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Scouting report: San Diego returns after pushing Washington men to the brink last year

Washington coach Mike Hopkins, left yells toward an official as Isaiah Stewart heads to the bench after collecting his third foul against Montana during the first half Friday, Nov. 22, 2019, in Seattle. (Elaine Thompson / AP)
By Percy Allen Seattle Times

Time: 7:30 p.m. Sunday.

Where: Alaska Airlines Arena, Seattle.

TV: Pac-12 Networks (J.B. Long and Eldridge Recasner).

Records: UW (4-1): San Diego (2-4).

USD coach: Sam Scholl is 25-20 in his third season with San Diego. The Gig Harbor native was a point guard who helped the Tides to a State 2A title in 1996. He played two years at Tacoma Community College before transferring to San Diego, where his teams compiled a 38-18 record in two years. Scholl had two stints as an assistant at USD and took over as an interim coach for the final four games last season.

Preseason prediction: San Diego was tied for eighth among 10 teams in the WCC preseason coaches poll.

Series: Washington is 2-1 against San Diego in a series that began Dec. 30, 2000.

Last matchup: Jaylen Nowell hit two key free throws with 25.4 seconds left and Washington held off a contested corner 3-pointer at the buzzer to avoid overtime and claim a 66-63 win over San Diego on Nov. 12, 2018. Nowell finished with 18 points and Noah Dickerson had 16. The Huskies forced 18 turnovers and held the Toreros to 6 of 16 on 3-pointers.

Previous game: San Diego was overwhelmed 66-49 by crosstown rival San Diego State. The Toreros fell behind 34-26 at halftime and never recovered from a 13-point deficit early in the second half.

Player to watch: Sophomore guard Joey Calcaterra has connected on 38.7 percent of the 31 3-pointers he’s attempted and has made 12 of 25 over his last five games. Nearly half of his field-goal attempts (31 out of 64) are behind the arc. He’s also made 85.2 percent of his free throws this season. Calcaterra averaged just 2.8 points and 12.4 minutes as a reserve who played in all 32 games last season.

Overview: San Diego lost four starters (Isaiah Pineiro, Isaiah Wright, Olin Carter III and Tyler Williams) and must replace 72 percent of its scoring and 56 percent of its rebounding. … USD’s only returning starter, Yauhen Massalski, is out with an injured left ankle. He’s played one game this season and tallied 11 points in the season opener. … This is the Toreros’ second game this season against a ranked Pac-12 team. San Diego lost 71-53 at then-No. 25 Colorado on Nov. 16. USD trailed 30-27 at halftime but was shut down in the second half, when the Buffaloes used an 18-0 run to turn a tight 46-42 game into a blowout.