Pacific (23-11) travels to Missouri State (23-12) for Tuesday's CollegeInsider.com Tournament championship game, which will be televised on Fox College Sports at 5:05 p.m. (PDT). The Tigers advanced to the finals with road wins against Loyola Marymount, Northern Colorado and Appalachian State.
NOTEWORTHY
Keep An Eye On
Sam Willard, Pacific
Willard is averaging 17.7 points and 11.7 rebounds in three CollegeInsider.com Tournament victories for the Tigers. The junior forward has connected on 21 of 37 floor shots, 56.8%, and he collected his seventh and eighth double-doubles of the season against Loyola Marymount and Appalachian State, respectively. His 23 points and 17 rebounds versus the Lions in the CIT first round both established career-highs. Willard has scored in double figures in 10 of his last 11 games. He has notched five double-doubles in the last eight contests.
MORE NOTABLES
Pacific Meets Missouri State For CIT Title
Pacific defeated Loyola Marymount, Northern Colorado and Appalachian State, all on the road, to advance to the championship game of the second annual CollegeInsider.com Tournament. The Tigers attempt to win again on the road against Missouri State on Tuesday at 5:05 p.m. (PDT) at the JHQ Arena in Springfield, Mo. The game will be televised by Fox College Sports. Pacific is 23-11 on the season and has won six of its last seven games. The Bears, out of the Missouri Valley Conference are 23-12 overall.
Tigers Look To Make History
The Tigers are bidding to become the third school in Big West history to win a postseason tournament championship. Former conference member Fresno State won the National Invitational Tournament in 1983, and UNLV, another former member, captured the NCAA Tournament championship in 1990.
Something’s Gotta Give
Pacific is 12-6 in road games this season, owning the most road victories by far of any Big West school. Cal State Fullerton is second with seven road wins. Meanwhile, Missouri State is 18-2 on its home court in 2009-10. The 18 home wins is tied for second nationally with Kentucky. Kansas is No. 1 in the nation with a 19-0 home record. The Tigers enter the CIT championship game with a seven-game road winning streak.
Defense The Key To Victory
Although Pacific allowed 76 points to Loyola Marymount in the CIT first round, the Tigers have utilized their penchant for tough defense in many wins this season. They are 15-2 when holding the opposition under 60 points, including winning their last 10 straight when keeping their opponent below that point total.
Huddleston, Welch Mid-Major Frosh All-Americans
Two Big West players were selected to the 20-member CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Freshman All-American Team as Allen Huddleston of Pacific and Julian Welch of UC Davis received the honor Monday. Huddleston is averaging 5.3 points per game, ranking fourth on the team with 27 three-pointers. Welch, the 2009-10 Big West Freshman of the Year, ranking fourth on UCD in scoring (7.8 ppg).
UCSB’s Dance Ends In First Round
UC Santa Barbara finished its season at 20-10 overall following a 68-51 loss to fifth-ranked Ohio State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Friday in Milwaukee, Wis. The Gauchos were making their fourth NCAA Tournament appearance, and first since 2002, coming in as a No. 15 seed against the No. 2 seed Buckeyes. UCSB held Ohio State’s national Player of the Year candidate Evan Turner to nine points on 2 of 13 shooting, but the Buckeyes hit 10 three-pointers in the game, including seven by guard Jon Diebler. Big West Player of the Year Orlando Johnson was the only Gaucho to score in double figures, tallying 20 points in 33 minutes of action. UCSB was the sixth different Big West school to earn the conference’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament in the last six years.
Gauchos Win Second Big West Tourney Title
The third time was a charm for Bob Williams and Co. at the Big West Tournament as a No. 1 seed. Coming in as the top-seeded team for the third time since 2003, the Gauchos replaced the bitterness of losing in the 2003 and 2008 semifinals with the joy of winning this year’s tournament. UCSB collected its second Big West Tournament championship in its second finals appearance, joining the 2002 team atop the podium.
Johnson, Robinson On NABC All-District 9 Team
Sophomores Orlando Johnson of UC Santa Barbara and T.J. Robinson of Long Beach State were named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-Distict 9 Team. Johnson joined Gonzaga’s Matt Bouldin and Elias Harris, Saint Mary’s Omar Samhan and San Francisco’s Dior Lowhorn on the first team. Robinson’s second team honor was shared by Portland’s T.J. Campbell and Robin Smuelders, Pepperdine’s Keion Bell, and Saint Mary’s Mickey McConnell. Robinson finished the year with a Big West leading 17 double-doubles.
Thomason, Williams Among Big West’s Winningest
The two longest current tenured Big West head coaches are also two of the most successful in pointing to the all-time victories list. Thomason ranks second all-time with 387 wins in 22 seasons at the Tiger helm. Williams is fifth on that list with 199 wins, missing his chance to claim the milestone 200th win in the NCAA Tournament first round versus Ohio State. Both coaches could achieve additional milestones in 2010-11. Thomason is 19 wins away from overtaking Jerry Tarkanian as the Big West’s winningest head coach, while Williams is 24 victories shy of becoming UCSB’s all-time leader.
ALL-TIME VICTORY LEADERS - BIG WEST TENURE
Rk. Coach, School No.
1. Jerry Tarkanian, LBSU & UNLV 405
2. Bob Thomason, Pacific 387
3. Neil McCarthy, New Mexico State 248
4. Jerry Pimm, UC Santa Barbara 222
5. Bob Williams, UC Santa Barbara 199
Bold denotes active Big West head coach
Twenty-Twenty Vision
Head coach Bob Thomason has established a model of consistent success for the Pacific program. Thomason’s Tigers are 23-11, giving them 20-plus wins in three straight and six of the last seven seasons. Also, he has guided the program to 20 wins in nine of the last 14 seasons.
Thomason’s 20-Win Campaigns (since 2003-04)
Season Record Season Record
2009-10 23-11 2005-06 24-8
2008-09 21-13 2004-05 27-4
2007-08 21-10 2003-04 25-8
Farewell ACC
The Big West finished a 10-year stint at the Anaheim Convention Center to host its postseason basketball tournament as UC Santa Barbara became the fourth No. 1 seed in the last five years to capture the title. No team won consecutive tournament titles in the last decade, and no seed lower than a No. 3 hoisted the trophy.
Hello Honda Center
The Big West Basketball Tournament will be moving about three miles down the road when it relocates to Honda Center in 2011. Honda Center announced a five-year partnership with the Big West Conference to host the tournament. The two have teamed up to host NCAA men’s basketball regionals in 1998, 2001 and 2003, and the men’s first and second rounds in 2008. The Big West and Honda Center will also host the 2011 NCAA Men’s Basketball Regional. As a result of the move, the conference will utilize a traditionally seeded format (#1 vs. #8, #2 vs. #7, #3 vs. #6, #4 vs. #5). The 2011 event will run March 10-12 at Honda Center.