It will be a frosh week frenzy when the University of Toronto Varsity Blues men’s basketball team hosts the University of California Santa Barbara Gauchos in exciting pre-season action on Tuesday, September 6 at the Athletic Centre Sports Gym.

Mike Katz, who enters his eighth season as Blues bench boss this season, is excited at the opportunity.

“It’s great for our program. Any time we get to play a team of this calibre it gives us a jump start to our season.” said Katz. “It’s a great way to see our guys in action early and identify what we need to work on to be ready for November.”

The Gauchos made their second consecutive appearance at the NCAA tournament in 2011 and return many key players to their roster. Players to watch include two-time Big West tournament MVP Orlando Johnson, two-time All-Big West choice James Nunnally, All-Big West tournament honoree Jaimé Serna, 7-foot-3 center Greg Somogyi and guard Troy Leaf.

Johnson and Somogyi played for the U.S. and Hungarian national teams, respectively, at the 2011 World University Games in Shenzhen, China.

The Blues also return the majority of their roster in 2011-12. Katz looks to veteran forwards and OUA all-stars Drazen Glisic and Andrew Wasik, as well as Alex Hill to steer the ship this year. U of T finished their 2010-11 regular season with a 14-8 record and in second-place behind the eventual CIS champion Carleton Ravens, giving them their highest ranking in the competitive OUA East division since 2007-08.

The Blues continue their NCAA pre-season competition when they host Mercyhurst College and Wittenburg University on October 14 and 16.

Toronto opens its regular season on Friday, November 11 when they take on the Waterloo Warriors at the Athletic Centre Sports Gym. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m.

Advance ticket sales for Tuesday’s game are available here. For regular season tickets, please visit www.varsityblues.ca/tickets or call Zack Sholdra at 416-946-3811.

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