Portland vs. LMU, Part III

Portland Opens WCC Tournament vs. LMU

Game Information
The University of Portland Pilots (20-10, 7-7 WCC) are the No. 5 seed at the 2011 Zappos.com West Coast Conference Basketball Championships, scheduled for March 4-7 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. The Pilots will open the tournament with a first round match-up against No. 8 Loyola Marymount (10-20, 2-12) on Friday at 6 p.m. and the winner will move on to Saturday’s second round against No. 4 Santa Clara at 6 p.m. Semifinal action is scheduled for Sunday with the winner facing No. 1 Saint Mary’s, while the championship game is set for Monday at 6 p.m.

Tournament Coverage
BYUtv (Channel 234 on Comcast, 374 on DirecTV, 9397 on the Dish Network) will provide a live televised broadcast for the first two rounds of the 2011 WCC Championships, which includes Portland’s game on Friday. The games can also be found on ESPN Full Court and ESPN3.com. All Portland games will be aired live on 800 AM (KPDQ) with a 30-minute pregame show.


Portland Briefly...
• The Pilots split a weekend road trip to conclude the regular season by defeating San Diego (65-61) on Thursday before falling to Saint Mary’s (83-69) on Saturday.
• Senior G Jared Stohl scored a game-high 18 points against USD and finished with 16 points against the Gaels.
• Freshman PG Tim Douglas missed Saturday’s game with a left foot injury and is listed as questionable for Friday.
• Senior C Kramer Knutson is Portland’s all-time leader in games started (116), but missed the Feb. 19 game against Santa Clara and came off the bench in both games last weekend with a sore back. He is expected to return to the starting lineup on Friday.
• Senior F Luke Sikma and junior G Nemanja Mitrovic were named to the All-WCC First Team, while senior G Jared Stohl was an honorable mention pick for the third straight season.
• Sikma is the school’s top all-time rebounder (969) and recorded his 1,000th career point on Feb. 17 against San Francisco.
• Sikma also leads the WCC in both double-doubles (14) and rebounds (10.6) and ranks 13th nationally in rebounds per game.
• The Pilots are No. 3 nationally in team 3-point percentage (.420).
• Mitrovic is No. 5 in the nation in three-point percentage (.471) and Stohl is No. 17 (.435).
• Mitrovic (90) and Stohl (83) have combined to make 173 three-pointers which is the most of any teammate duo in the nation. BYU’s Jimmer Fredette and Jackson Emery are second with 168.
• The Pilots have secured their second consecutive 20-win season for the first time in program history since joining Division I (1958-59).
• The 41 wins over the last two seasons are the most in back-to-back seasons in Portland history.
• Portland’s 60 wins over the last three years are the most of any three-year stretch since the Pilots joined Division I for the 1958-59 season.
• Head coach Eric Reveno has led the Pilots to back-to-back postseason appearances (CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament) for the first time in program history.


About LMU
• The Lions (10-20, 2-12 WCC) closed the regular season with a pair of close road losses to Santa Clara (94-88, 2ot) and San Francisco (77-75) last week.
• LMU is led by All-WCC honorable mention junior G Drew Viney who is averaging 16.8 points per game.
• Senior G Vernon Teel adds 12.8 points and All-WCC freshman team PG Anthony Ireland adds 10.1 points.
• LMU was picked second in the WCC Preseason Coaches Poll.
• Head coach Max Good is in his third year at LMU and returns four starters and 10 lettermen from a squad that finished 18-16 and was invited to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.



Three Pilots Earn All-WCC Honors
Senior F Luke Sikma and junior G Nemanja Mitrovic were named to the All-West Coast Conference first team, while senior G Jared Stohl earned honorable mention honors. Sikma was an honorable mention selection as a junior, while Stohl picks up his third straight honorable mention award. Mitrovic was recognized for the first time as he moved into the starting rotation this season.

Pilots Secure Second Straight 20-Win Season
Thursday’s win over San Diego gave Portland its second consecutive 20-win season for the first time in program history at the Division I level (1958-59). The Pilots won 21 games last year to tie the school Division I single-season record (1994-95).

Pilots No. 3 Nationally in Three-Point Percentage
Portland is third nationally in team three-point percentage (.420) and trails only Northern Arizona (.431) and Weber State (.423). Last year Portland finished fifth nationally as a team in three-point percentage (.407), while the Pilots finished second nationally in 2008-09 (.418).

