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SAN DIEGO \u2014<\/b> <\/b>Torero hoops will look to rebound as it takes on its second consecutive Gem State opponent as it hosts the Idaho Vandals on Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. in the Jenny Craig Pavilion.<\/p>\n
The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Voice of the Toreros Jack Cronin (PxP, X: @JackCroninPXP) and Braden Surprenant (Analyst, X: @b_surp) calling the action. Inside coverage can also be found on the @USDMBB social channels.<\/p>\n
THE VANDAL RUNDOWN<\/b><\/p>\n
\u2022 Idaho is 2-0 having beaten the WCC’s Washington State on the road, 83-81 after leading by as much as 16 in their season opener … The Vandals moved to 2-0 after topping DIII Whitman College 94-49 in Moscow on Friday, Nov. 7<\/p>\n
\u2022 Friday will be the third all-time meeting between the two teams … Last season’s 68-61 USD win in the JCP was the first meeting between the two teams in 40 years, when Idaho took a neutral court matchup 75-63<\/p>\n
THE RELAUNCH<\/b><\/p>\n
\u2022 With a reloaded roster of 14 newcomers and the unprecedented investments being made in the program both financially and through support staff and new facilities, the 2025-26 campaign is being described as ‘the relaunch’ of USD Men’s Basketball under fourth-year head coach Steve Lavin<\/a><\/p>\n LAST TIME OUT<\/b><\/p>\n \u2022 USD men’s basketball clawed back late, but ultimately dropped a 71-68 decision to Idaho State on Friday afternoon in the Jenny Craig Pavilion.<\/p>\n \u2022 The Toreros faced a 17-point deficit with six minutes left in the game, but fought back through improved 3-point shooting and defense.<\/p>\n \u2022 USD shot 7-11 (63.6%) from deep in the second half, 50% from the field. After the six-minute mark, San Diego’s defense held the guests to just one made field goal the rest of the way. That 17-point Bengal lead was shortened to four with 16 seconds left, but it wasn’t enough in the end as Idaho State converted on its free throws.<\/p>\n \u2022 Senior Juanse Gorosito<\/a> led San Diego in scoring with 15 points, adding five assists.<\/p>\n \u2022 The Toreros were outrebounded by five but finished ahead on 3-point shooting, free-throw shooting, steals and assist-to-turnover ratio. \u00a0<\/p>\n SEASON-OPENING THRASHING<\/b><\/p>\n \u2022 The Toreros kicked off the 2025-26 season with a dominant 88-59 win over Occidental on Tuesday, Nov. 4,\u00a0<\/p>\n behind lights-out shooting in the first half.<\/p>\n \u2022 In the wire-to-wire victory the Toreros shot out of the gates \u2013 both figuratively and literally \u2013 shooting<\/p>\n 62.5% (10-16) from beyond the arc in the first half and never looked back, leading by as much as 40.<\/p>\n \u2022 As a team, USD also posted 22 assists and 11 steals, outscoring the Tigers in bench points 57-12 and on<\/p>\n points off turnovers 33-9 … 11 different Toreros made multiple field goals and 15 different Toreros grabbed a<\/p>\n rebound.<\/p>\n \u2022 Leading the scoring contingent individually were a pair of grad newcomers, guard Toneari Lane<\/a> (game-high 15 points) and forward Tim Moore Jr.<\/a> (13 points). Lane scored all of his points in the first half and from<\/p>\n beyond the arc, going 5-7 from three.<\/p>\n \u2022 Junior guard Ty-Laur Johnson<\/a>, an ACC transfer also playing his first game in a USD uniform, tallied eight<\/p>\n assists and three steals with six points in just 11 minutes played … New junior international experienced bigs<\/p>\n Assane Diop<\/a> and Piotr Winkowski<\/a> led San Diego with eight rebounds each.<\/p>\n ROCKET-POWERED JUMP & SPEED<\/b><\/p>\n \u2022 USD is up 124 spots in the overall KenPom team rankings, going from No. 297 in last years end-of-season rankings to No. 173 in this season’s preseason rankings, the fourth-highest jump in college basketball<\/p>\n \u2022 The Toreros’ on-court identity will live by their fast-paced transition offense as San Diego started the season ranked No. 21 in KenPom’s metric for adjusted tempo, the quickest in the WCC<\/p>\n TORERO BASKETBALL IS GLOBAL<\/b><\/p>\n \u2022 Of the 14 Torero newcomers, six different countries and four different continents are represented (Argentina, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Poland, Puerto Rico, Senegal & United States)<\/p>\n THE USD COACHING TREE’S LEGACY, NBA CONNECTION<\/b><\/p>\n \u2022 USD ranks third all-time in players turned NBA Head Coaches with five, behind only Indiana’s seven and North Carolina’s six\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2022 Three of the five USD alumni turned NBA head coaches: Mike Brown, David Fizdale and James Borrego, were in attendance for the first-of-its kind USD Basketball Coaches Clinic on campus on Aug. 9, 2025 … The full-house event featured an all-star panel with a combined eight rings, 30 NCAA Tournament appearances and 11 coach of the year awards<\/p>\n \u2022 The USD to NBA connection doesn’t stop at head coaches as the Toreros also have a strong connection to NBA front offices and deeper on the sidelines, with several alumni in executive and assistant coach roles\u00a0<\/p>\n A BRAND NEW, CENTRALIZED FACILITY\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n \u2022 As a part of the monumental first-time investments being made by the University of San Diego into the basketball programs, the $35 Million, 28,000 sq. foot Basketball Performance Center was opened on April 22, providing Torero hoops a centralized training, recovery and competitive preparation environment<\/p>\n \u2022 The Basketball Performance Center, located in the heart of America’s Most Beautiful Campus, is an anchor where practice, film study, strength work and team life all come together under one roof<\/p>\n MAJOR ADDITION OF A VETERAN TO THE STAFF\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n \u2022 Alan Major<\/a>, a veteran coach with more than 25 years of experience at several levels of basketball, reunited with Coach Steve Lavin<\/a> as an assistant coach at the University of San Diego, announced on Oct. 28, 2025<\/p>\n \u2022 Major and Lavin’s relationship goes back 37 years, as Major got his start as a student manager under the legendary Gene Keady as an undergraduate student at Purdue until 1992. It was there that he and Lavin first worked together, while the latter was also getting his start as an assistant coach with the Boilermakers<\/p>\n \u2022 Major’s resume is highlighted by four-plus years as head coach of the Charlotte 49ers and among his assistant coaching gigs, helping Ohio State to five total B1G titles and a national championship game<\/p>\n THE SCHEDULE<\/b><\/p>\n \u2022 San Diego starts the season with five consectuive home games in November before facing WAC favorites California Baptist on Nov. 21 in Palm Desert’s Acrisure Arena as a part of the Acrisure Series MTE<\/p>\n \u2022 USD’s marquee matchups of non-conference play sees them face two B1G programs, hosting USC on Dec. 9, a matchup from the Jenny Craig Pavilion that will be broadcast on ESPN2 … The Toreros travel to Seattle for the first of two times in the season, rounding out the non-con slate facing the Washington Huskies<\/p>\n \u2022 In West Coast Conference action the Toreros face each conference opponent twice except for Gonzaga (home only, Dec. 30) and Washington State (home only, Jan. 21) in their final seasons as a part of the WCC, first-year conference members Seattle U (away only, Jan. 15), and three-time defending champs Saint Mary’s (away only, Feb. 4)<\/p>\n 2024-25 IN REVIEW<\/b><\/p>\n