Thursday, March 13th, 11:30 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Anaheim Convention Center (7,734) -- Anaheim, California. Television: None. Home Record: UC Irvine 12-2, Pacific 11-3. Away Record: UC Irvine 3-10, Pacific 8-5. Neutral Record: UC Irvine 1-3, Pacific 2-1. Conference Record: UC Irvine 9-7, Pacific 11-5.

GAME NOTES: The Big West Conference Tournament continues with quarterfinal- round action tonight, as the UC Irvine Anteaters challenge the Pacific Tigers. UC Irvine finds itself in the quarterfinals after a 77-63 victory over Long Beach State on Wednesday night. It was an especially sweet victory for the Anteaters, who have been eliminated from the tournament by the 49ers in the semifinals the previous two years. As for Pacific, the Tigers have been away from the hardwood for more than a week, last beating UC Riverside by a 65-58 margin on March 5th to clinch a first-round bye in the tournament. The Tigers compiled a 21-9 overall record in 2007-08, which included a 11-5 mark in league action. These teams split a pair of meetings during the regular season, with each winning on its home floor.

A balanced offensive attack paved the road to victory for UC Irvine on Wednesday night, as the Anteaters shot 58.8 percent from the field and knocked down 9-of-11 from the charity stripe. The Anteaters also converted 8-of-17 from beyond the arc and forced 12 turnovers. Darren Fells scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead Irvine, while Patrick Sanders added 18 points to go with five boards. Marcus McIntosh collected 16 points, and Michael Hunter chipped in with 12. Sanders has been the main source of offensive production for Irvine this season, tallying 15.9 ppg. Fells also owns a double-figure scoring average with his 14.3 ppg, and he also grabs a team-high 6.8 rpg.

The Tigers shot a blazing 65.9 percent from the floor in the win over UC Riverside last time out, helping the club overcome an abysmal 20-turnover performance. The shooting effort was the ninth-best single-game percentage in school history, and it propelled the Tigers to a 41-29 edge in points during the second half. Pacific held the Highlanders to 46.8 percent shooting from the field, and won the battle down low by a 30-22 margin. Steffan Johnson scored 11 points and passed out seven assists to lead Pacific in the win, while Bryan LeDuc and Michael Nunnally tallied 10 points apiece for the Tigers. Johnson's 14.8 ppg paced the club this season, and the team averaged a solid 72.7 ppg while limiting opponents to 66.7 ppg. Chad Troyer was responsible for 12.9 ppg, while Anthony Brown led the way on the glass with 7.1 rpg and he chipped in a respectable 10.7 ppg.

The edge goes to Pacific as it simply has more offensive firepower than does Irvine.

Predicted Outcome

Pacific 68, UC Irvine 62