Pacific plays at Northern Colorado in a quarterfinal game of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament tonight at 6:00 p.m. (PDT).  The Tigers are attempting to advance to the CIT semifinals for the second consecutive season.

NOTEWORTHY

Keep An Eye On

Sam Willard, Pacific
Willard turned in a monster performance on Wednesday in the first round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament at Loyola Marymount.  He posted career highs of 23 points and 17 rebounds as the Tigers pounced on the Lions, defeating them 86-76.  Willard’s play helped the Tigers register a season-high in points as well as shoot a season-high 60.0% from the field.  Willard is playing as dominating as anyone in the Big West through the latter stages of the season.  He has scored in double figures in nine straight games, and has recorded double-digit rebounds in four of the last six outings.  Willard’s seven double-doubles on the year is tied for third in the Big West.

MORE NOTABLES

Pacific Eyes Another CIT Semifinal Berth
Pacific attempts to reach the semifinals of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament for the second consecutive year on Monday evening at Northern Colorado.  The Tigers earned an 86-76 win in the first round at Loyola Marymount on Wednesday to advance to tonight’s quarterfinal round game in Greeley, Colo.  In last year’s inaugural CIT, the Tigers used home court advantage to prevail against Portland and Idaho and reach the semifinal round, where their season ended at Bradley.  For the Tigers to get there this year, they will have to win their second straight postseason road game.

Defense The Key To Victory
Although Pacific allowed 76 points to Loyola Marymount in the CIT first round, the Tigers have utilized their penchant for tough defense in many wins this season.  They are 13-2 when holding the opposition under 60 points, including winning their last eight straight when keeping their opponent below that point total.

UCSB’s Dance Ends In First Round
UC Santa Barbara finished its season at 20-10 overall following a 68-51 loss to fifth-ranked Ohio State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Friday in Milwaukee, Wis.  The Gauchos were making their fourth NCAA Tournament appearance, and first since 2002, coming in as a No. 15 seed against the No. 2 seed Buckeyes.  UCSB held Ohio State’s national Player of the Year candidate Evan Turner to nine points on 2 of 13 shooting, but the Buckeyes hit 10 three-pointers in the game, including seven by guard Jon Diebler.  Big West Player of the Year Orlando Johnson was the only Gaucho to score in double figures, tallying 20 points in 33 minutes of action.  UCSB was the sixth different Big West school to earn the conference’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament in the last six years.

Gauchos Win Second Big West Tourney Title
The third time was a charm for Bob Williams and Co. at the Big West Tournament as a No. 1 seed.  Coming in as the top-seeded team for the third time since 2003, the Gauchos replaced the bitterness of losing in the 2003 and 2008 semifinals with the joy of winning this year’s tournament.  UCSB collected its second Big West Tournament championship in its second finals appearance, joining the 2002 team atop the podium.

Johnson, Robinson On NABC All-District 9 Team
Sophomores Orlando Johnson of UC Santa Barbara and T.J. Robinson of Long Beach State were named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-Distict 9 Team on Tuesday.  Johnson joined Gonzaga’s Matt Bouldin and Elias Harris, Saint Mary’s Omar Samhan and San Francisco’s Dior Lowhorn on the first team.  Robinson was selected to the second team.  The 49er forward, who finished the year with 17 double-doubles, joined Portland’s T.J. Campbell and Robin Smuelders, Pepperdine’s Keion Bell, and Saint Mary’s Mickey McConnell on the second team roster.

Thomason, Williams Among Big West’s Winningest
The two longest current tenured Big West head coaches are also two of the most successful in pointing to the all-time victories list.  Thomason ranks second all-time with 385 wins in 22 seasons at the Tiger helm.  Williams is fifth on that list with 199 wins, missing his chance to claim the milestone 200th win in the NCAA Tournament first round versus Ohio State.  Both coaches could achieve additional milestones in 2010-11.  Thomason is 21 wins away from overtaking Jerry Tarkanian as the Big West’s winningest head coach, while Williams is 24 victories shy of becoming UCSB’s all-time leader.

ALL-TIME VICTORY LEADERS - BIG WEST TENURE
Rk.    Coach, School                                  No.
1.      Jerry Tarkanian, LBSU & UNLV         405
2.      Bob Thomason, Pacific                   385
3.      Neil McCarthy, New Mexico State      248
4.      Jerry Pimm, UC Santa Barbara          222
5.      Bob Williams, UC Santa Barbara    199

Bold denotes active Big West head coach

UC Santa Barbara, Pacific Tie For Championship
UC Santa Barbara and Pacific earned Big West regular season co-championships with 12-4 records.  The Gauchos claimed the No. 1 seed in the Big West Tournament by virtue of sweeping the Tigers in head-to-head action.  It was the second time in three seasons that UCSB tied for the regular season crown.  In 2007-08, UCSB finished 12-4 with Cal State Fullerton and Cal State Northridge atop the league standings.  Pacific earned the top perch for the first time since the 2005-06 season.

Twenty-Twenty Vision
Head coach Bob Thomason has established a model of consistent success for the Pacific program.  Thomason’s Tigers are 21-11 entering the quarterfinals of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.  His teams have won 20 or more games in three straight and six of the last seven seasons.  In addition, Thomason has guided the program to 20 wins in nine of the last 14 seasons.

Thomason’s 20-Win Campaigns (since 2003-04)
Season     Record      Season      Record
2009-10     21-11         2005-06      24-8
2008-09     21-13         2004-05      27-4
2007-08     21-10         2003-04      25-8

Random Stat
As the only team still alive in any postseason tournament, Pacific is also the only Big West school without a player ranked in the league’s top 15 in scoring.  In fact, junior Sam Willard is the team’s only player averaging double figures in scoring with 11.5 points per game.  Balance is a big key to the Tiger success as seven players on the roster average at least five points per game.

Farewell ACC
The Big West finished a 10-year stint at the Anaheim Convention Center to host its postseason basketball tournament as UC Santa Barbara became the fourth No. 1 seed in the last five years to capture the title.  No team won consecutive tournament titles in the last decade, and no seed lower than a No. 3 hoisted the trophy.

Hello Honda Center
The Big West Basketball Tournament will be moving about three miles down the road when it relocates to Honda Center in 2011.  Honda Center announced a five-year partnership with the Big West Conference to host the tournament.  The two have teamed up to host NCAA men’s basketball regionals in 1998, 2001 and 2003, and the men’s first and second rounds in 2008.  The Big West and Honda Center will also host the 2011 NCAA Men’s Basketball Regional.  As a result of the move, the conference will utilize a traditionally seeded format (#1 vs. #8, #2 vs. #7, #3 vs. #6, #4 vs. #5).  The 2011 event will run March 10-12 at Honda Center.