Soon, the Toreros might go where everybody knows their name

TAMPA, Fla. -- Quick now. Name a player on the University of San Diego basketball team.

UConn likely won't forget the names of Brandon Johnson and De'Jon Jackson. (AP)

Anybody?

Okay, give me its nickname.

Anybody?

What about history? NBA players?

You get the idea. The Toreros, not Toros, aren't exactly known for their basketball program. By contrast, the guys they played Friday in an NCAA Tournament West Region first-round game are well known and respected.

The Toreros have watched the University of Connecticut play on television for years. The San Diego players can rattle off the names of the school's NBA alums easily, guys like Ray Allen and Emeka Okafor.

They can now do something else: Brag about beating UConn.

A step-back jump shot by De'Jon Jackson with 1.2 seconds left in overtime gave the 13th-seeded Toreros a shocking 70-69 victory over the fourth-seeded Huskies. It was the second consecutive overtime game here at the St. Pete Times Forum, only hours after Western Kentucky upset Drake on the same court with a last-second shot.

"Hopefully they know us now," Jackson said in the winning locker room moments after his shot.

San Diego needed to win the West Coast Conference tournament just to get into this tournament. Without that tourney run the Toreros were NIT bound. Now they're a game away from the Sweet 16.

Not only that but Gonzaga and St. Mary's, the two teams that finished ahead of them in the WCC, were eliminated from the NCAA tournament Friday.

"We're holding it down for the WCC," Jackson said.

The amazing thing is they're doing so without a starter bigger than 6-8, something that was magnified even more against the big front line of Connecticut that included 7-foot-3 center Hasheem Thabeet and 6-9 forward Stanley Robinson.

The Toreros didn't back down, which is why they're moving on. San Diego jumped to a 34-29 halftime lead. It helped when Huskies guard A.J. Price went down with a knee injury nine minutes into the game. He may have suffered an ACL injury and his absence hurt the Connecticut offense.

As the minutes moved along and San Diego hung around, its confidence seemed to grow. That was Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun's worst fear before the game, so much so that he put a message on the board for his team about the matter.

It read: Don't let them get a sniff that we're two equal teams.

A sniff? By halftime, they were hounds on that scent.

"We realized early that we could play with them," point guard Brandon Johnson said.

There was no intimidation, no backing off. Jackson received a fat lip, courtesy of a shot during the game, and gladly showed it off afterward, like a badge of honor.

"I love the Big East style," he said.

Late in the game that Big East style allowed the Huskies to rally. They played tough defense, and that seemed to bother San Diego. It didn't help that both Johnson and Gyno Pomare, who had a game-high 22, fouled out in overtime. Johnson had 18.

On the final play, which came after Jerome Dyson made two free throws to give Connecticut the lead, the Toreros had four freshmen and Jackson, a sophomore, on the court.

After a timeout with 5.7 seconds left, the inbounds play was called to go to Jackson. The interesting thing is Jackson said he heard one of the Huskies players call out the play the Toreros were about to run.

"I was like whatever, I'll just do it," Jackson said.

When his shot swished through the net, and Connecticut couldn't get a shot off in the final 1.2 seconds, San Diego had the first NCAA tournament victory in school history ... Over Uconn. That school with all the stars, all the exposure and two national titles.

San Diego's basketball claim to fame is six players drafted by NBA teams in its history -- none higher than the fourth round -- and that Bernie Bickerstaff is in their Athletic Hall of Fame because he coached at USD.

You could have won a bet with your buddy that he couldn't have named a San Diego player before Friday. Now he might get just one or two.

"We're hoping to change that," Jackson said.

One more victory and they will.