Pacific competes in the semifinals of the inaugural CollegeInsider.com Tournament on Wednesday night against Bradley. Tip time from Carver Arena is scheduled for 5:05 pm (PDT). The winner meets either Old Dominion or James Madison for the CIT crown on Tuesday, Mar. 31.
The Tigers advanced to the quarterfinals with an 82-76 home victory against Portland in a first round game on Wednesday, Mar. 18. It was the first postseason win for Pacific since defeating Pittsburgh in the first round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament. Pacific followed that up with a 69-59 triumph against Idaho on Monday, improving to 12-4 this season and 8-0 all-time against the Vandals in the Spanos Center.
Meeting Bradley for just the third time in history, Pacific trails the series 2-0. The Tigers lost to the Braves 80-68 in the 1979 Great Alaska Shootout, and 71-59 in Peoria on Dec. 27, 1955.
Pacific enters the game with a 21-12 overall record, while Bradley is 20-14. The Braves advanced to the semifinals with an improbable 76-75 victory versus Oakland on Monday. Bradley junior guard Chris Roberts heaved in a desperation 75-footer at the buzzer on the eve of his 21st birthday to give the Braves a semifinal berth in the tournament.
Pacific's win over Portland clinched a 20-win season for the Tigers for the fifth time in the last six years. Head coach Bob Thomason has led the Tigers to eight 20-win campaigns in the last 13 seasons. Thomason is second all-time in Big West history with 364 overall victories and is No. 1 in conference wins with 209.
The Tigers have won seven of their last eight games. They are tied with Cal State Fullerton for most road victories (7) by a Big West school this season.
This marks the first time since November that the Tigers have traveled outside the state of California. Pacific played at Washington on Nov. 29 and also visited Nevada on Nov. 26.
The championship game will be televised on Fox College Sports on Tuesday, March 31.
Wednesday, March 25 - Semifinals
James Madison (21-14) at Old Dominion (23-10)
Pacific (21-12) at Bradley (20-14)
Tuesday, March 31 - Championship
Televised on Fox College Sports