SANTA CLARA, Calif. — USD men's basketball will look to rebound as it takes on the Santa Clara Broncos in a Quad-1 road opportunity Sunday afternoon. 

The game will be streamed live on ESPN+. Voice of the Toreros Jack Cronin (X: @JackCroninPXP) and will have the radio call on USDToreros.com/watch. Inside coverage can also be found on the @USDMBB social channels.

THE BRONCO RUNDOWN

• Santa Clara is 12-4 on the season, an undefeated 3-0 in West Coast Conference play, ranked No. 70 in NET and will be the Toreros' third Quad-1 opportunity in the last five games 

• The Toreros are 39-56 all-time vs. Santa Clara, 19-28 in the Leavey Center

LAST TIME OUT

- USD rallied late but ultimately came up short at San Francisco, 74-64 the final score Friday night from War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.

- The game remained within single digits with the teams even finding themselves knotted up in the second half, up until halfway through the period when USF extended with an 11-0 run. The Toreros shortened the deficit to five points, but it was too late.

- Regardless of the absence of USD's injured leading scorer, junior point guard Ty-Laur Johnson, as well as freshman forward D'Arrae Goodwin, it was not the Toreros' night from three, going 4-22.

- Grad guard Adrian McIntyre stepped up and led the way for the Toreros, notching USD's first double-double of the season with 16 points on 8-for-11 shooting and 10 rebounds. Senior guard Juanse Gorosito also posted double-digit points for a third straight game, while grad guard Dominique Ford added 13 on 5-for-7 shooting.

- The game started with the 10th different USD starting lineup of the season as grad guard Toneari Lane stepped in for the concussed Johnson

- USF started the game 1-for-9 but made its next two as all 12 of its first shots of the game came from beyond the arc

- Back-to-back Gorosito threes gave San Diego the lead, but USF snatched it back before the break, 29-28

- Ford scored eight consecutive points for the guests off the bench to knot the score again after a brief USD dry spell

- An 11-0 run helped the hosts jump out to the game's biggest lead at 14 points

- Later, the Toreros went on a 7-point run to cut the deficit down to five with just over two minutes remaining, but the hosts answered and held out to the final buzzer at 74-64

JUST SHORT VS. #7 ZAGS

• Six points were all that separated the Toreros from one of the biggest upsets and comebacks in program history as the Toreros were edged by No. 7 Gonzaga, 99-93 in the JCP on Dec. 30

• USD trailed by as much as 21 points with less than 10 minutes remaining, 16 with a minute and change to go ... However, backed by a season-best crowd of 3,521 in the Jenny Craig Pavilion, the Toreros would go on an incredible run to pull within two scores; just five points with 11 seconds remaining

• The Torero offensive efficiency came by way of high volume 3-point shooting and improved second-half field goal shooting, distributed by 21 assists ... For the first time this season, five Toreros finished in double figures, led by junior guard Ty-Laur Johnson's fourth 20-plus point game (21) in the last five games

TY-LAUR'S TAKEOVER, TAKEAWAYS

• Junior guard Ty-Laur Johnson is averaging 19.2 points in his last five games, with four 20-plus point games in that span ... On the other side of the ball, he is averaging 3.67 steals in his last three contests

• The Brooklyn native led the Toreros to a WCC-opening 66-54 victory over NET No. 101 Pacific on Dec. 28 ... Johnson was 6-13 from the field, a career-best 5-8 from three, and 5-6 from the line as his 22 points were one shy of his USD season best ... He also swiped six steals, which tied for the second most by a Torero in a single game, just one shy of the San Diego record

KILLING TWO DROUGHTS WITH ONE LAST-SECOND WIN

• A Dec. 19 crosstown rivalry matchup came down to the last second as USD junior guard Ty-Laur Johnson banked in a game-winning three to topple UC San Diego, 82-80, and end two lengthy program droughts with the Quad-1 road win

• The Toreros secured their first Quadrant-1 victory since a Feb. 28, 2019, 40 Q1 attempts ago, a 91-90 win at San Francisco in overtime, a season in which the Toreros earned a bid in the NIT ... At the time, USD became one of just two WCC teams to claim a Quad-1 win this season, joining Gonzaga

• San Diego also clinched its first road wins since Feb. 10, 2024, 17 away contests – 678 days – ago, an 89-84 win at Pacific

TAKEAWAY SURGE

• In a strong defensive start to December, USD forced 17-plus turnovers out of its opponents in three straight games: 17 vs. NAU (Dec. 13), 21 vs. USC (Dec. 9) and 22 at San Jose State (Dec. 5)

• As of Jan. 3, San Diego ranks 61st nationally in turnovers forced per game (14.6)

MURDERERS' ROW

• In a stretch of eight games from Dec. 9 to Jan. 4 the Toreros will face seven top-115 NET teams, six straight after Dec. 13, including a stretch of four Quad-1 opportunities in a 6-game stand, three in four games

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