| San Diego Toreros | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
 | |||
| University | University of San Diego | ||
| Head coach | Steve Lavin | ||
| Conference | West Coast Conference | ||
| Location | San Diego, California | ||
| Arena | Jenny Craig Pavilion (Capacity: 5,100) | ||
| Nickname | Toreros | ||
| Colors | Navy, white, and Toreros blue[1] | ||
| Uniforms | |||
| |||
| NCAA tournament round of 32 | |||
| 2008 | |||
| NCAA tournament appearances | |||
| 1984, 1987, 2003, 2008 | |||
| Conference tournament champions | |||
| 2003, 2008 | |||
| Conference regular season champions | |||
| 1984, 1987 | |||
The San Diego Toreros men's basketball team is a college basketball team that represents the University of San Diego in San Diego, California. The school's team currently competes in the West Coast Conference (WCC). The team played in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 2008. The Toreros play their home games in the Jenny Craig Pavilion, and their head coach is Steve Lavin.
They won their first WCC title in 1983–84, when the conference was known as the West Coast Athletic Conference. The team was led by all-conference forward Mike Whitmarsh, who was a runner-up that year for the conference player of the year award. Their coach, Jim Brovelli, was named the conference coach of the year.[2]
Rivalries
University of San Diego's biggest rival is San Diego State University. Since the 2001–02 season the Toreros have been 3–15 against the Aztecs during the past 15 seasons, but led the series 10–9 prior to that (SDSU leads 23–14 all-time with both programs at the Division I level).[3] As of the 2022–23 season, the last Toreros win came during the 2018–19 season at SDSU. They also won against them during a game at Petco Park during the 2015–16 season, at the time the fifth game since 2011 to be played outside; it was also the first time the Petco Park hosted a basketball game.[4] The Toreros won 53–48.[5]
College admissions scandal
Lamont Smith, who coached the team from 2015 to 2018, was accused of accepting a bribe as part of the 2019 college admissions bribery scandal while he was coach of the team, allegedly illegally helping a Beverly Hills real estate developer's children gain admission to the university.[6][7][8][9]
Postseason results
NCAA tournament results
The Toreros have appeared in four NCAA Tournaments. Their combined record is 1–4.
| Year | Seed | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | 12 | Preliminary Round | (12) Princeton | L 56–65 |
| 1987 | 9 | First Round | (8) Auburn | L 61–62 |
| 2003 | 13 | First Round | (4) Stanford | L 69–77 |
| 2008 | 13 | First Round Second Round | (4) Connecticut (12) Western Kentucky | W 70–69OT L 63–72 |
NIT results
The Toreros have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) once, in 2019.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | First Round | Memphis | L 60–74 |
CIT results
The Toreros have appeared in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) two times. Their combined record is 4–2.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | First Round Second Round Quarterfinals | Portland State Sam Houston State Pacific | W 87–65 W 77–72 L 60–75 |
| 2018 | First Round Second Round Quarterfinals | Hartford Portland State Northern Colorado | W 88–72 W 67–64 L 75–86 |
Record by coach
| Coach | Years | Seasons | Won | Lost | Pct. | Conference Titles | NCAA¹ | NIT¹ | CIT¹ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fon Johnson | 1955–1957 | 2 | 24 | 31 | .436 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob McCutcheon | 1957–1958 | 1 | 14 | 11 | .560 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Les Harvey | 1958–1960 | 2 | 15 | 36 | .294 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Leslie | 1960–1961 | 1 | 11 | 16 | .407 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ed Baron | 1961–1962 | 1 | 6 | 20 | .231 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Phil Woolpert | 1962–1969 | 7 | 90 | 90 | .500 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bernie Bickerstaff | 1969–1973 | 4 | 55 | 49 | .529 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Brovelli | 1973–1984 | 11 | 160 | 131 | .550 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Hank Egan | 1984–1994 | 10 | 156 | 126 | .553 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Brad Holland | 1994–2007 | 13 | 200 | 176 | .532 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Grier | 2007–2015 | 8 | 117 | 144 | .448 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Lamont Smith | 2015–2018 | 3 | 40 | 52 | .435 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sam Scholl | 2018–2022 | 4 | 50 | 66 | .431 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals | 63 | 938 | 948 | (.497) | |||||
¹ Invitations
Results by Season, Last 10 Years
2022–2023 (11-20) (4–12 Conference)
2021–2022 (15-16) (7–9 Conference)
2020–2021 (3-11) (2-7 Conference)
2018–2019 (21–14) (7–9 Conference)
2017–2018 (20–14) (9–9 Conference)
2016–2017 (13–18) (6–12 Conference)
2015–2016 (9–21) (4–14 Conference)
2014–2015 (15–16) (8–10 Conference)
2013–2014 (18–17) (7–11 Conference)
2012–2013 (16–18) (7–9 Conference)
Toreros in the NBA
References
- ↑ "Color Palette - USD Brand - University of San Diego". Retrieved February 11, 2018.
- ↑ Canepa, Michael (December 3, 1984). "Year later, Whitmarsh looks forward and back". Evening Tribune. p. D-1.
- ↑ "San Diego State Aztecs Basketball 2015-16 Schedule - Aztecs Home and Away - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
- ↑ "San Diego State to play San Diego at Petco Park". Retrieved 2016-08-02.
- ↑ "San Diego State Aztecs Basketball 2015-16 Schedule - Aztecs Home and Away". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
- ↑ "Texas Coach Resigns After Being Linked to College Admissions Scandal | PEOPLE.com".
- ↑ "UTEP, former San Diego coach Lamont Smith implicated in college admissions scandal"
- ↑ "UTEP assistant basketball coach resigns, implicated in college admissions scandal". KTSM. March 21, 2019. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
- ↑ Ziegler, Mark; Davis, Kristina (March 21, 2019). "Lamont Smith identified as USD coach in bribery scheme; resigns as UTEP assistant". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
