teams to less than 60 points.

- The Toreros are 14-0 under head coach Sam Scholl when they hold teams to 59 points or less (30-25 overall in his two-plus seasons as the head coach).

20+ TURNOVERS
- USD enters the matchup against LMU having forced its last two opponents to 20+ turnovers each and a combined 42.

- The Toreros forced a season-high 22 turnovers against Whittier on December 29, their most in a game since December 2, 2015 when they forced Bethesda into 23 turnovers in a 71-53 win.

- The Toreros forced Stanford into 20 turnovers on December 21, their most against a Division I team since November 16, 2012 (vs. Tulsa; L, 51-63).

- Since 2010-11, USD has forced an opponent into 20+ turnovers seven times, five of which were against a Division I team. In those five games, USD is winless. In the two games against non-Division I opponents, the Toreros are 2-0.

- USD forces an average of 14.1 turnovers per game, but in the last five, it has an average of 16. It is averaging 12.6 points off those 16.0 turnovers in the last five contests (11.1 points off turnovers in the first 10 games).

- The Toreros are fifth among WCC teams with 14.1 turnovers forced per game this season.

CLEANING UP THE TURNOVERS
- Braun Hartfield, who started the season with 32 turnovers in the first nine games (3.6/game), has only seven turnovers in the last six games (1.2/game). 

- The redshirt junior, who has no more than two turnovers in the last six contests, has turned in an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.0 over the stretch. His ratio is 0.85 for the season.

HUMPHREY'S HELPERS
- Marion Humphrey had a career-high seven assists against Whittier on Sunday. The redshirt freshman point guard also had no turnovers.

- It was only the fourth time in the last 10 seasons a Torero had 7+ assists and no turnovers (source: Sports Reference). It was the first time since Isaiah Wright had 8 assists and no turnovers against Weber State in last year's season opener on November 6, 2018.

- In addition to Humphrey and Wright, Christopher Anderson also turned in the feat for USD, once in 2013-14 (vs. San Diego Christian) and then in 2014-15 (vs. Boise State).

BLOCK BY BLOCK
- Yauhen Massalski had three blocks against Whittier, giving him 12 this season as he is averaging 2.0/game. He is ninth in the WCC in total blocks.

- Massalski currently ranks fifth in program history with 105 career blocks. He is only the fifth Torero to have 100+ blocks in a career and he has 40+ blocks in each of his first two seasons at USD. He enters the game against LMU on pace for 44 blocks this year in the regular season.

STARTING ON THE ROAD
- The Toreros will open their conference schedule on the road for the seventh time in the last 11 years with Thursday's contest at LMU. 

- When USD starts the conference slate on the road, it has not won since 2009-10 - a 55-46 win at Santa Clara. It is 0-6 in the last six times when it starts WCC play away from San Diego.

USD Opens WCC Play on the Road
Since 2009-10
2018-19: L, at Santa Clara (56-68)
2016-17: L, at San Francisco (74-80)
2015-16: L, at Pacific (75-77)
2013-14: L, at Pepperdine (64-75)
2011-12: L, at BYU (52-88)
2010-11: L, at Pepperdine (55-75)
2009-10: W, at Santa Clara (55-46)

- In their first conference road game of the season, the Toreros are 4-6 in the last 10 seasons since 2009-10.

WCC OPENERS
- The Toreros are 14-26 all-time in WCC openers. Their last win in the conference opener was the 2017-18 season (W, 73-63 vs. San Francisco).

- The Toreros are 2-7 in the WCC openers since 2010-11, a stretch that followed them winning three consecutive conference openers from 2008-10.

- Since the 1998-99 season, the Toreros have won their conference opener eight times. In those eight seasons, they went on to post a .500-or-better WCC record five times (last: 2017-18; finished 9-9).

BRAUN BRAUN
- Braun Hartfield has become the go-to offensive threat for the Toreros as the Cleveland, Ohio native is averaging 16.3 points on 49.0% shooting (51-of-104) in the last eight games. He has scored in double-digits in eight straight.

- He is the team's leading scorer in seven of the last eight games and is tied for the team lead in scoring for the season.

- In addition to averaging 16.3 points, Hartfield is averaging 7.1 rebounds (57 total) in the last eight - which is second on the team (leader: Massalski, 7.8/game).

- In the first seven games, Hartfield averaged 9.4 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 37.3%, meaning he has improved his scoring nearly seven points points per game while improved his shooting 12 percentage points.

- Hartfield is the first Torero this season to have 10+ points in eight straight games. Last year, Isaiah Pineiro had double-digit points in 35 consecutive games to start the year.