USF cruises into quarterfinal matchup

A college basketball fan would be hard pressed to find two teams who have played each other more closely than LMU and the University of San Francisco have the past two seasons. In the 2010-11 season, the Lions lost two heartbreakers to the Dons by a combined three points. This season, LMU got its revenge, defeating San Francisco on the Hilltop on New Years Eve and then again at Gersten Pavilion in early February. Those two wins, however, were by a combined three points.

The two teams will take their competitive rivalry to The Orleans Arena tomorrow night, after the Dons easily handled the Portland Pilots tonight in a West Coast Conference Tournament game. The Dons were led by Rashad Green and Angelo Calolaro, who each scored 19 points in the 19-point victory. No one on San Francisco played more than 27 minutes in the victory, so fatigue should, unfortunately for LMU fans, not be a factor against the Lions Friday.

The game tips off at 6 p.m. and can be seen live on ESPNU. The winner will advance to the tournament's semifinals to face the No. 1 seeded Saint Mary's. Follow The Bottom Line live from vegas on Twitter at twitter.com/thebottomlinejp.