USD @ Portland, Thursday 8pm

This is an important game, seeding-wise for the Pilots; we need to build the cushion over a couple of teams.

I watched a bit of the USD-BYU game last night, and while the Toreros were clearly over matched (the first half was only as close as it was due to a slow shooting start by BYU), but looked improved over previous year's teams. USD has gone through so much the past couple seasons, and maybe finally all the bad apples are out of the barrel and they can focus on playing... I like that we had an extra couple days to prepare for the game, since USD played Monday night.

Chris Manresa is still around (10 ppg & 6.9 reb/game) and the Toreros leading scorer is freshman guard Johnny Dee (15 ppg). USD comes into Chiles Center with an overall record of 6-11 (4-11 vs. D-I), and 1-4 in WCC play; USD has lost 10 of it's last 12 games. The only notable win was @SCU (75-62) on 1/12/12. Losses include @Montana (60-73), @UCSB (61-65) and home vs. SDSU (74-62). Clearly, USD is better than recent seasons, but still a game that the Pilots should win at home, if we play like we did against SCU, Pepp & @SMC...