San Diego

Toreros Prepare for Huge Test at Fourth-Ranked Gonzaga

The Bulldogs have taken the teams' last eight meetings.

USD forward Yauhen Massalski knows what his team is up against Saturday.

"Gonzaga always was a powerhouse."

So it's a good thing the Toreros have a full week to get ready for the fourth-ranked Zags because Sam Scholl's crew has plenty to prepare for.

"Oh my goodness there's a lot, so much," the first year San Diego head coach said.

They have by far the stingiest defense in the WCC, allowing fewer than 55 points per game.

"They're hard to score on because they're so versatile they're so athletic," Scholl added.

And they also happen to be the highest scoring squad in the nation, at over 91 points a game. On top of all that they'll be headed into one of the great venues in college hoops - the Kennel - a place where Gonzaga rarely loses.

"You play there the crowd get going, the team get going, and they smell blood,  you better be prepared," Massalski said.

This senior-heavy squad knows the challenge well - they've been on the wrong end of the series eight straight times

"We haven't had a lot of success against them in the past, but we feel like we're getting there," senior guard Tyler Williams said. "And if we handle our preparation right we feel like we can compete with everybody."

"We told them yesterday that we just need to be ourselves," Scholl added.

The Toreros are good on defense, second in the WCC in points allowed per game. They've got big time scorers, lots of experience, and might get senior guard Olin Carter back from an abdominal strain this weekend. So be who they are, with one caveat.

"We just need to be ourselves but we have to be the best version of ourselves to go in there and compete for a win," Scholl said. "We gotta be our very, very best."

Contact Us