LAS VEGAS, Nev. - The Pacific men's basketball team (9-8, 6-7 WCC) is set to open play in the 2021 University Credit Union West Coast Conference Tournament as the Tigers will take on the Santa Clara Broncos (11-7, 4-5 WCC) in the second round of the tournament in Las Vegas on Friday night.
Pacific, the No. 6 seed in the tournament per Ken Pomeroy's final Adjusted Win Percentage rankings, was awaiting the winner of Thursday's contest between the Broncos and Portland Pilots, which saw Santa Clara pull away in the second half to prevail 95-86.
GAME DETAILS:
Date: Friday, March 5, 2021
Matchup: #7 Santa Clara (11-7, 4-5) vs. #6 Pacific (9-8, 6-7)
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Venue: Orleans Arena
Time: 9:00 p.m. PST
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Live Stats
THINGS TO KNOW:
- Pacific wrapped up its regular season with a 76-69 win over the San Francisco Dons last Saturday, Feb. 27 at the Alex G. Spanos Center. It marked the Tigers' fifth game in nine days, a stretch in which they went 3-2.
- Sophomore Pierre Crockrell II led the Tigers in scoring for the third time in four games with 17 points while dishing out eight assists. He was one of five Tigers in double figures as seniors Broc Finstuen and Jeremiah Bailey each had 16 while graduate student Jordan Bell and sophomore Daniss Jenkins had 12 and 11, respectively.
- Pacific held USF to just 15.4 shooting (4-for-26) from beyond-the-arc while the Tigers shot just over 49 percent (29-for-59) from the floor for the contest.
- The lone meeting this season between Pacific and Santa Clara came at the Spanos Center on Jan. 14. In the Tigers' return from a 24-day COVID pause, UOP upended the Broncos 79-58 and scored 14 points before three minutes had elapsed in the contest. Bell notched a double-double in the game with 17 points and 11 rebounds as the Tigers held the Broncos to just 35.2 percent (19-for-54) from the field while holding All-WCC First Team selection Josip Vrankic to just two points on 1-for-7.
- Pacific and Santa Clara have met one other time in the WCC Tournament, an 81-64 Broncos win on March 6, 2014. Pacific's only win in the WCC Tournament came versus Pepperdine on March 3, 2017 by a final of 89-84. The Tigers are 1-6 all-time in the WCC Tournament and have lost in their opener in each of the last three seasons as they look to break a four-game tournament skid on Friday.
SCOUTING THE BRONCOS:
- The Broncos, meanwhile, endured a two-week COVID pause stretching from Jan. 28-Feb. 13. Following the pause, Santa Clara went 1-3 over its final four games played and saw their final scheduled game on Feb. 27 versus Portland cancelled.
- Prior to Thursday's victory over Portland, the Broncos last played on Feb. 25, an 89-75 loss at No. 1 Gonzaga. Their last victory before the Pilots came on Feb. 20 versus Pepperdine by a final of 86-82.
- Vrankic, who was the conference's leading rebounds with an average of 8.7 per game, also led the conference with seven double-doubles as he is one of just 22 players in the nation, including the only one in the WCC, averaging at least 15.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per contest.
- Additionally, Jalen Williams was named an Honorable Mention after finishing eighth in the WCC in free throw percentage (78.0) and steals per game (1.3 spg).
- Heading into Friday's matchup, Keshawn Justice is second on the team in rebounding (5.4 rpg) while also ranking third on the team in both scoring (11.3 ppg) and assists per game (2.1).
UP NEXT:
The winner of Friday's contest between Pacific and Santa Clara will face the No. 3 seed Pepperdine Waves (11-11, 7-6) in the quarterfinals on Saturday at 9 p.m. on ESPN2.
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.
