STOCKTON, Calif. – Anticipated to be a battle on the boards, the Pacific men's basketball program will square off with Saint Mary's in an ESPN2 showcase Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Alex G. Spanos Center.
 
Pacific (17-10, 8-6 WCC) has outrebounded all 14 conference opponents this season and ranks 12th in the nation in rebounding margin with a +9.7 clip. Saint Mary's (22-4, 11-2 WCC) ranks top-five in the country and leads the WCC in that same category with a +11.2 mark.
 
In the current NCAA NET Rankings, Pacific is No. 100 out of 365, while the Gaels are No. 28. Since the NCAA NET Rankings came out in 2019-20, Pacific's highest ever finish was No. 110 in 2019-20.
 
Pacific sits alone in fourth-place in the conference standings and is one game ahead of Oregon State, and two games in front of San Francisco and Washington State. The No. 3-4 seeds earn byes to the fourth round / quarterfinals of the conference tournament on Sunday, March 7.
 
The Tigers are coming off a 65-59 win over LMU in a game of shooting percentages. They trailed 31-25 at the half after shooting at a .290 clip, but outscored the Lions 40-28 after shooting .667 in the second. Senior Elias Ralph paved the way with 22 points and seven rebounds.
 
Ralph, a WCC Preseason All-Conference Team selection, leads the team in both scoring (16.6 ppg) and rebounding (6.7 rpg). In two seasons at Pacific, he's scored 937 points and recorded 17 double-doubles. Ralph ranks top-five in the WCC in scoring, field goal percentage and minutes.
 
Senior TJ Wainwright averages in double-figures with 13.9 points per game and is shooting .396 from long range and .924 from the free throw line. The Los Angeles product notched a season-high 27 points in front of his home crowd last Saturday at Pepperdine where he was 6-of-10 from three. He's shooting .434 from beyond-the-arc in conference.
 
Senior Jaden Clayton ranks 21st in the nation and second in the WCC in assists with 6.1 per game.
 
Senior Isaac Jack leads the team in field goal percentage with a .691 mark. He averages 9.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per outing.
 
In conference games, senior Justin Rochelin is averaging 12.6 points and 6.9 rebounds per game while shooting .463 from three-point range. He's scored in double-digits in 10 of the last 11 games.
 
In addition to rebounding, Saint Mary's ranks second in the nation in free throw percentage with a .806 mark. The team's only conference losses were games at Santa Clara 62-54 and Gonzaga 73-65. Paulius Murauskas leads the team with 18.7 points and 7.1 rebounds per outing.
 
The ESPN2 game will be called by Chris Sylvester and Ben Braun. The game can be heard on Fox Sports AM 1280 with Zack Bayrouty as the voice of the Tigers.
 
NOTES
- The Tigers are 11-1 at home this season.  The .917 home winning percentage is their highest since 2004-05 when the team went 12-1 (.923). Pacific is 820-463 all-time at home and 357-230 in the Alex G. Spanos Center.
 
- Pacific has clinched its first winning season since 2019-20 and third since rejoining the league in 2013-14.
 
- Pacific has doubled its conference win total from last year. The Tigers have surpassed their overall win total by eight games and conference win total by four games from last season. It's the second year in a row under head coach Dave Smart that the Tigers have increased their win total from the year prior.
 
- The Tigers are going for their first win over the Gaels since Jan. 4, 2020 in a 107-99 four overtime thriller.
 
- Pacific is 13-0 under Dave Smart in two seasons when holding the opposition to under 60 points and 10-0 (5-0 WCC) this year.
 
- Pacific has posted season sweeps over Oregon State and Pepperdine. In their most recent 92-59 win over the Waves, the Tigers tallied their largest margin of victory of 33 points since rejoining the league in 2013-14. The last time Pacific won a conference road game by 33 was Jan. 22, 2011 against UC Davis on the road as a member of the Big West.
 
- The Tigers are 12-0 this year when they have more fast break points and 13-1 when leading at half.
 
- Four different Tigers have recorded a double-double in a game this year including Jack, Wainwright, Rochelin and Ralph.
 
- Pacific has only used two starting lineups this season. Clayton and junior Kajus Kublickas have flipped at the point guard position.
 
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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