San Diego Game Preview: Toreros Travel East to Take on Morgan State
By Josh Horton
March 02, 2012; Las Vegas, NV, USA; San Diego Toreros guard Johnny Dee (1) passes the ball against the Brigham Young Cougars during the first half of the quarterfinals of the 2012 West Coast Conference Tournament at Orleans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
San Diego at Morgan State
Game time: 4 p.m. PST
Livestream: None
Radio: http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/usd.portal?mode=link&eventId=121635&broadcastType=audio#
Teams Records: USD – 2-0 – MSU – 0-2
Leading Scorers: USD – Dee 22.0 – MSU – Black 20.5
Leading Rebounders: USD – Kramer 8.0 – MSU – Blossom 6.5
Leading Distributors: USD – Anderson – MSU – Pretlow 3.0
The Toreros start their east coast road trip against the Morgan State Bears, which is the final game of a home and home series.
Last season San Diego took down Morgan State by a score of 66 to 63. Johnny Dee (A.K.A. Johnny Buckets) had 24 points for the Toreros, leading all scorers. The Bears were led by Justin Black, who provided a punch off the bench.
The Opponent
Morgan State is a solid team, but it started its season on a tough stretch. The Bears first two games were against Big Ten powerhouse Ohio State and CAA preseason favorite Towson.
Despite its first two losses, Morgan State has a roster chalk full of talent. Senior guard Justin Black was picked to the preseason All-MEAC first team, and senior center Ian Chiles was picked to the second team.
The Bears have been led in scoring by Justin Black, who put up 28 points in a 20 point loss against Towson. Black is not afraid to pull the trigger; the senior guard has put up 36 shots in the Bears last two games.
Senior center Ian Chiles has been a bit of a disappointment this year. Chiles is averaging 9.0 points and only 1.5 rebounds this year. The Toreros need to hope that the Bears game against San Diego isn’t his breakthrough game of the season.
Key’s to the Game
Control the Pace
Morgan State does not particularly like to push the pace, but more so than San Diego. The Bears averaged 68.4 possessions per game (104th in country) opposed to USD’s 65.1 (239th). The Toreros need to dictate the tempo, and let the offense progress until open shots pop up. Expect a lot of possessions to be taken deep in the shot clock tonight for San Diego.
Continue the Slump
7-2 center Ian Chiles is intimidating, but he has had an underwhelming season thus far. The Toreros will likely put sophomore center and rim protector Jito Kok on him, who will look to alter his shot all afternoon.