San Diego hosts Pepperdine on Saturday
By James Pigott
March 8, 2013; Las Vegas, NV, USA; San Diego Toreros head coach Bill Grier (left) instructs guard Christopher Anderson (00) against the Brigham Young Cougars during the first half in the quarterfinals of the West Coast Conference tournament at Orleans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
San Diego Toreros (10-7, 1-3) vs. Pepperdine Waves (10-7, 3-2)
Date: Saturday, January 11, 2014
Location: Jenny Craig Pavilion, San Diego, CA
Time: 6:00 PM PST
TV: FOX Sports San Diego, CSN BA
Video: theW.tv
LiveStats: http://www.pepperdinesports.com/gametracker/launch/gt_mbaskbl.html?event=1287484&school=pepp&sport=mbaskbl&camefrom=&startschool=&
Last Season: San Diego won both matchups. The Toreros defeated the Waves 62-50 in Malibu and 76-69 in San Diego.
PROJECTED STARTERS
San Diego
Christopher Anderson, 10.8 PPG, 6.2 APG
Duda Sanadze, 12.2 PPG
Dennis Kramer, 11.2 PPG, 6.8 RPG
Jito Kok, 4.9 PPG, 1.6 BPG
Pepperdine
Jeremy Major, 11.6 PPG, 4.5 APG
Malcolm Brooks, 9.7 PP
Lamond Murray, Jr, 3.5 PPG
Stacy Davis, 14.6 PPG, 8.0 RPG
Brendan Lane, 15.4 PPG, 8.4 RPG
KEYS TO THE GAME
San Diego
Get Dee and Anderson to shoot well in the same game: After many poor shooting games, Christopher Anderson finally broke out of his slump scoring 20 points on 9/15 shooting against Loyola Marymount. However, Johnny Dee, who had been carrying the Toreros offensively, was held to just 3 points on 1/4 shooting. If both guards are scoring well, then defenses cannot sag into the paint leaving more room for Dennis Kramer to operate.
Pepperdine
Smooth recovery from either Lane or Brooks: Pepperdine’s two hottest players were both forced to miss Thursday night’s game against LMU with injuries, but Pepperdine will be a much tougher task, and it is important that those guys can step up and give something offensively. If not, Jett Raines and Lamond Murray, Jr. must be ready to step up for this young Waves team.
KEY MATCHUP
Stacy Davis vs. Jito Kok: Davis is one of the best offensive forwards in the conference, while Kok may be the best athletic interior defender in the conference who could pose problems for Davis with his height, length, and leaping ability. If Kok can keep Davis under control, the Toreros will have a good chance to win at home.
PREDICTION
While Pepperdine will struggle to get Lane and Brooks re-oriented into the offense in the early going, they will come on in the second half. However, Johnny Dee will step up to lead the Toreros to the victory, 72-61.