San Diego Game Preview: Gulf Coast Showcase vs. Illinois-Chicago
By Josh Horton
February 2, 2013; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Toreros players react after taking a lead during the second half against the Gonzaga Bulldogs at Jenny Craig Pavilion. Gonzaga won 65-63. Mandatory Credit: Photo By Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
San Diego vs. Illinois Chicago (Gulf Coast Showcase)
Game Time: 11:30 a.m. PST
TV: http://www.americaonesports.com/upcoming_events.asp?q=s&value=4&value2=Basketball (Possible Subscription)
Radio: http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/usd.portal?mode=link&eventId=121648&broadcastType=audio
Teams Records: USD – 5-0 – UIC – 1-3
Leading Scorers: USD – Dee 16.4 – UIC – Brown 18.0
Leading Rebounders: USD – Kramer 6.6 – UIC – Harks 5.3
Leading Distributors: USD – Anderson 6.4 – UIC – Barlow 5.5
Projected Starters
San Diego
Christopher Anderson
Johnny Dee
Duda Sandaze
Dennis Kramer
Jito Kok
Illinois Chicago
Gabe Snider
Marc Brown
Kelsey Barlow
Hayden Humes
Jordan Harks
The Toreros will look to continue their undefeated season in the Gulf Coast Showcase, however to do so they will need to take down Illinois Chicago.
The Opponent
Illinois-Chicago was picked to finish 7th place in the Horizon League out of 9 teams.
Small forward Kelsey Barlow was named to the Horizon league second team. The senior started off his career at Purdue, but transferred and sat out last season. So far, Barlow has averaged 11.0 points and 3.8 rebounds.
Marc Brown is the Flames leading scorer this season with 18.0 points per game. Jordan Harks is leading Illinois-Chicago in rebounding with 5.3 per game.
The Flames like to utilize their bench. Only three players are averaging over 20 minutes per game, and 9 are averaging over 10 minutes per game. The Toreros will see a lot of different lineups while playing Illinois-Chicago.
Keys to the Game
Hit the Boards
The Flames are not a very good rebounding team, considering they are ranked 321st in division I with 31.0 rebounds per game. In comparison, San Diego is much better with 40.4 rebounds per game (70th). The Toreros have a distinct advantage in this facet of the game, and can really take advantage of UIC here.
Help from the Bench
San Diego has not had a lot big contributions from its bench. Not one Torero reserve is averaging more than 5 points or 3 rebounds per game this season. If a reserve had a big night and scored in the double-digits in either points or rebounds, it would take a great deal of pressure off the starters and ultimately help out the Toreros overall.