MALIBU, Calif. – Coming off back-to-back home wins to open West Coast Conference play, the Pacific men's basketball team (5-1, 2-0 WCC) embarks on their first league road trip of the season as they travel to Malibu to take on the Pepperdine Waves (5-6, 1-1 WCC) on Thursday evening. The weekend trip concludes with a trip to Spokane and a meeting with the No. 1 Gonzaga Bulldogs (14-0, 5-0 WCC) on Saturday night at the McCarthey Athletic Center.
GAME DETAILS:
Game One
Date: Thursday, January 21, 2021
Matchup: Pacific (5-1, 2-0) at Pepperdine (5-6, 1-1)
Location: Malibu, California
Venue: Firestone Fieldhouse
Time: 6:00 p.m. PST
Links: Watch |
Listen |
Live Stats
Game Two
GAME DETAILS:
Date: Saturday, January 23, 2021
Matchup: Pacific (5-1, 2-0) at #1 Gonzaga (14-0, 5-0)
Location: Spokane, Washington
Venue: McCarthey Athletic Center
Time: 7:00 p.m. PST
Links: Watch |
Listen |
Live Stats
THINGS TO KNOW:
- For the Tigers, Thursday's contest at Pepperdine marks just their second Division I road tilt of the season, as they lost at Nevada by a final of 70-58 on Nov. 30, which still stands as their only loss of the season. Pacific's only other road game was a 92-64 win on Dec. 20 at Westmont College (NAIA) before an extended COVID-19 pause.
- Pacific looks to remain unbeaten in WCC play on Thursday and keep pace with Gonzaga, the only other team in the league without a conference loss. The Tigers are coming off home victories over Loyola Marymount and Santa Clara, the most recent win coming over the Lions on Saturday the 16th by a final of 58-49. The Tigers overcame a sluggish start in which they made only eight field goals in the first half and used a 13-0 run in the second half to rally from a nine-point deficit. Sophomore Daniss Jenkins was Pacific's leading scorer with 18 points on 7-for-13 shooting while senior Broc Finstuen and graduate student Jordan Bell added 14 and 10, respectively.
SCOUTING THE WAVES:
- Pepperdine enters Thursday's contest off an 80-65 win at home over Portland in which Kessler Edwards fell one rebound shy of a double-double with a game-high 21 points and nine boards.
- The Waves outscored the Pilots 40-31 in the first half and earned the win despite getting just four points from all-league guard Colbey Ross. Ross did tally a game-high 10 assists, however, and enters Thursday's contest averaging a league-best 7.5 assists per game while also pouring in 16.7 points per contest, good for sixth in the WCC. Edwards is fifth in the league in scoring, averaging 17.2 points per game.
- The Tigers have swept the last three season series with the Waves dating back to the 2017-18 season. Pepperdine's most recent win versus Pacific came in the 2019 WCC Tournament in Las Vegas by a final of 61-53 in the quarterfinal round. Overall, The Tigers are 8-6 in regular season play versus the Waves since rejoining the WCC in 2013-14.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS:
- Pacific concludes its road swing on Saturday with a visit to Gonzaga, the nation's top team. The Tigers have beaten the Bulldogs only once in school history and it happened on Dec. 23, 1970 in Stockton by a final of 70-60.
- Pacific and Gonzaga played just once last season and the bulldogs prevailed at the Kennel by a 92-59 final on Jan. 25.
- UOP has seven wins all-time over ranked opponents, with the most recent coming in the 2004 NCAA Tournament when the Tigers knocked off No. 21 Providence, 66-58. Pacific has registered three wins all-time versus teams ranked in the Top 10, with the most recent coming in a 62-56 home victory over No. 10 UNLV on Feb. 4, 1993. The highest ranked team the Tigers have beaten in program history is No. 5 Long Beach State in Stockton on Jan. 30, 1972 at the Stockton Civic Memorial Auditorium. The highest ranked team the Tigers have taken down on the road is No. 24 New Mexico State on Jan. 28, 1995.
- The West Coast Conference recently named Gonzaga's Corey Kispert and Jalen Suggs the University Credit Union Men's Basketball Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week. Kispert earned the honor for the second time this season, while Suggs was selected Freshman of the Week for the fifth time. In the eight recognitions of the WCC Player of the Week so far this season, seven Bulldogs have received the honor, including five different players from Gonzaga. Additionally, a Bulldog player has received the freshman of the week honor six of the eight weeks.
FOLLOW US:
For more updates and more information on the 2020-21 Pacific men's basketball team, be sure to follow @PacificMensBB on Twitter, @pacificmensbb on Instagram and @PacificMensBB on Facebook.
