GAME NOTES: San Diego stays close to home, as the Toreros kick off the 2014-15 campaign against the Boise State Broncos as part of the LMU Classic at Gersten Pavilion.

The Toreros, members of the West Coast Conference, are coming off a 2013-14 season in which they finished just one games over .500 at 18-17 and were a mere 7-11 in league action. The team did make it to the postseason though, taking part in the CIT, but after dismissing Portland State and Houston, the squad was sent packing by fellow WCC member Pacific in the quarterfinals, 75-60.

Head coach Bill Grier is in his eighth season with the USD program, while Leon Rice is at the helm in Idaho and is entering his fifth campaign with the Broncos, members of the Mountain West Conference.

The Broncos return to the hardwood after putting up a record of 21-13, but only 8-9 in conference play. Despite getting off to an 8-0 start in 2013-14, Boise State played three games in the conference tournament, beating San Jose State and Nevada before falling to New Mexico, and then went back to the drawing board.

In terms of the all-time series between these two programs, the Broncos are ahead by a count of 6-4, but they have not played each other since 2010.

Both teams will be back in action again on Saturday, as the Broncos clash with host Loyola Marymount and the Toreros get after Southeast Missouri State.

The Broncos have lost some scoring punch from last season's team that averaged 76.2 ppg and shot 45.6 percent from the field, so there's reason to believe the squad might take a step backward. While Derrick Marks (14.9 ppg) and Ryan Watkins (11.9 ppg, 10.6 rpg) are no longer on the roster, but Anthony Drmic is returning. Drmic has been a standout scorer for the Broncos since he arrived on campus and he again led the program with his 15.9 ppg in 2013-14.

In addition to setting up and being successful behind the 3-point line, where he was second on the squad with 61 triples, Drmic is more than capable of holding his own in the paint where he pulled down 4.5 rpg. The loss of Watkins means Drmic is the top returning rebounder as well.

Although he dropped off quite a bit last season, the hope is that Igor Hadziomerovic (just 3.7 ppg) will find a handle on his shot once again. Second on the team in assists with 81 last season, Mikey Thompson (8.6 ppg) will be key in how well the offense operates, and hopefully he'll have better judgement on his 3-point shooting (.279).

The Toreros don't have much in the way of experience coming off the bench this season, which means the starters will be asked to log some serious minutes, while the supporting cast gets its feet wet. Johnny Dee will again be a crucial performer for USD after being named First-Team All-WCC and leading the nation in free-throw shooting at 94.5 percent. Dee averaged 16.6 ppg and 2.8 rpg, but his senior leadership will be just as important.

The team's second-leading scorer in 2013-14, Duda Sanadze (12.9 ppg), also lent a hand on the glass where he pulled down close to four boards from his guard position. Another senior, guard Christopher Anderson, is already the school's all-time assists leader with 560 after averaging better than six per game, but his scoring (10.3 ppg) is also a big piece of the puzzle in order for the Toreros to be successful.

In the paint, center Jito Kok (4.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg) may not be a stat machine, but just his presence on the interior should scare off a few opponents after he set the USD single-season record for blocked shots with 63.

With the Broncos losing so much on offense and putting all the pressure on Drmic it would not be surprising to see USD come out and take charge in this meeting. There are plenty of games on the schedule for Boise State to prevail, but this might not be one of them.