San Diego Tough Foe For Kats Saturday Night
3/21/2014 9:23:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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To learn the caliber of Sam Houston's opponent Saturday in the second round of the College Insider.com Tournament, one result jumps out from San Diego's list of 17 victories.
On Feb. 22 the Toreros handed Gonzaga a 69-66 loss on ESPN2 national television.
Gonzaga was ranked No. 22 in nation at the time and is the No. 8 seed in the NCAA San Diego regional this week in the “Big Dance.”
“San Diego is a talented, well-coached team from an outstanding conference,” SHSU head coach Jason Hooten said. “We're going to have our hands full.”
USD defeated Portland State 87-65 Tuesday night to advance to the second round. Sam Houston posted a 71-49 victory over Alabama State the same evening. Both USD and Sam Houston are making their first appearances in the CIT.
Saturday's Bearkat-Toreros matchup tips off at 6 p.m. at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum. This is the first meeting between USD and Sam Houston.
San Diego finished fifth in the West Coast Conference this season. USD has made four appearances in the NCAA tournament (1984, 1987, 2003 and 2008). Current head coach Bill Grier directed the 2008 Toreros to an opening round upset of UConn before falling to Western Kentucky.
The Toreros won the USD Classic in November with wins over South Dakota State and Grand Canyon (another CIT entry). Other USD victories included Pacific, Portland, Saint Mary's and Loyola Marymount.
All-West Coach Conference guard Johnny Dee leads USD. With 1,495 career points, he ranks No. 3 in all-time scoring at San Diego. This season he is leading the team with 12.9 points per game.
The Toreros have a strong presence under the boards with 6-11 Dennis Kramer (11.6 ppg, 6.8 rpg) and 6-9 Kito Kok (4.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg). Christopher Anderson, a 5-7 junior guard, adds 10.0 points per contest.
Sam Houston brings a 24-10 season mark into the CIT second round. A win Saturday night would tie the program's record for most victories in an NCAA Division I season (25 in 2010).
Junior guard Jabari Peters and Kaheem Ransom both were All-Southland Conference third team selections this year. Peters is the 2014 Southland “Newcomer of the Year.”
The Bearkats finished third in the Southland in the final regular season standings and reached the finals of the Southland post-season tournament.
The winner of Saturday's game advances to the C.I.T. quarterfinals which will be played between Tuesday, March 25 and Thursday, March 27.
COLLEGE INSIDER.com POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT
OPENING ROUND RESULTS
Monday
Holy Cross 68, Brown 65
Tuesday
Sam Houston 71, Alabama State 49
VMI 111, Canisius 100
Wright St. 73, East Carolina 59
Eastern Michigan 58, Norfolk St. 54
East Tennessee 79, Chattanooga 66
Columbia 58, Valparaiso 56
San Diego 87, Portland State 65
Wednesday
Yale 69, Quinnipiac 68
Towson 63, S. C. Upstate 60
Ohio 64, Cleveland State 62
IPFW 97, Akron 91
Murray State 66, Missouri State 63
Nebraska-Omaha 91, North Dakota 75
A&M-Corpus Christi 82, Northern Colorado 71
Pacific 69, Grand Canyon 67
SECOND ROUND SCHEDULE
Friday. March 21
Towson (24-10) at East Tennessee (19-15)
Saturday, March 22
San Diego (17-16) at Sam Houston (24-10)
IPFW (25-10) at VMI (20-12)
Wright State (20-14) at Ohio (23-11)
Yale (16-13) at Holy Cross (20-13)
Eastern Michigan (22-14) at Columbia (20-12)
San Diego (17-16) at Sam Houston (24-10)
A&M-Corpus Christi (18-15) at Pacific (16-15)
Monday, March 24
Nebraska-Omaha (17-14) at Murray State (19-11)
QUARTERFINALS – March 25-27
SEMIFINALS – April 1
CHAMPIONSHIP – April 3
