Bulldogs face inconsistent Toreros

Not all field-goal droughts are the same.

Few college basketball coaches can speak to that fact as well as San Diego’s Brad Holland, whose Toreros recently suffered through a couple that bordered on the absurd.

It was during a 68-56 home loss to Gonzaga last month that USD iced over from the field, missing 11 consecutive shots and going scoreless during a futile 13-minute stretch that spanned intermission. Holland’s team made only two of 20 second-half field-goal tries that night.

Then last Wednesday, the normally good-shooting Toreros missed their first 10 shots after intermission and suffered through another long basket famine on their way to a 69-61 win over visiting San Francisco.

“If I could explain it or figure it out, I’d be a genius,” Holland said of his team’s two perplexing field-goal droughts. “Nobody likes to go through those, but the one I really noticed was the one against Gonzaga. And the reason I noticed was because it was double jeopardy. We weren’t scoring at our end and Gonzaga was, and that’s a bad combination.

“Against San Francisco, we were fairly cold, too, but so was USF, so that’s a little easier to take. We were able to stay in the game by getting to the foul line and making fee throws, and by playing good defense.”

Tonight, the Toreros (13-10 overall, 5-5 in the WCC) get a chance to avenge their earlier loss to 13th-ranked and conference-leading Gonzaga (19-4, 9-2) when the two teams tip it off at 6 in the McCarthey Athletic Center.

GU coach Mark Few remembers how USD struggled to score against his Bulldogs in their first meeting, but doesn’t see it happening again. Not with all of the proven offensive weapons Holland has at his ready.

Despite their horrible shooting efforts against GU and USF, the Toreros still rank No. 2 in the WCC – behind only Gonzaga – in both scoring (75.2 points per game) and shooting percentage (47.0). Their starting front line of 6-foot-8 seniors Brice Vounang and Brandon Gay, and 6-10 junior Nick Lewis has been as productive as any in the WCC, with the exception of GU’s.

Vounang, at 250 pounds, presents all kinds of matchup problems and leads USD in scoring (16.2 ppg) and rebounding (7.1 rpg). Gay is averaging 16 points and 6.3 rebounds, and Lewis is at 12.3 and 5.2.

“They’re good,” Few said of the Toreros, who have won three straight. “They’re the toughest matchup for us up front in the league, by far. Vounang is just a load down there, much like J.P. (Batista). Gay is really versatile; he can shoot the 3s, yet he can attack the rim. And Lewis is just a great face-up kind of inside-out guy.”

The Bulldogs, who have won six straight to put themselves within two victories of securing at least a share of their fifth consecutive regular-season WCC title, will counter with a pretty good front line of their own in the 6-9, 269-pound Batista, 6-10 senior forward Ronny Turiaf and 6-8 wing Adam Morrison. Those three have combined to average 46 points a game and have fueled a rebounding frenzy that has saved the Zags, of late, from some suspect ballhandling.

The Bulldogs have outrebounded their last six opponents by an average of 18.7 per game. But during that same span, they have turned over the ball an average of 16 times a game.

“We’re turning the ball over way too much right now,” Few said. “We have guys who are trying to do too much too early and not understanding that it’s about making the simple play. We’re an awfully efficient offensive team when we just make the simple plays.”

Efficient enough to impress Holland, who likes this GU team as well as those of the recent past.

“I think we’re trying to thread the needle on saying which Gonzaga team is better,” Holland said.

“I loved Cory Violette and his game, but yet I see Batista and he’s just a load, too. And a very good complement to Turiaf.”