Toreros all set to take on No. 3 Gonzaga

USD welcoming an opportunity to upset the nation’s best

Anderson Haigler / Sports Editor / The USD Vista

With perhaps their biggest regular season weekend of the year approaching, the University of San Diego men’s basketball team may have reason to be nervous or tense. But if they are, they certainly aren’t showing it. During the Toreros’ mid-week media availability, senior guard Olin Carter III grabbed a spare microphone and asked forward Isaiah Pineiro some questions of his own amongst a group of journalists. 6’10 center Yahuen Massalski did a Fortnite dance behind the reporters and cameras in an attempt to get Pineiro to laugh during his interview (he didn’t, save a slight smile). And Pineiro joked about taking fellow senior Carter III “under his wing” when asked about his veteran leadership before the entire group bursted out into laughter. A relaxed, close-knit bunch to say the least. This isn’t to say that the Toreros are taking their marquee matchup this weekend against third-ranked Gonzaga University (24-2, 11-0 WCC) lightly, however. It’s just that USD is preparing for their clash with the Bulldogs like they usually do: by treating it like any other game.

“We’re gonna go into it like any other week,” Pineiro said. “Every week is a big week. But with number one and number two in the conference coming into our place, we just have to be extra locked in.”

Pineiro and his teammates are aware, of course, of the gargantuan task that awaits them Saturday night in attempting to upset the national powerhouse that is the Bulldogs.

“They have the two bigs down low in Rui and Clark, they’re monsters, Pineiro said. “They get rebounds, they score at a high rate. And they have Perkins at the point, he leads the charge for them.”

Pineiro, who scored 30 points in the Toreros’ last meeting with Gonzaga, isn’t fazed by the Zags’ firepower, though.   

“You never go into a game — at least I don’t — thinking you’re going to lose,” Pineiro said. “They’re human, they put their shoes on the same way I put my shoes on, they wake up in the morning. You just have to compete. Be harder than them, make more shots than them.”

The Toreros always seem to play the Bulldogs tough. Just look back to last season, where USD led the Zags in the game’s final minutes before surrendering the lead late and eventually losing a close, 77-72 game in the JCP. But if there’s any season in which in which the Toreros can give the Zags a true run for their money, it just may be this one. USD heads into the weekend matchup with a 16-6 (5-6 West Coast Conference) overall record — but perhaps more importantly played Gonzaga in Spokane as tough as anyone has over the last half of this season. Compared to the 48-point loss that Saint Mary’s College (15-10, 6-4 WCC) suffered last weekend in Spokane, the Toreros’ 16-point road defeat at Gonzaga comes across as a solid, if not ever-so-slightly impressive effort as far as defeats go. Yes, in a season in which the Zags are ranked in the top five in the country with a victory over No. 2 Duke University under their belt, a 85-69 point road defeat in “The Kennel” may not be an entirely disheartening outcome — given the fact that USD will get one more shot at them in the Jenny Craig Pavilion, where USD is 11-2 so far this year. Pineiro spoke about the Toreros’ early Feb. battle with the Bulldogs.

“The coaches came up with a great game plan and we executed,” Pineiro said. “Unfortunately, we ended the half not how we wanted to and that gave them some momentum going into the second half. We just have to stay level, and know that it’s a new game on Saturday.”

If Pineiro and his teammates pull off the upset on Saturday, they will accomplish something that no player on the current USD roster has been a part of. The last time the Toreros beat the Zags was in Feb. of 2014, before any current Torero player attended USD. The Toreros’ senior class, which often comprises more than half of of their starting lineup with Pineiro, Carter III, and guards Isaiah Wright and Tyler Williams, will have one last chance to attempt to do so in their home gym. They and their teammates will make their final effort at taking down the conference’s best in front of a home sellout crowd of over 4,700 people and a national audience watching on ESPN. It’s an atmosphere that Carter III and the Toreros are warmly embracing.

“You gotta love having the JCP sold out,” Carter III said. “The energy in the arena is gonna be pretty good, so it’s gonna be a couple of fun games this weekend.”

USD men’s basketball head coach Sam Scholl shared Carter III’s sentiment.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way, to have a chance to show our character, our fight, our connectedness,” Scholl said. “So we’re really, really excited about the opportunity.”

When asked about the Toreros’ mental approach heading into such a high-profile game, first-year guard Finn Sullivan kept things succinct, perhaps cutting to the core of what the Toreros are trying to accomplish after tip-off on Saturday, when the rankings, predictions, projections, and pomp and circumstance are set aside and the game that’s been circled on San Diego fans’ calendars all season finally begins.

“Win,” Sullivan said. “Find a way to win.”

USD MEN’S BASKETBALL vs. No.3 GONZAGA

SATURDAY, FEB. 16 @ 7 P.M.

JENNY CRAIG PAVILION

TICKETS: SOLD OUT

TV: ESPN