The taller they are, the farther they fall.
In the NCAA tournament, teams dont get much bigger than Connecticut, who won their way through the one-and-done bracket system to national titles in 1999 and 2004.
But despite watching UConn basketball from an early age, San Diego freshman and M-P alum Nathan Lozeau took to heart his coachs message about playing in the tournament.
He just says to come out and have fun, dont get intimidated by the name on their jersey. Come out and play hard, Lozeau said. It was awesome to get a chance to play them, having watched them on TV and stuff.
The San Diego Toreros struggled early in their season. They lost five of their first eight games, but put together a couple of winning streaks after the holidays and won the West Coast Conference, guaranteeing them a game in the 2008 tournament.
A 13-seed, San Diego defeated fourth-seeded Connecticut 70-69 in overtime in the opening round of the tournament. In its first tourney appearance in four years, double-digit play from Gyno Pomare, Brandon Johnson and Rob Jones helped San Diego secure the programs first-ever tournament win. They lost two days later against fellow upstarts, Western Kentucky. With a 72-63 win, the Hilltoppers advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.
A freshman on the team, Lozeau played only about a minute of their opening draw against Connecticut, getting a rebound.
Lozeau, who has yet to declare a major at San Diego, said the caliber of basketball hes playing now is very different from his high school memories.
I had a lot going throughout the course of the season, you learn so much, he said. Its a lot of fun, its a lot different from high school. But its a really good experience.