Tigers regress again in most recent loss

9th loss in a row could be most disappointing of the season

Coming off a spirited home effort against San Francisco, there were many reasons to believe that the Pacific Tigers had turned the corner in several facets and were on their way to competing for their first WCC victory of the season. Consider yesterday afternoon’s 17-point loss at home to Pepperdine (4-10, 1-3, KenPom #200) a reversion to what may be the grim reality of the 2024-25 season: this group simply is not talented enough to consistently defend, rebound and score at a level required to be competitive each and every night in the WCC. Not to mention that Waves Coach Ed Schilling may have found future opponents another way to stymie Pacific on offense: play zone, pack the paint and dare the Tigers to score from the perimeter.

Defensively, after a decent effort on Thursday night, the Tigers went back to what has to be considered as who they are right now: their Top 3-4 players either not following the scout or not giving the mental and physical effort required to take opponents out of their weaknesses. Yesterday, our best players went back to getting caught up in screens - this time against Pepperdine’s flex offense - missing simple rotations and getting beat off the dribble. No reason to name names - we know who gets the majority of the minutes but last night was another circus at the defensive end.

When a team allows a 6’8” journeyman wing who likely was the main focus of your scout to make 7 of 8 threes and then blow kisses at your bench, then maybe it is time to consider some new pieces to the group longer term. Pacific Athletic Director Adam Tschuor was the halftime guest on last night’s ESPN+ telecast and lamented that coach Smart and staff came into this season very late in the portal cycle - my read on that was we could see another roster overhaul with more available construct time for 2025-26. That said, Tschour also talked about the grim reality of economics in Division I men’s basketball and specifically the WCC with some facts: San Francisco (for example) currently has a NIL budget five times the size of Pacific’s. 6’6” Ty Virgil, a Pacific legacy recruit, will attend Pepperdine next season ostensibly because the Waves NIL deal is worth $150K, roughly double what the Tigers can currently offer. So there’s those issues.

Back to yesterday: Pacific’s offensive start was strong, making 7 of their first 12 shots and the game was tied at 16 with just over 12 1/2 minutes remaining in the half. That was roughly the time when coach Schilling went to his zone - this may be a growing phenomenon in the WCC as multiple teams have tried to slow Saint Mary’s down with that strategy. Unfortunately for Tiger fans, it was a “roaring” success for Pepperdine yesterday as the Waves finished the first half on a 21-9 run. Rough estimates are that Pacific went 3 for their first 12 with five turnovers against the changed “d” as Pepperdine quickly built a 12-point lead.

The Waves then found the matchups they wanted to spring loose 6’5” true freshman Jaxon Olvera, who had 15 of his 19 points after halftime, either breaking down Pacific defenders off the dribble to get to the rim and in the midrange or getting loose in transition or on late rotations for open threes - Pacific has no freshman even close to the talent and compete level of Olvera (8-13 from the field, 2-6 from three).

Pacific did give some run to 6’7” Krys Keinys who always seems to bring energy and effort off the bench, especially attacking the offensive glass. Unfortunately, Keinys still is tentative around the rim with the ball and is foul prone. 7’0” Jazz Gardner remains a non-threat on offense unless attacking the “o” glass. Not much more to add on the others that hasn’t already been discussed almost ad nauseum during much of the season.

The slate does not get any easier this coming week with road games at Washington State (13-3, 3-0), coming off a nine-point victory over San Francisco and then back at home against Oregon State (12-4, 2-1) next Saturday. No doubt the staff will work hard to prepare the group - that is never in question. How the group takes what is being taught and translates it into what happens on the floor is where the adventure continues.