Toreros vs. Portland

Records: USD 11-19, 4-12 WCC, Portland 13-18, 5-11

Series: USD leads 59-35 all-time. The Pilots won both meetings in the regular season, 88-83 and 80-61.

Toreros update: Assuming G Eric Williams Jr. gets through warmups OK and can play after missing six games with a foot injury, coach Steve Lavin will have the closest thing to a full lineup in weeks. The key to getting a win and having any success this weekend: defense. USD allowed 80.1 points per game (9th WCC) on 49.3 percent shooting (10th WCC) and 40.2 3-point shooting (10th WCC) during the regular season but have experienced some success when turning stops and turnovers into transition offense. The Toreros finished No. 1 in the WCC and 16th in the nation with 14.4 fastbreak points per game. G Jase Townsend will be an X-factor. A streaky shooter, Townsend scored in double figures in 19 games, shoots 39.5 percent from 3-point range and makes 86.4 percent from the free throw line. The Toreros lost to Portland in the second-round of last year’s WCC tournament.

Pilots update: Portland dropped its last four and five of the last six games of the regular season. After being selected to finish fifth in the WCC preseason poll, Portland finished eighth with a 5-11 conference record. The Pilots lead the WCC and rank 4th nationally in free throws made per game (17.5). Redshirt junior forward Moses Wood leads the team with 15.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. He scored 26 against USD on January 19. Junior guard Tyler Robertson is adding 14.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, and a WCC-best 5.2 assists per contest. Redshirt junior forward Kristian Sjolund (11.5) and redshirt junior guard Mike Meadows (11.3) are also averaging double figures.