SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (Dec. 3, 2022) – After playing their last game on the road, the UC Santa Barbara Men's Basketball team will be back in The Thunderdome as they take on the Tigers of the University of the Pacific. These two teams played each other last season in Stockton, where the Tigers won 80-71 over the Gauchos. UC Santa Barbara's overall record against the Tigers is 55-56 as they look to go .500 against them after this game.
LAST TIME OUT
The Gauchos traveled across the country as they took on the Duquesne University Dukes of the Atlantic 10 in Pittsburgh. By the end of two halves, the Gauchos found themselves with a 72-61 loss against this tough team. Josh Pierre-Louis had another great game since returning from injury as he put up 15 points and nine rebounds while Andre Kelly ended the game with 14 points.
TAMING THE TIGERS
The University of the Pacific is coming off a win against The Big West's UC Davis as they defeated the Aggies with a score of 74-72. The Tigers also defeated North Dakota State and North Dakota while grabbing losses against two other Big West teams in Cal Poly and Cal State Fullerton. This roster for the Tigers only has one senior on it while seven of the 14 roster spots are taken by sophomores. Along with that, 12 members of this team are transfers from Division I, II and Juco universities.
The Tigers' bench is one that scores a lot of points for Pacific. They currently rank in the Top 50 in the NCAA in bench points scored per game, averaging 29.5.
Jordan Ivy-Curry is one of the biggest offensive weapons for the Tigers as he is in the Top 10 in the West Coast Conference when it comes to field goal percentage. The sophomore guard from La Marque, Texas native is eighth in the WCC in this category at 44.7 percent. With a percentage like this, the UTSA transfer leads his team in points with 114, which averages out to 14.25 points per game.
Following up behind Ivy-Curry in points fellow sophomore Tyler Beard. The Chicago native comes in at 100 points on the season, averaging 12.5 a game. The Georgetown transfer shoots an impressive 51.39 percent from the field.
While sophomores lead the team in field goals, it is senior Luke Avdalovic who leads the team in three-point field goals. The Folsom, California native leads the team with 19 made three's with 59 percent of his attempts from the arc being good. The next closest person to Avdalovic in this category is Ivy-Curry with 12 made three-pointers.
The Tigers crash the boards as much as they can with forward Cam Denson leading the charge off the bench. The Compton, California native has the most rebounds for Pacific, grabbing 37 this season.
Pacific are coached by Leonard Perry, who is in his second season at the helm of the program with an 11-27 record.
WHEREABOUTS
The Gauchos will hit the court in The Thunderdome with a 2 p.m. tipoff on Saturday, Dec. 3. The first 500 students to attend the game will receive a bucket hat that you can only get at the game. For fans who can't make it to Santa Barbara, they can watch the live stream through ESPN+ or follow along with live stats at ucsbgauchos.com.
