Pacific 2009 CIT Tournament Preview

Pacific Tigers - Big West (19-12, 10-6)

RPI: 149

Big Wins: 11/26 at Nevada (67-59), 1/2 at Cal State Northridge (84-78), 3/13 vs Long Beach State (65-60)

Bad Losses: 12/6 Fresno State (64-66), 1/15 at UC Irvine (51-52), 1/22 Cal Poly (60-76)

Coach: Bob Thomason

Probable Pacific Starters:

• Michael Kirby, Senior, Guard, 9.8 ppg, 2.3 apg

• Chad Troyer, Senior, Guard, 10.9 ppg, 1.6 apg

• Joe Ford, Junior, Forward, 4.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.5 apg

• Anthony Brown, Senior, Forward, 8.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg

• Sam Willard, Sophomore, Forward, 6.7 ppg, 6.6 rpg

Key Pacific Roleplayers:

• James Doran, Senior, Guard, 6.3 ppg, 1.4 rpg

• Bryan LeDuc, Senior, Forward, 11.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg

• Lavar Neufville, Junior, Guard, 3.7 ppg, 2.1 apg

• Terrell Smith, Sophomore, Guard, 6.3 ppg, 2.1 apg, 3.1 rpg

Why Pacific Can Surprise:

Pacific always runs an efficient offense and plays solid defense. That is why year after year Coach Bob Thomason leads his Tigers into the title hunt in the Big West. Even when the hunt for a championship fails, like it did this season, Pacific is still playing games well into March. The efficient offense usually runs through a quality forward or two and this year is no different. Bryan LeDuc is the most dynamic of the bunch. Unlike the other forwards on the roster, LeDuc is an inside-outside threat and he still leads the team in field-goal percentage.

Anthony Brown and Sam Willard are the more traditional interior scorers. Brown is a tough player who will bang with anybody under the basket. There will be bigger players that he will have to go up against, but Brown’s toughness is a big asset to this team. Willard, at 6-9, has a little more size. Most of his scoring will come from easy put-backs, but his effort on the glass has turned the Tigers into a solid rebounding team.

Why The Tigers Can Disappoint:
Pacific’s biggest problem is on the free-throw line. Since they will rely on their frontcourt to do quite a bit of scoring, the free-throw shooting takes a hit. Most of the team is quality shooters from the charity stripe, but Brown and Willard, who both get to the line quite a bit, shoot under 60 percent. It would be nice to have those two on the floor at the end of a game for defensive purposes, but Coach Thomason might have to bench at least one of them due to their poor free-throw shooting.

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Who To Watch:
When the frontcourt is scoring in the paint, it gives the shooters on the perimeter a ton of room to operate and Chad Troyer and Michael Kirby have taken advantage of that opportunity. Troyer is not the most efficient shooter around since he only connects on 37.3 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc, but he is a dynamic scorer who will get to the basket. Kirby is a pure shooter, not to mention a solid ball handler. He takes 4.2 three-pointers per game and connects on 51.5 percent of those attempts. With players like LeDuc and James Doran coming in off the bench and also hitting three-pointers, Pacific’s offense can put points up in a hurry.

Pacific By the Numbers:

Scoring Offense: 66.3 (196th in nation, 5th in conference)

Scoring Defense: 61.9 (44, 2)

Field-Goal Percentage: 46.3 (56, 1)

Field-Goal Defense: 43.2 (162, 2)

Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.2 (76, 3)

Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 38.8 (22, 2)

Free-Throw Percentage: 67.7 (213, 8)

Rebound Margin: 2.5 (91, 3)

Assists Per Game: 13.8 (109, 4)

Turnovers Per Game: 12.1 (33, 3)

By Joel Welser
CollegeSports-fans.com Senior Basketball Writer

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