American college basketball team in California
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]
1978* 1978* 2008 1966*, 1973*, 1974*, 1978*, 1979*, 1984, 1987, 2003, 2008 *at Division II level 2003, 2008 1984, 1987
For information on all University of San Diego sports, see San Diego Toreros
The San Diego Toreros men's basketball team is the men's college basketball program that represents the University of San Diego . The Toreros compete in NCAA Division I as a member of the West Coast Conference (WCC). The team plays its home games at the Jenny Craig Pavilion .
The Toreros won their first WCC title in 1983–84 , when the conference was known as the West Coast Athletic Conference. Jim Brovelli was named the conference coach of the year.[ 2] The team played in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 2008 .
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 Division I
The Toreros have appeared in four NCAA Division I Tournaments . Their combined record is 1–4.
NCAA Division II
The Toreros appeared in five NCAA Division II Tournaments . Their combined record was 4–6.
Year
Round
Opponent
Result
1966
Regional Semifinals Regional Third Place
Seattle Pacific Nevada
L 63–69 L 71–74
1973
Regional Semifinals Regional Third Place
Cal State Bakersfield Puget Sound
L 44–50W 80–73
1974
Round of 44
Sonoma State
L 54–60
1978
Regional Semifinals Regional Finals Elite Eight
Puget Sound Cal State Northridge Florida Tech
W 91–85W 70–67 L 71–77
1979
Regional Semifinals Regional Third Place
UC Riverside Cal State Northridge
L 48–62W 74–69 (OT)
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.
Record by coach
Coach
Years
Seasons
Won
Lost
Pct.
Conference Titles
NCAA¹
NIT¹
CIT¹
Data at conclusion of 2021–22 WCC tournament
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 .
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