SMC @ Portland, Thurs. 2/23, 7pm

ShipstadPilot11 wrote: and I think that if we play out of our minds we could win...

DaTruRochin wrote:

ShipstadPilot11 wrote: and I think that if we play out of our minds we could win...

OR one of our Seniors could decide to actually play the way they can on Senior Night? Maybe that's too much ask... (Grumble, grumble)

Portland Pilots (6-21, 3-11) vs. #23 Saint Mary’s Gaels (23-5, 12-2)

Date: Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012
Tip-off: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Portland, Ore.
Arena: Chiles Center (4,852)
Television: ESPNU
Radio: 800 AM
Overall Series: 29-53
At UP: 21-19
At SMC: 7-31
At Neutral: 1-3
Last: SMC 69, POR 61 (January 14, 2012 at Saint Mary’s)


COMING UP
• Portland (6-21, 3-11 WCC) will play its final home game of the season when the West Coast Conference-leading and No. 23-ranked Saint Mary’s Gaels (23-5, 12-2) visit the Chiles Center on Thursday at 7 p.m.
• The game will be televised nationally live on ESPNU with Mark Neely and Mark Adams calling the action.
• It will be Senior Night for guards Nemanja Mitrovic and Eric Waterford, who will be recognized about 10 minutes prior to tip-off with an on court presentation.
• All Portland basketball games will be broadcast live on True Talk 800 AM, with a 30-minute pregame show. Bill Johnson will provide the play-by-play and an audio simulcast will also be available on www.PilotsVideo.com.


TICKETS & PROMOTIONS
• Thursday is Nacho Night, with general admission tickets available for $5 and nachos for $4 by using the promotional code ‘Nacho’ at either the Pilot Box Office or online at www.ticketmaster.com.
• All fans in attendance will also get a chance to win a trip for two to Hawaii, courtesy of All About Hawaii Travel, as part of a halftime paper airplane contest.


ABOUT #23 SAINT MARY’S
• The Gaels (23-5, 12-2 WCC) are ranked No. 23 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and are alone atop the WCC standings, despite losing three of their last four games.
• Last week, SMC dropped a 75-60 home game to LMU on Wednesday and lost sophomore G Stephen Holt to a knee injury. Holt missed Saturday’s 65-51 loss at Murray State and will not be available on Thursday.
• Junior G Matthew Dellavedova leads the Gaels and is tied for second in the WCC in scoring (15.5 ppg) and is the league leader in assists per game (6.4 apg).
• Senior F Rob Jones adds 14.9 points per game and a league-leading 10.5 rebounds per game.
• SMC is tops in the WCC in scoring defense (62.2 ppg) and averages 75.0 ppg.
• The Gaels knocked off the Pilots in Moraga by a 69-61 margin on Jan. 14 as Holt led the way with 21 points. Thomas van der Mars and Ryan Nicholas combined for 34 points to lead the Pilots.
• The Gaels were picked second in the WCC Preseason Poll after returning four starters from last year’s surprise squad that finished 25-9 overall and shared the league title with Gonzaga. The Gaels missed an NCAA bid, but were invited to the NIT.
• Head coach Randy Bennett is in his 11th year at the helm and has guided SMC to three NCAA appearances, including a Sweet 16 run in 2010.


SENIOR NIGHT
• Three members of the Portland basketball team will be honored approximately 10 minutes prior to tip-off on Thursday: Senior G Nemanja Mitrovic, Senior PG Eric Waterford and Team Manager Derek Duman.
• This senior class has accumulated the fourth most wins (66) of any class since UP joined the Division I ranks for the 1958-59 season.
• Mitrovic was an All-WCC First Team selection last year and ranks on Portland’s all-time Top 10 list in three-pointers made (6th, 151) and three-point percentage (10th, .383).
• Waterford has battled injuries as a senior, but has appeared in 78 career games with 24 starts. He is expected to return to the lineup Thursday after missing the previous eight games with a knee injury.
• Derek Duman has been a team manager with the Pilots since his freshman season.


WCC TOURNAMENT SEEDING SCENARIOS
• Entering the season’s final weekend, only three seeds are known for the 2012 Zappos.
com WCC Basketball Championships next week in Las Vegas: San Francisco will be the
No. 5 seed, San Diego will be the No. 6 seed, and Santa Clara will be the No. 9 seed.
• The top four seeds are still up for grabs, while Portland (3-11) is battling for the No. 7
seed with Pepperdine (3-12).
• The 8/9 seeds will play an opening round game on Wednesday at 6 p.m. and move
on to face the No. 5 San Francisco on Thursday, while the No. 7 seed will play No. 6 San
Diego on Thursday.
• Portland will clinch the No. 7 seed with a win over Saint Mary’s or BYU. If Portland
loses both games, Pepperdine will receive the No. 7 seed and the Pilots will play Santa
Clara on Wednesday in the 8/9 game.


LINEUP NOTES
• Eric Waterford (knee) is probable for Thursday after missing the last eight games.
• Sophomore C Riley Barker has missed the last 20 games (knee) and is out Thursday.
• Head coach Eric Reveno has used nine different starting lineups this year.
• Sophomore Ryan Nicholas is the only Pilot to start all 27 games this year, while 11 different Pilots have started at least one game.
• Three different freshmen have started at least four games.

