San Diego Game Preview: Toreros Look to Regain Momentum Against UNC Greensboro
By Josh Horton
Dec 15, 2012; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Toreros guard Johnny Dee (right) is defended by San Diego State Aztecs guard James Rahon (left) during the second half at Viejas Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
San Diego vs. UNC Greensboro
Game Time: 9:00 a.m PST
TV: http://www.americaonesports.com/partner_members.asp?id=491 (payment required)
Radio: http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/usd.portal?mode=link&eventId=121651&broadcastType=audio
Teams Records: USD – 4-1 – UNCG – 3-2
Leading Scorers: USD – Dee 16.4 – UNCG – Cain 16.4
Leading Rebounds: USD – Kramer 6.6 UNCG – Cain 7.5
Leading Distributors: USD – Anderson 6.4 UNCG – Saddler 4.8
Projected Starters:
San Diego
Christopher Anderson
Johnny Dee
Duda Sanadze
Dennis Kramer
Jito Kok
UNC Greensboro
Tevon Saddler
Drew Parker
Nicholas Paulos
Kyle Cain
Kayel Locke
After losing a disappointing game to Illinois-Chicago, the Toreros will look to bounce back against UNC Greensboro, who was decimated in the first round of the Gulf Coast Showcase by 37 points.
The Opponent
As alluded to before, the Spartans were shellacked by Louisiana Tech. UNC Greensboro was dominated in each facet of the game, and the Bulldogs were able to come out with a convincing victory.
UNC Greensboro has not traveled outside of Greensboro, NC. this season, and has knocked off a couple of non-NCAA squads in the process. Nonetheless, the Spartans come into this game with a 3-2 record.
UNC Greensboro is led by junior forward Kyle Cain and Trevor Saddler. Cain and Saddler average 16.6 and 16.2 points respectively, which is 1st and 2nd among the team. Cain is also the Spartans leading rebounder with 7.4 RPG and Saddler is 3rd with 5.6.
The Spartans were picked to finish 8th out of 11 teams this season in the Southern Conference.
Keys to the Game
Johnny Buckets
Believe it or not, junior guard Johnny Dee is San Diego’s best scorer, and possibly its best player. I know, shocking.
The Toreros simply need a better shooting performance than 3 of 13 from the field from the faithful Johnny Buckets. Yes, he did get to the line 9 times, but he needs to score more pure points in order to lift San Diego over the edge in this game.
Don’t Let the 3 Kill You
UNC Greensboro is one of the better three-point shooting teams in the country. The Spartans shoot 40.6% from behind the 3 point line, which ranks 47th in the nation.
On the other end of the spectrum, San Diego defends the 3 extremely well, only letting opponents to shoot 23.0 % from downtown (11th in the country).
This intriguing matchup could be the difference in this game. If the Spartans knock down a bunch of threes, San Diego could be doomed.