Two-Year Run Best in UP History
The Pilots have had the most successful back-to-back seasons since joining Division I after the victory over San Diego on Thursday. The 41 wins eclipse the previous mark of 40, initially set from 1994-96 and then matched from 2008-10.

Best Two-Year Records in UP History Since 1958-59
Overall W-L (Years) WCC W-L (Years)
41-21 (2009-11) 19-9 (2009-10))
40-19 (1994-96) 17-11 (1995-96)
40-23 (2008-10) 16-12 (1994-95)
37-18 (1977-79) 16-12 (1981-82)



Sikma Joins 1,000-Point Club
Senior F Luke Sikma became the 34th player in school history to join the 1,000-point club after scoring six points last Thursday against San Francisco. He entered the game with 997 points and now joins fellow senior Jared Stohl in the exclusive club. The Bellevue, Wash. native enters Friday’s game tied for 21st in UP history with 1,036 points, seven shy of cracking the Top 20.

Sikma Breaks UP Career Rebounding Record
Luke Sikma corralled seven second half rebounds against Pepperdine on Feb. 10 to pass Rick Raivio (910, 1976-80) as the Portland all-time leader in career rebounds. Sikma now has 969 for his career. He also ranks in the school’s top 10 in blocked shots (2nd, 88) and field goal percentage (6th, .538). The Bellevue, Wash. native is also in the Top 20 in career assists (t-16th, 246) and steals (t-10th, 119).

Mitrovic No. 5 Nationally in 3-Point Percentage
Junior G Nemanja Mitrovic is currently No. 5 in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage according to NCAA statistics (minimum of 2.5 made per game). Mitrovic is shooting .471 from beyond the arc and is looking to follow teammate Jared Stohl as the national leader as Stohl led the country last year by finishing at .478. Stohl is currently 17th this season at .435.

Knutson Sets Career Starts Record
Senior C Kramer Knutson has started a school record 116 career games for the Pilots. He broke the previous record of 112 (Dionn Holton, 1995-98) on Feb. 5 at Seattle. A four-year starter for Portland, the Mesa, Ariz. native also ranks fourth in Pilot history in career field goal percentage (.549) and fifth in blocked shots (76).

Stohl/Mitrovic Top Three-Point Combo in the Nation
Jared Stohl and Nemanja Mitrovic have combined to make the most three-pointers (173) of any duo in the nation, slightly ahead of BYU’s Jimmer Fredette and Jackson Emery (168). Mitrovic is sixth individually in three-pointers made (90), while Stohl (83) is tied for 23rd. Already the Portland leader in career three-pointers made (328), Stohl moved into second place in the WCC record books after drilling five treys against Utah on Dec. 31. The WCC record of 363 is held by Jeff Fryer of LMU (1987-90). Stohl is also the only player in league history to rank in the top 10 in three-pointers made and career three-point percentage (.448, 10th).


Stohl Makes 20 Consecutive Free Throws... Twice
Jared Stohl had a string of 24 consecutive free throws broken on Feb. 12 at LMU. It was the second streak this season of 20 or more free throws made as he opened the season by making 22 straight. He is currently working on 16 consecutive makes entering Friday’s game. Stohl is No. 1 in UP history in career free throw percentage (.879).

Sikma 13th Nationally in Rebounds
Senior F Luke Sikma is leading the WCC and ranks No. 13 nationally in rebounding average (10.6). Sikma has corralled double-digit rebounds in 18 games and has 14 double-doubles this season to lead the WCC. He matched his career-high with 19 rebounds versus Florida Atlantic on Nov. 14 and grabbed 18 at Idaho on Nov. 20.

Freshmen Coming On
Freshman PG Tim Douglas moved into the starting lineup early in the league season and averaged 9.6 points and 3.9 assists in WCC games. Other Pilot freshmen are also making impacts of late. Ryan Nicholas scored a season-high eight points on Thursday against San Diego. Guard Tanner Riley added 11 points in only seven minutes of playing time against Pepperdine on Feb. 10, including three three-pointers. Center Riley Barker had eight points against USF on Thursday, Feb. 17.