DoubleDipper wrote: All the Pilots have to do is avoid a Wednesday night play-in against Santa Clara in Las Vegas by beating both St. Mary’s and BYU if PU beats SCU. Or, just to make it easier, the Pilots only have to win one game if PU loses to SCU.

DoubleDipper wrote:Not seeing much chatter about the SMC game; is everyone that resigned?

up7587 wrote:I don't really expect to see another win this year.

ShipstadPilot11 wrote:I didn't change my flight, either

up7587 wrote:

DoubleDipper wrote:Not seeing much chatter about the SMC game; is everyone that resigned?

Yes. I'm pretty much done with woulda, coulda, shoulda. Two good chances on the last road trip, but digging big holes is never a good strategy for winning basketball. I don't really expect to see another win this year.

I have another conflict, so guess I'd better program the DVR. I know, PRIORITIES.

up7587 wrote:

DoubleDipper wrote:Not seeing much chatter about the SMC game; is everyone that resigned?

Yes. I'm pretty much done with woulda, coulda, shoulda. Two good chances on the last road trip, but digging big holes is never a good strategy for winning basketball. I don't really expect to see another win this year.

I have another conflict, so guess I'd better program the DVR. I know, PRIORITIES.

blacksheep wrote:

up7587 wrote:

DoubleDipper wrote:Not seeing much chatter about the SMC game; is everyone that resigned?

Yes. I'm pretty much done with woulda, coulda, shoulda. Two good chances on the last road trip, but digging big holes is never a good strategy for winning basketball. I don't really expect to see another win this year.

I have another conflict, so guess I'd better program the DVR. I know, PRIORITIES.

You sound like this guy:

ShipstadPilot11 wrote:I didn't change my flight, either

PilotNut wrote:You may have taken that scenario from a press release that has since been corrected...

Still atop the West Coast Conference standings by themselves, the Gaels of Saint Mary's-CA try to bounce back from consecutive defeats as they clash with the University of Portland Pilots tonight at the Chiles Center.

One of only eight programs nationally to have won at least 25 games in each of the previous four campaigns, the Gaels appeared to be well on their way to reaching that number for a fifth straight year thanks to a 12-game win streak. But after losing to Gonzaga on the road two weeks ago, SMC also bowed to Loyola Marymount (75-60) in league play last week and then was bounced by 14th-ranked Murray State on the road last Saturday, 65-51.

Having finished no lower than third in the WCC in each of the last eight seasons, that should be the case again for 2011-12 since the team is showing a 12-2 record with only two games remaining. However, Gonzaga and BYU are following close behind at 11-3 and LMU has a mark of 10-4 as well right now.

As for the Pilots, they are currently seventh in the conference with a record of 3-11 after losing four straight outings and 10 of the last 11 overall. Last weekend, Portland was handed a 70-65 setback by the Pepperdine Waves, which means the team is stuck on six wins for the entire season with this and one more outing against BYU still to be played.

With respect to the all-time series, the Gaels own a 53-29 edge thanks in part to a 69-61 win in the first meeting of the season last month.

Making the trip to Kentucky was one thing, but having to fight through the hysteria that is Murray State basketball this year was just too much for the Gaels as they suffered the 14-point road loss. The only player to score in double figures for SMC was Matthew Dellavedova, who delivered 17 points and also accounted for six of the unit's nine assists. The team shot just 29.6 percent from the field in the second half and 1-of-8 beyond the arc in the frame, en route to a mere 2-of-14 effort out on the perimeter. Not having Stephen Holt (10.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg) due to a knee injury suffered against LMU certainly didn't help matters, but Rob Jones was limited to only four points and three rebounds, failing to make any sort of an impact in the paint. On the season, Jones is averaging a double-double with 14.9 points and 10.5 rebounds per outing, but one look at that outing against Murray State and you never would have guessed he was one of the top forwards in the WCC. Defensively, this is a team that has been able to hold the competition to only 62.2 ppg, although that numbers surges a bit to 66.9 ppg against conference opponents.

Kevin Bailey led the way for the Pilots with 18 points against Pepperdine last weekend, but the team still came up short in the five-point decision on the road. Tanner Riley contributed another 16 points and Dorian Carson 13 in just 19 minutes off the bench, but the squad shot a mere 39.7 percent from the floor and 4-of-16 behind the three-point line. Portland, which is shooting for the 1,100th victory in program history tonight, is being paced in scoring during conference games by Bailey who accounts for 12.0 ppg, while Ryan Nicholas checks in with another 10.9 ppg, but between the two they've also turned the ball over 58 times while handing out just 30 assists in those 14 WCC tests. As a whole, Portland is scoring 65.7 ppg in league action, but at the same time the squad allows its opponents to produce 75.1 ppg as those teams shoot better than 37.0 percent behind the three-point line.

Luckily the Gaels are back in their own time zone for tonight's matchup, and that should get Jones back on track and SMC back into the win column.

DoubleDipper wrote:SP11 may take exception to there questioning Ryan's and KB's assist to turnover ratio. What the.............?