After its defeat at the hands of Saint Mary, the eventual winner of the WCC Tournament, in the semifinals, USD knew its chances of being selected for a postseason tournament were slim.
On Selection Sunday, USD was almost proven right. The Toreros were the last team selected for the National Invitation Tournament.
The invite was a surprise for coach Sam Scholl, who was at home watching the selection show with his family on TV. This was the first time the Toreros had been invited to the NIT.
USD was the only team from the West Coast Conference selected for an at-large bid, bypassing BYU and San Francisco, who finished third and fourth in the regular season in the WCC. The Toreros finished seventh.
A dominating win against BYU in the WCC Tournament quarterfinals probably played into the selection committee’s decision. So did the Toreros’ three wins in three days and the semifinals loss to the Gaels was closer than the score indicated.
USD, the No. 6 seed, will face off against third seed Memphis at 5 p.m. Tuesday. That means School doesn’t have much time to get his team prepared.
The game will be televised by ESPN 3.