Tigers hang in but lose by 14 at Oregon State
Beavers take over midway through second half
While a 79-65 loss to Oregon State, an upper-to-mid WCC team now with 18 wins overall, ordinarily would not be a reason for optimism, the way in which the Pacific Tigers hung in against a quality opponent in their barn despite some questionable whistles and a 12-for-28 performance from downtown from OSU - many on tough, contested shots late in the clock - suggests this group has turned the proverbial corner. In the end, an 18-6 run by the Beavers - immediately after Pacific had taken their last lead of the afternoon at 44-43, determined the outcome. However, the game had a much different, more positive overall feel to it with the resiliency our Tigers showed to the very end indicating that this was closer than a “14-point” game.
Admittedly, giving up 79 points in a game with the general state of the Tigers offense remains too high - ideally Pacific wants to play in the mid-60s if at all possible. That said, there were many more positives than usual, with Pacific generally strong in transition and several defensive possessions ending with a mental note “we can live with that” - but some tough shots being made. Outside of some stretches of turnovers, there was a feeling of more consistency at both ends of the floor that bodes well for the final three games of the regular season and WCC tournament.
Post defense generally remains an issue: Beavers 6’9” JR Parsa Fallah dominated inside in the first half (10 of his 12 points) although 7’0” Jazz Gardner competed and is slowly learning to use his body better at the defensive end. Unfortunately, Jazz still needs help against formidable bigs and last night had to sit early with two quick fouls.
But coming out of halftime, Coach Smart tweaked his double teaming in the post. Instead of the usual help coming from the baseline, Smart sent 6’6” Elijah Fisher to immediately double team on the catch. While Elijah has generally been a stalwart scorer this season, he has not been quick to grasp the intricacies of Coach Smart’s off ball rotations. But in games like these the former 5-star recruit is needed on the floor for his offense - so what better way to do that and reduce exposure on the defensive end by making him the double teamer - which at 6’6” and long makes for a more effective trap. Note that Elijah playing only 22 minutes vs. LMU on Thursday and not being on the floor for much of the dominant Pacific runs had some whispering that maybe the best overall five the Tigers have may not include Fisher. This tweak could change that perception as Fisher was generally more responsible and effective on the defensive end than in past games.
More positives emerged out of the “d” as for the first time in recent memory, the Tigers got some easy transition scores out of their defense. Offensively, the ball movement was generally as crisp as at LMU on Thursday and 6’4” Petar Krivokapic appears to have found his stroke, knocking down 4 of 5 from three. Pacific also dealt very well with Oregon State’s zone - a tactic most recent opponents have started to use - but the Tigers dealt with it effectively last night, especially Fisher (14 points) including finding pockets in the paint against the zone.
Signs of progress are also emerging from 6’11” Burke Smith (6 points, 4 rebounds in 18 minutes). Always a maximum effort guy not afraid to lay the body on opponents, Burke is reading the offense much better: witness his two-handed slam on a nice feed from Petar when Smith properly read the penetration, slid over to the Russian spot and was ready to catch and flush, a fundamentally sound move indicative of growth.
6’4” Lamar Washington shook off the effects of an illness that he apparently had to deal with on Thursday and played all 40 minutes - Coach Smart went away from giving his all-WCC candidate some first half rest - but Lamar was held in reasonable check (16 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals with 5 turnovers). In all, Pacific shot 6 for 11 from three including Petar’s second consecutive game with 4 3’s made - he is 8 for his last 13 from downtown and going back to late in the first half of the LMU game, the Tigers collectively are 14 for their last 29 from beyond the stripe.
From the 15-minute mark of the first half at LMU, this has been a different group with more consistently favorable play at both ends. The light is starting to come on: individually and collectively as a group and these games are now much more fun to watch. Great on this group of players for believing and growing and on the coaching staff for maintaining the grind and the will to make this better. The Pacific Tigers are finally starting to look like a Coach Dave Smart-coached program and this should bring optimism to the fan base for the rest of the season and into 2025-26.
Next up is the final road game of the season at San Francisco (21-7, 11-4, an undefeated 15-0 at home) followed by two home games including Portland on Saturday. The Pilots (10-17, 5-9) have won three of their last four including an upset win over Oregon State this past Thursday night. The aforementioned Dons sit at #64 in the KenPom rankings and do not appear in the latest Joe Lunardi Bracketology for the NCAA tournament.