Pacific Tigers
Big West (22-12, 13-5)
Pacific bid farewell to the Big West and Coach Bob Thomason in a very fitting way. The Tigers, who are moving to the West Coast Conference, played three tight games in the Big West Tournament, but came away with wins against UCSB, Cal Poly and UC Irvine to bring home the tournament title. Coach Thomason is retiring after 25 years at the school and, after a few down years by Pacific standards, got his team back towards the top of the standings with a 13-5 conference mark.
Big Wins: 11/22 vs Xavier (70-67), 11/23 vs St. Mary’s (76-66), 3/9 Long Beach State (71-51)
Bad Losses: 11/19 Oral Roberts (67-69), 1/18 at Hawaii (52-60), 2/9 at UCSB (53-66)
Coach: Bob Thomason (25 seasons at Pacific)
Why They Can Surprise:
Pacific may not score a lot of points, but they are extremely efficient on the offensive end. It starts with point guard Lorenzo McCloud who does a great job dictating tempo, finding his teammates and keeping the turnovers down. McCloud is also the top scorer on the team. The Tigers do not have a single prolific outside shooter; in fact nobody on the team averages more than one three-pointer per contest. However, the team as a whole is quite efficient from long range and nearly everybody on the team is a threat to shoot from outside. Along with McCloud, Travis Fulton, Sama Taku, Tony Gill, Colin Beatty, Rodrigo De Souza, Trevin Harris and Markus Duran are all legitimate shooting threats. With balance like that, Pacific can be an extremely difficult team to defend.
Why They Can Disappoint:
It is on the defensive end where things can get a little dicey for Coach Thomason. Fulton, Gill, Harris, Ross Rivera and Khalil Kelley provide the team plenty of frontcourt options. Gill, Rivera and Kelley are the only real big men who see any significant playing time, but none of them are major shot blocking threats. That is where the defensive concerns begin. It can be relatively easy to score on the inside against Pacific. When it gets a bit too easy, the Tigers have to double team in the paint and that is when the opposition will get an open look from beyond the arc. The opposition shoots 34.8 percent from three-point territory and the Tigers cannot allow that to happen during the 2013 NCAA Tournament if they hope to bring Coach Thomason’s amazing career to an even more amazing conclusion.
Probable Starters:
Lorenzo McCloud, Senior, Guard, 11.4 ppg, 4.0 apg, 3.1 rpg
Sama Taku, Junior, Guard, 8.3 ppg, 1.9 apg, 3.5 rpg
Colin Beatty, Senior, Guard, 6.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg
Travis Fulton, Senior, Forward, 9.1 ppg, 4.0 rpg
Khalil Kelley, Junior, Forward, 5.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg
Key Roleplayers:
Rodrigo De Souza, Senior, Guard, 4.6 ppg, 2.0 apg
Markus Duran, Senior, Guard, 3.1 ppg
Tony Gill, Junior, Forward, 7.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg
Ross Rivera, Junior, Forward, 7.7 ppg, 2.8 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 67.9 (163rd in nation, 7th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 64.0 (109, 2)
Field-Goal Percentage: 45.4 (74, 4)
Field-Goal Defense: 42.4 (159, 4)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.4 (138, 7)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 38.0 (33, 3)
Free-Throw Percentage: 69.6 (162, 5)
Rebound Margin: 0.1 (179, 7)
Assists Per Game: 15.1 (34, 3)
Turnovers Per Game: 11.3 (33, 2)
Last Five Postseason Appearances:
2010 CIT First Round win over Loyola Marymount
2010 CIT Second Round win over Northern Colorado
2010 CIT Semifinal win over Appalachian State
2010 CIT Final loss to Missouri State
2009 CIT First Round win over Portland
2009 CIT Second Round win over Idaho
2009 CIT Semifinal loss to Bradley
2006 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Boston College
2005 NCAA Round of 64 win over Pittsburgh
2005 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Washington
2004 NCAA Round of 64 win over Providence
2004 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Kansas
*all team stats through 3/10
See All Men’s Basketball Postseason Capsules
