Game NotesGame can
BALTIMORE, Maryland -- The USD Toreros (2-0), coming off back-to-back season opening wins in their own USD Classic, head east this week for two road games. The Toreros face Morgan State (0-2) on Thursday at Hill Field House (4,500 seats) in Baltimore, Maryland.
On Saturday the Toreros will take on Northern Kentucky (0-2) at The Bank of Kentucky Center (9,400 seats) in Highland Heights, Kentucky. Both games are at 4:00 pm (PST).
SERIES RECORD: USD played both Northern Kentucky and Morgan State last season for the first time ever and came away with wins... The Toreros beat NKU 65-61 (Dennis Kramer, 15 points) in the first game of the NUCDF Basketball Challenge at the JCP on Nov. 14th, 2012; it was NKU's first game at the NCAA Division I level. USD held off Morgan State on Dec. 29th, 2012 by the score of 66-63 (Johnny Dee, 24 points).
RADIO: All USD home and away games will be broadcast live on ESPN 1700AM with Andy Masur (7th season) bringing you all the action; his pre-game shows air 15 minutes prior to tip-off.
WCC STANDINGS (thru Nov. 11th): San Diego (2-0), #14 Gonzaga (2-0), Saint Mary's (2-0), LMU (2-0), BYU (1-0), Pacific (1-0), Pepperdine (1-0), Portland (1-0), San Francisco (1-0), Santa Clara (1-0).
SCOUTING MORGAN STATE: The Bears are under the direction of head coach Todd Bozeman (8th year)... They are picked to finish second behind Norfolk State in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference... Last season the Bears finished 17-15 overall and 10-6 in league... Senior guard Justin Black returns as the Bears leading scorer after averaging 14.2 points and 4.2 rebounds... Black was selected to the Preseason All-MEAC First Team by the conference head coaches and sports information directors... Redshirt senior center Ian Chiles was named to the Second Team and senior Anthony Hubbard to the Third Team... The trio combined for 35 points, 16 rebounds and five assists last year... The Bears opened the 2013-14 season with an 89-50 loss at Ohio State... Black led the squad in scoring with 13 points and was followed by Chiles (12) and Hubbard (11)... Sophomore guard Rasean Simpson played at Lincoln High School in San Diego.
TORERO TIDBITS: For the third straight year the Toreros are off to a 2-0 start... The last USD team to get off to a 3-0 start was the 2002-03 club that downed Nevada (77-75), #14 UCLA (86-81, ot) and UC Riverside (84-64)... Just two games into his junior year, guard Johnny Dee is about to crack the 1,000 point milestone - he currently sits at 981 points... Junior guard Christopher Anderson, with 364 career assists, is already 4th all-time among Torero players - he is chasing #3 Wayman Strickland (408, 1988-92)... As expected, first year guard Duda Sanadze has already shown he can score with back-to-back double-digit outings (14 vs. SDSU, 11 vs. GCU)... Senior forward Dennis Kramer is off to a solid start with averages of 11.5 points and a team-best 8.0 rebounds.... Next week the Toreros host San Diego Christian College on Nov. 21st at 7:00 pm.
COACH GRIER (7TH YEAR): Coach Bill Grier (Oregon, 1990) is in his seventh season at the helm of the USD program... Last year's squad finished 16-18 overall and advanced to the semifinals of the WCC Tournament where they just missed out on advancing to the title game... The Toreros were playing their best basketball down the stretch highlighted by two wins over BYU... The 2011-12 team finished 13-18, winning 4 of its final 6 regular-season WCC games before falling to BYU by just 5 points in WCC quarterfinals... 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 Tourney 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.
COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS
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