Kentucky Playing at the Rose Garden in November!

Anyone hear Wheels at Work today? John Calipari was on to talk about Terrence Jones, and he said that Kentucky will be playing in the Rose Garden in November. He didn't confirm an opponent, but said he has talked to three teams.

Hmmmmmmmm... remember when we played Duke in the Rose Garden? Could something like that happen again?!?

Stonehouse wrote:remember when we played Duke in the Rose Garden?

I do not recall such an occurance. Please tell me more.

How sweet would that be?!?!

That Duke game was pretty cool... we hung with them for a while, IIRC (which is saying something, for the state of the program during the late 90's), before they ran away with the win.

We also set a State of Oregon attendance record for college basketball at that game.

Oooooh man, please let this be a game vs. the Pilots!! Make it happen! I would like the chance to personally kick Calipari in the shins...

mattywizz wrote:

Stonehouse wrote:remember when we played Duke in the Rose Garden?

I do not recall such an occurance. Please tell me more.

It was amazing how many Duke fans crawled out of the woodwork for that game. One of our guards swing his elbows to clear some space, and hit the star Duke guard in the nose. Coach K went ballistic. Crybaby!

Hmmmm.... Beseda chiming in, saying we are close....

Oregonian

Pilots basketball: Portland closing in on deal to play Kentucky at the Rose Garden
By Jim Beseda, The Oregonian
May 21, 2010, 4:00PM

The University of Portland is close to finalizing a deal for its men's basketball team to play the Kentucky Wildcats on Nov. 19 at the Rose Garden, the Pilots confirmed Friday afternoon. An official announcement could come as early as Monday.

Kentucky coach John Calipari is said to be looking to make at least one West Coast stop before taking his Wildcats to Hawaii for the March 22-24 EA Sports Maui Invitational in Lahaina.

The Wildcats, who signed Terrence Jones of Portland's Jefferson High School to an aid agreement Wednesday, are coming off a season in which they went 35-3 and reached the finals of the NCAA Tournament's East Regional before falling to West Virginia.

The Pilots are expected to return eight players, including guard Jared Stohl and forward Luke Sikma, from a team that placed third in the West Coast Conference and finished 21-11, losing to Northern Colorado in the first round of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.

If this works out.... Sweet!

OMG OMG OMG!!!!!!!!!! YES!!!

This would be sweet... oh so sweet! A big, high-profile game like this is exactly the type of thing we need to get some really good publicity and lots of eyeballs watching them play.

Credibility and awareness in the Portland market have been difficult to build... a marquee event like this would be huge. Of course, it's too bad we won't have TJ and Nik and Robin, but oh well... Kentucky will be a completely different team with a ton of freshmen. Super talented, of course, but hopefully we'll be able to hang with them.

Oh, and of course I remember Travis Andrews elbowing Jay Williams and giving him a bloody nose... it was a beautiful thing! I think at one point in the early going Diaby Kamara had more points than Duke.

Stonehouse wrote: Kentucky will be a completely different team with a ton of freshmen.

Different than what, this year's team lead by freshmen, John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and all those other froshies out there?

Wow,

This would be a great game for the Pilot's!!! I wish I could watch it in person with you guys . Just think of the Publicity it will give the program. Even though I don't care for Cal and his methods it is nice to be able to play him if it all pans out.

Just another good event for the Pilot Mens program....



Mesa

It will be a great game as long as we don't get our butts kicked and lose by 20-30 points. Honestly, I'd personally rather play a heady and successful team like Butler. It will be interesting to see how coaching and blue chip recruits stack up to the 5-star top 10 recruits of a school like Kentucky. If it's close, Rev deserves a lot of credit. This is like a 1 vs. 16 match-up at best. We might be in for a thrashing.

I was not here for the Duke game. This would be almost as good.

Holy sh*t. That would be a big game. Hopefully we have a good showing and get some decent publicity coming our way again. Keep the momentum going.

