Spread: TUL -13.5
Total: n/a
Moneyline: TUL -1400, SD +900
Tip of: 7 PM EST
SAN DIEGO
Last season was not a good one for the San Diego Toreros. They finished 6-24 with a 2-12 record in the West Coast Conference and lost to Pepperdine 84-81 in the opening round of the WCC tournament.
Their offense was horrendous, scoring 0.89 points per possession. Things have been much better so far this season through 5 games, 4 of which they have won. The Toreros are still only averaging 69.0 points per game — respectable but not overwhelming. Their only loss was to Montana, by double digits 73 to 60.
The only real positive last year for San Diego, if any can be drawn, was that they defended the perimeter well, but losing their top two defensive guards in Devin Ginty and Matt Dorr will eradicate that strength.
They have been led so far by 6’0″ freshman point guard Johnny Dee. Dee is averaging 16.2 points per game, but scored 20+ in the first two Toreros games, against Stephen F Austin and San Diego Christian. In those two games, he shot a combined 14 of 25 from the floor (56%) while hitting 5 of 11 from down town. He didn’t contribute much beyond the scoring, but it was enough to help the Toreros win both games. The freshman also leads the Torerors in minutes with over 30 minutes per game.
Their only other significant contributor offensively is Chris Manresa. Manresa, a 6’8″ junior forward, has scored in double figures in every game and been in double figure rebounding in all except the last game against Alcorn State. He is averaging 13 ppg and 10 rpg and shooting 50.9% from the floor. Still, even with Manresa and Dee, this team is going to have a lot of problems with the better teams, but in a conference like theirs they could at least begin to hold their own a little.
TULANE
Tulane has fallen off a lot from the days they were a powerful March contender, but all indications are that it may improve this season. After finishing 4 games below .500 last season and posting a 3-13 Conference USA record, the Green Wave are off to a 6-0 start and have won all games by double digits, save the 2 point victory over the Navy on November 22nd.
Ed Conroy has been working hard at rebuilding the Tulane program. He rebuilt the Citadel’s program from a 6-24 craphouse to a respectable 20-13 team. They might still be a year away from making real noise but they rank 30th in the nation in assists (16.7 per game) and 56th in field goal percentage (47.7%) so far. 6’5″ junior Kendall Timmons was the entire team last season and things figure to be much the same this year. Last year the guard averaged 17.0 points per game and was phenomenal defensively, stealing almost 2 a game. He’s also an excellent rebounder at 6’5″ and pulled down 8.3 boards a game last season in his 36 minutes a night.
Pairing Timmons and fellow guard Jordan Callahan in the backcourt will be the main strength for the Green Wave. Callahan is averaging 12.2 pionts per game while hitting 42.9% of his threes, and down low they have the stud 6’7″ sophomore Josh Davis, who is averaging a double double so far this season with 14.8 points per game and 10.7 boards. Last season he was not able to play due to eligibility reasons and he was a non factor in his freshman year at NC State when he played only 10 minutes per game.
This season, Davis has had a double double in all but one game, as he scored 14 & 7 against the Navy. Opening night against Nichols State, Davis put in a nights work: 23 points, 11 boards, 4 assists, 3 blocks, and only 2 turnovers. Performances like that will enable the Green Wave to make the slow climb back towards being a team that actually plays in March.
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