Chiles Center Dominance
The Chiles Center has become quite comfortable for the Pilots over the last three seasons as Portland has rattled off a 38-6 home record and 19 consecutive wins prior to the loss to Gonzaga on Feb. 3. Signature home wins have come against Washington, Oregon, Nevada and Saint Mary’s three times. Portland finished the 2010-11 regular season with a 13-2 record at the Chiles Center for the second straight season.

• Freshman PG Tim Douglas missed Saturday’s game with a left foot injury and is listed as questionable for Friday.

• LMU was picked second in the WCC Preseason Coaches Poll.

The University of Portland men's basketball team is heading to Las Vegas to try and beat the odds.

The Pilots hope to win the 2011 West Coast Conference Tournament at the Orleans Arena as the No. 5 seed and clinch the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament's 68-team field.

All they have to do is win four games in four nights.

The Pilots (20-10) open the tournament Friday at 6 p.m. against Loyola Marymount. The winner advances to Saturday's quarterfinals against No. 4 Santa Clara, and the winner of that game moves on to Sunday's semifinals against top-seeded Saint Mary's on ESPN2.

The championship game is Monday at 6 p.m. on ESPN.

"All it takes is for us to get on one of our hot streaks and we could make a run at this thing," senior guard Jared Stohl said. "Right now, we've got LMU. That's our first focus. As far as the big picture goes, we're packing our bags for four days."

What's the trick to winning four games in four nights?

"Winning the first one," said senior Luke Sikma, the Pilots' first team all-WCC forward. "We have a lot of confidence in our team and our abilities. If that means we run the table and win four games and go to the NCAA Tournament, then that's great.

"And if we get beat by a better team and we know that we played our best ... well, there's not much you can do about that."

Since the WCC adopted its current tournament format in 2003, no team has ever won four games to win the tournament championship, and no fifth seed has ever advanced beyond the semifinals.

There also has never been a No. 5 seed that entered the tournament with 20 wins, either.

"I still love our tournament format," Pilots coach Eric Reveno said. "Now the challenge is for us to just relax and play well."

Portland has beaten everybody in the field this season except for Gonzaga and San Francisco, and both those teams are on the opposite side of the bracket, so the Pilots wouldn't see either of those teams until Monday's championship game if they get that far.

"This team, more than any team we've had, I feel could go to Las Vegas and win four games, because of its versatility and depth," Reveno said. “You could see a game where Jared doesn't score and we still win. Or you could see a game where Tim Douglas doesn't play and we win."

Douglas, the Pilots’ freshman point guard, is questionable for Friday’s opener after sitting out Saturday’s 83-69 loss at Saint Mary’s with an injured left foot. He underwent a magnetic resonance imaging exam Monday and was held out of practice this week in hopes that some extra rest might expedite the healing process.

“Tim’s body will send him clear signals when it’s not going well,” said Reveno, who will likely start Eric Waterford at point guard and use Derrick Rodgers and Stohl as backups if Douglas is unable to play.

If the Pilots fall short in Las Vegas, there is still a chance that they could land a bid into the NIT, the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, or the College Basketball Invitational.

“I like how we’re playing right now,” said Reveno, whose teams have lost in the semifinals each of the past two seasons. “Last weekend at Saint Mary’s, it was a tough environment and we could have done some things better, but I think we played well.

“The biggest thing I'm trying to impress upon the guys is to have an all-in, team approach. It's not as if we're trying to run marathons on four consecutive days. We're playing basketball, and if we take care of ourselves and we get some lucky breaks along the way, we should be okay. Not that we won't be tired, but it's a doable task.”

-- Jim Beseda

DaTruRochin wrote:

Maybe 20 wins will nab us a CBI or Collegeinsider bid, but just a frustrating way for our seniors to go out. Sigh...

DaTruRochin wrote:Ugh... Just painful. Our bigs were high and dry without Tim distributing. That was a game we should have DOMINATED, I'm not sure if I have seen us play this poorly in a very long while.

Maybe 20 wins will nab us a CBI or Collegeinsider bid, but just a frustrating way for our seniors to go out. Sigh...

DaTruRochin wrote:No, it really isn't... Losing to the 8th place team in your tournament after finishing 5th over all in a mid major conference? NIT is for top mids and mediocre bigs, we don't qualify under either criteria...