Unfortunately, I think we'll be more like a blip on the radar for Kentucky fans and national publicity compared to the teams at the Maui Invitational. It's thrilling to get teams like Kentucky onto the schedule in any way, shape, or form, however, I still would rather schedule the most successful mid-majors like Sienna and Butler. If we added Sienna and Butler and played the other big dogs of the WCC (Saint Mary's and Gonzaga--as we always do) we'd have a great schedule as far as mid-majors go...and we'd have teams that we could consistently compete against. A match against Kentucky is more of a David vs. Goliath thing like the matchup against UCLA last year. They'd have to have an off year for us to compete or beat them. But, they are really just reloading and rebuilding next year, so, who knows...

Yeah, but can a mid major provide the rather sizable purse that will come with hosting a traditional power with one of the largest followings in the sport? On top of that, any time a big team like this is willing to come into your own city to play a game, well, you jump on that no questions asked. Even if there is a chance of getting run out of the building. Our team is a big time ??? with the lack of a proven PG or player with a proven shot-creating ability, but if you want to be the best you have to be willing to play the best.

For all the things he may do or not do, coach Cal has always been unafraid about playing teams, as evidenced by playing the home and home with GU the last few years.

Maybe this is the year I finally pull the trigger on season tickets rather than just attending a game or two then? Hopefully the schedule is as good as promised in addition to getting Kentucky.

Don't think we'll be hosting any teams from high-major conferences in Chiles, but I would definitely expect some really solid programs from conferences like the MWC/WAC and a handful of quality mid-major programs. Not to mention Gonzaga and Saint Mary's (two potential Top 25 teams) and all the improved WCC teams: LMU, USF, SCU.

I'm very excited to see how it all shapes up... I know that people who follow college basketball will really enjoy the heck out of the schedule that is shaping up.

dholcombe wrote:Maybe this is the year I finally pull the trigger on season tickets rather than just attending a game or two then? Hopefully the schedule is as good as promised in addition to getting Kentucky.

The Stuff-It season ticket seems like a really good deal. You get a seat on the floor behind the basket plus a hot dog, popcorn, soda, and candy for something like $150. I probably would have sprung for that last year.

Of course my seats are pretty good too, but you have to have connections for those...

Stonehouse wrote:I'm very excited to see how it all shapes up... I know that people who follow college basketball will really enjoy the heck out of the schedule that is shaping up.

From Rev's twitter page this morning:

Going on 95.5 The Game at noon to talk about how we need to continue to challenge ourselves and our best home schedule in school history.
20 minutes ago via web

Yep yep yep!!!!!!!!!!!!

BIG announcement coming up, I do believe.

Are posts like that what get you in the 1k club?

I am really excited that we are attempting to schedule games like this... When they originally said UK contacted 3 teams about a game in the Rose Garden do you think that meant Oregon and Oregon State didn't want to play them or are we offering the most concessions to play them?

I would assume probably Portland State too... I would assume that Kentucky wanted at least one or two return games, something Oregon/Oregon State might not have been willing to do without a game in their own home arenas.

Furthermore, UP has a relationship with ESPN through the WCC... something tells me this game will definitely end up on national TV.

And yes, you get to the 1000 post club by posting all kinds of fluff!

Stonehouse wrote:
And yes, you get to the 1000 post club by posting all kinds of fluff!

Somehow I became an Admin with 75% of my postings referencing beer and 100% being semi-snarky...

Agreed on the big state schools wanting a home date to play Kentucky, haha, esp for UO opening up the Knight Arena. NO way they try and play a featured game on a neutral court when they have state bonds to pay back... At least I hope that is what they are thinking...

Official:


PORTLAND, Ore. --- The University of Portland and University of Kentucky men’s basketball programs have signed a contract to play three games over the next three seasons beginning with a Nov. 19, 2010 contest at the Rose Garden in Portland, Pilots head coach Eric Reveno announced on Friday. The Pilots will return games to Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky. each of the following two seasons.

