Pacific Cools Irvine’s Hopes for NCAA Bid

UC Irvine was placed on a bubble Friday night. Or did it just burst beneath the Anteaters?

NCAA tournament dreams all but fluttered away after Pacific devoured Irvine, 74-58, in the semifinals of the Big West Tournament at the Anaheim Convention Center. The pro-Anteater crowd of 4,268 was left with only slim hopes of the program’s first NCAA bid.

“Make no mistake, we got whupped,” Irvine Coach Pat Douglass said.

Tiger guard Maurice McLemore held the paddle. He was everything Irvine’s Jerry Green wasn’t Friday.

McLemore, who averages nine points, scored 22 and bludgeoned Irvine’s second-half rally. He was the driving force behind an 18-3 start that put Irvine in a quicksand-like hole. The Tigers led, 39-17, at halftime.

“We talked before the game that we needed to bring our A game and we did that tonight,” Pacific Coach Bob Thomason said.

The Anteaters got an incomplete.

Green, the conference’s leading scorer, looked nothing like the conference player of the year. He was one of eight from the field in the first half and finished with 12 points.

Green’s consolation was that he was in good company. This was a group effort. Ben Jones, the Anteaters’ second-leading scorer, was one for seven from the field and finished with six points.

Irvine shot 28% while Pacific shot 54%.

The aftermath left Pacific facing Utah State in tonight’s title game. Irvine was left with only slim hopes of an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.

True, the Anteaters have a glossy 25-4 record, which includes a victory against NCAA tournament contender California. It also included victories over Belmont, UC Riverside, Howard and UC San Diego.

“I mean, we still have one of the best records in the country, hopefully they will consider us,” Douglass said.

But is it a realistic chance?

“I hope so,” Douglass said. “I don’t know what [the selection committee] will do.”

Follow its history?

The Big West has not been awarded an at-large bid since 1993. The conference hasn’t had a team win an NCAA tournament game since 1993. The Anteaters’ RPI rating is more an R.I.P., at 65.

All of which spells N . . . I . . . T.

As in: Not In Tournament.

“We’re going to wait until Sunday and see what happens,” Green said. “If we go to the NIT, that’s great. That would be an accomplishment. Our goal was the NCAA.”

There have been many who believed that Irvine getting into the NCAA tournament would signal a need to stock up on canned goods and bottled water. A sure sign of an unstable world.

After all, Irvine was a woeful 1-25 in 1996-97, the year before Douglass arrived.

The Anteaters have spent the last three months making a convincing case to be considered among the 65 that make this year’s tournament.

Irvine won the conference’s regular-season title for the first time. The Anteaters showed plenty of grit, winning 14 games by five or fewer points.

All that NCAA lobbying unraveled in the first half, when Irvine managed only six field goals.

The Anteaters rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat Pacific in Stockton earlier this season. That wasn’t going to happen Friday.

There was a glimmer of hope for Irvine. Malachi Edmond sank a three-pointer to spark a 17-3 run that cut Pacific’s lead to 52-41 with 10:31 left.

All it amounted to was a last twitch of life in Irvine’s NCAA hopes.

The Anteaters did most of that damage while McLemore was on the bench. He returned and drove past Green for a layup. McLemore dropped in a three-pointer and the Tigers’ lead was back to a comfy 59-42.