STOCKTON, Calif. – In one of its most anticipated non-conference home games of the season, the Pacific men's basketball program will host Sacramento State at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Alex G. Spanos Center.
 
It's Sacramento State's (4-4) first trip to Pacific (5-2) in nine seasons after the Tigers won 74-58 on Dec. 1, 2016. It will be the 40th contest between the two programs with Pacific leading 31-8, including a 20-3 mark at home.
 
Pacific returns to the Spanos Center after a seven-day trip to Florida. The Tigers won the GEICO Sunshine Slam Ocean Bracket after shutting down Stony Brook 86-58 and Jacksonville 68-53. Senior Elias Ralph was named the MVP of the bracket after averaging 15.5 points and 5.5 rebounds over the two games. The tournament was Pacific's first-ever trip to the state of Florida as a program.
 
The Tigers have held the opposition to under 60 points in back-to-back Division I wins for the first time since 2020-21. The last time it happened in three straight victories was 2019-20 in wins over LMU 62-50, San Diego 66-58 and San Francisco 60-48. Pacific is 6-0 under Dave Smart when holding the opposition to under 60 points.
 
It was the second time in three seasons that Pacific won its Multi-Team Event (MTE) after winning the Golden State Hoops Jam on its home court in 2023-24. The Tigers beat Le Moyne 73-71 and Mississippi Valley State 68-65 (OT).
 
Ralph, a WCC Preseason All-Conference Team selection, leads the Tigers with 15.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. He's shooting .458 (11-24) from long range and leads the WCC in minutes per game (34.9).
 
Pacific's two big men, seniors KC Ibekwe and Isaac Jack, are a combined 42-of-54 (.778) from the field. Jack is coming off season-highs off 11 points and nine rebounds against Jacksonville. Ibekwe was 8-of-8 from the floor over the two games against Stony Brook and Jacksonville.
 
Sacramento State is coming off a 94-46 win over San Francisco State on Tuesday. The Hornets have a Division I win over Presbyterian 64-62 on its resume. Prophet Johnson leads the team with 16.0 points and 9.6 rebounds per game and shoots .469 from long range.
 
Sacramento State is under the direction of first-year head coach Mike Bibby, who played 14 seasons in the NBA and was the second overall pick of the NBA Draft by the Vancouver Grizzlies in 1998. In college, Bibby led Arizona to a national championship in 1997.
 
The Hornets made another splash hire on their staff over the summer by naming Shaquille O'Neal as their general manager. O'Neal is an NBA Hall of Famer and 15-time All-Star. His son Shaqir O'Neal is a senior on Sacramento State and has started in all eight games.
 
Saturday's game can be watched on ESPN+ with Zack Bayrouty and Kat Tudor on the call. It can be heard live for free on Fox Sports AM 1280 with Dennis Ackerman as the voice.
 
NOTES
- The Tigers are 811-462 all-time at home, 348-229 in the Alex G. Spanos Center and 2-0 this season.
 
- Pacific is 4-0 this year when leading at half.
 
- The Tigers are 5-1 when outscoring the opposition in the paint and 14-5 in two seasons under head coach Dave Smart.
 
- Pacific is 3-0 this year and 8-1 under Smart when shooting .500 or above from the field.
 
- Senior Jaden Clayton ranks top-five in the WCC in assists with 5.4 per game. He dished out a season-high 11 at Nevada. Clayton scored a season-high 15 points against Stony Brook on 6-of-6 shooting (3-3 3FG) and averages 8.3 points per game on the year.
 
- Senior TJ Wainwright averages in double-figures with 12.6 points per game and netted a team-high 15 points in the team's last outing against Jacksonville. Wainwright drained 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting in the team's 85-73 road win at Cal State Fullerton.
 
Tigers Tickets
Tickets for upcoming events can be purchased through the PacificTigers.com tickets tab, or by calling the Box Office at 209-946-2474.  Groups of 10 or more are eligible for a group discount and exclusive fan experiences.
 
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