“Our primary goal is to build a championship program and we need to play in games that prepare us for the West Coast Conference,” Reveno said. “Playing teams like Kentucky is part of the process. And almost as important, our players and fans want big games. Our players are ecstatic to be playing Kentucky in the Rose Garden and I hope that fans will be as well. This game will serve as a cornerstone of a phenomenal non-conference schedule.”

Fans can secure preferred seats to the event by purchasing Portland season tickets or a four-game flex pack, available now by calling the Portland Box Office at (503) 943-7525. Season tickets for the 2010-11 season will cost $195 for Upper Level Reserved and $280 for Lower Level Reserved, while flex packs are $75 (see below for more information). Portland’s complete non-conference schedule will be released this summer.

Single-game tickets will go on sale Friday, July 30 at 10 a.m. and can be purchased at the Rose Quarter Box Office (M-F 10a-5p), all participating Safeway/ TicketsWest outlets, by calling 877.789.ROSE (7673), or at ComcastTIX.com. Ticket prices will range from $12 to $50.

Portland and Kentucky have met one time previously with the Wildcats taking an 88-71 victory over the Pilots on Dec. 23, 1989 at Rupp Arena as part of the Kentucky Invitational. Kentucky alum and former Portland Trail Blazer Larry Steele coached the Pilots that season. The game will mark the first appearance by UK in the state of Oregon.

Kentucky is recognized as the No. 1 college basketball program in history according to the ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia (2009). The Wildcats finished with a 35-3 overall record last year and advanced to the NCAA East Regional Final under first-year head coach John Calipari. UK is the winningest program in NCAA history, leads the nation in NCAA Tournament appearances (50) and its seven national championships is second to only UCLA.

Five Wildcats declared early for the 2010 NBA Draft, but Kentucky is bringing in the top-rated recruiting class in the nation according to Rivals.com.

The Pilots matched a school record with 21 wins last season and played in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) for the second straight season. Portland cracked the Associated Press Top 25 in late-November, marking the first UP ranking in 50 years. Reveno, entering his fifth year at the helm of the Pilots next season, garnered West Coast Conference and District 9 Coach of the Year honors in 2009.


2010-11 UNIVERSITY OF PORTLAND TICKET INFORMATION
Season Tickets (includes preferred seat to UP-UK game)
* $280 Lower Reserved
* $195 Upper Reserved
$75 Mini-Pack Flex Options (includes preferred seat to UP-UK game)

* Kentucky Pack: UK game plus any other three homes games (besides Saint Mary’s, Gonzaga)

* Gonzaga Pack: GU game plus any other three homes games (besides Kentucky, Saint Mary’s)

* Saint Mary’s Pack: SMC game plus any other three homes games (besides Kentucky, Gonzaga)


Single-Game On-Sale Information
Date: July 30, 2010

Time: 10 a.m.

Location: Rose Quarter Box Office, Safeway/TicketsWest outlets, (877) 789-7673, or www.comcastTIX.com

Prices:

$50 Premium
$30 Sideline
$18 Lower Level Endzone
$12 Upper Level Endzone


Visit www.portlandpilots.com for complete ticket information.

The rest of the story is two trips to Lexington in future years. Talk about an upgrade to the schedule! Per Rev on The Game.

Those 2 return trips are BIG. Especially after this year when the team is a bit more seasoned and competitive. Not only that, having Rev be able to go into recruits homes and say, we maybe a small program, but we will go out and play the big boys any time anywhere is a fantastic selling point.

Kudos to Rev and the athletic department for making this happen!

(Haha and I suppose I should also say kudos to Terrance Jones, whose commitment, I'm sure had something to do with this game... I can't believe I just typed that)

And don't forget that those games in Kentucky will also provide a significant chunk of cash, not an insignificant thing for a school whose athletics budget is last among all WCC schools, and not by an inconsiderable amount.