| Current: | 2023–24 San Diego Toreros men's basketball team |
| San Diego Toreros | |
| University: | University of San Diego |
| Conference: | West Coast Conference |
| Location: | San Diego, California |
| Coach: | Steve Lavin |
| Arena: | Jenny Craig Pavilion |
| Capacity: | 5,100 |
| Nickname: | Toreros |
| H Body: | 9BDDFF |
| H Pattern B: | _thinsidesonwhite |
| H Shorts: | 9BDDFF |
| H Pattern S: | _blanksides2 |
| A Body: | 002654 |
| A Pattern B: | _thinwhitesides |
| A Shorts: | 002654 |
| A Pattern S: | _whitesides |
| Ncaaeliteeight: | 1978* |
| Ncaasweetsixteen: | 1978* |
| Ncaaroundof32: | 2008 |
| Ncaatourneys: | 1966*, 1973*, 1974*, 1978*, 1979*, 1984, 1987, 2003, 2008 *at Division II level |
| Conference Tournament: | 2003, 2008 |
| Conference Season: | 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.[1] The team played in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 2008.
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).[2] 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.[3] The Toreros won 53–48.[4]
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.[5] [6] [7] [8]
The Toreros have appeared in four NCAA Division I Tournaments. Their combined record is 1–4.
| 12 | Preliminary Round | L 56–65 | |||
| 9 | First Round | L 61–62 | |||
| 13 | First Round | L 69–77 | |||
| 13 | First Round Second Round | W 70–69OT L 63–72 |
The Toreros appeared in five NCAA Division II Tournaments. Their combined record was 4–6.
| Regional Semifinals Regional Third Place | Seattle Pacific Nevada | L 63–69 L 71–74 | ||
| Regional Semifinals Regional Third Place | Cal State Bakersfield Puget Sound | L 44–50 W 80–73 | ||
| Round of 44 | Sonoma State | L 54–60 | ||
| Regional Semifinals Regional Finals Elite Eight | Puget Sound Cal State Northridge Florida Tech | W 91–85 W 70–67 L 71–77 | ||
| Regional Semifinals Regional Third Place | UC Riverside Cal State Northridge | L 48–62 W 74–69 (OT) |
The Toreros have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) once, in 2019.
| First Round | L 60–74 |
The Toreros have appeared in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) two times. Their combined record is 4–2.
| First Round Second Round Quarterfinals | W 87–65 W 77–72 L 60–75 | |||
| First Round Second Round Quarterfinals | W 88–72 W 67–64 L 75–86 |
| + Data at conclusion of 2021–22 WCC tournament | ||||||||||
| Fon Johnson | 1955–1957 | 2 | 24 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Bob McCutcheon | 1957–1958 | 1 | 14 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Les Harvey | 1958–1960 | 2 | 15 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Ken Leslie | 1960–1961 | 1 | 11 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Ed Baron | 1961–1962 | 1 | 6 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1962–1969 | 7 | 90 | 90 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1969–1973 | 4 | 55 | 49 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1973–1984 | 11 | 160 | 131 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1984–1994 | 10 | 156 | 126 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1994–2007 | 13 | 200 | 176 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2007–2015 | 8 | 117 | 144 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||
| 2015–2018 | 3 | 40 | 52 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2018–2022 | 4 | 50 | 66 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||
| Totals | 63 | 938 | 948 | |||||||
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)