Preview: No. 8 Gonzaga Set for Road Test at San Diego
By Andy Buhler
Rebounding off of a gritty offensive performance in an 87-80 win at BYU on Friday, the Zags will take on San Diego tonight. Gonzaga faces its second conference opponent of the season on the road with just a two-day turnaround and like BYU, the Zags also suffered a loss in San Diego last season.
About the Toreros…
In the wake of a three-point loss to Portland, in which the Pilots surged back late in the game to seize the win, the result seemed to have summed up the Toreros’ season thus far. Sitting at 7-6 (0-1 WCC), San Diego sits at a “make it or break it” juncture of its season. After dropping a key conference home-opener, the Toreros face the No. 8 team in the country tonights, then head on the road for games at Santa Clara and San Francisco.
Starting lineup:
- Chris Sarbaugh-G
- Johnny Dee-G
- Christopher Anderson-F
- Thomas Jacobs-F
- Jito Kok-C
Who to key in on: Johnny Dee
A first-team All-WCC member last season, the scoring guard is up on his numbers this year averaging 18.8 points per game (16.6 last season) and impressively shooting 47.5 percent from the field, 88.5 percent from the three-throw line and 44.1 percent from 3-point range. The most imposing fact of his numbers, is that made three times the amount of 3-pointers than the rest of his team (up to six made threes per game), which shows how efficient the Toreros offense can be running through the six-foot guard. Dee has steadily improved his shooting/scoring numbers every year and his senior year is no exception.
My crystal ball…
The Toreros are always dangerous when Dee is on the floor and after a squandered late lead led to a tough home loss to Portland on Friday, suffering back-to-back home losses would be a tough start to the conference schedule for USD. The Toreros will not go down easy; that said, I believe the Zags leave last year’s trip to USD as a distant memory and take the game by 15.
Game info…
When: 8:00 p.m. (ET), Monday (Dec. 29)
Where: Jenny Craig Pavilion, San Diego, Cali.
TV/Radio: KHQ/Root Sports (local), KGA 1510 (local)
Most recent line: Gonzaga -10.5