2017-2018 Non Conference Schedule

StudentPilot wrote:Just guessing, but it looks like UP will probably play two non-D1 games and PSU at home before heading to PK-80 for three games.  After that they'll play BSU, Seattle U., Sac St. on the road and CSF and SJS plus two more at home before beginning WCC play.

Some of the schools are finally releasing their schedules:
UP @ Boise State....December 3
UP @ Seattle U....December 16
Hartford @ UP....December 19
UP @ Sac State....December 21

Still no word on dates for CSF, PSU, SJS, and at least one more....

Problem with Seattle U?

@SLeykam wrote:Never tried social media scheduling, but...Anyone looking for men's basketball game on Nov. 16-20, 2017? Scrambling after late cancellation.

up7587 wrote:Problem with Seattle U?

@SLeykam wrote:Never tried social media scheduling, but...Anyone looking for men's basketball game on Nov. 16-20, 2017? Scrambling after late cancellation.

Hmm, Seattle U's online schedule still shows the Pilots in Key Arena on  12/16, but obviously something is amiss.  

Even with Cameron Dollar gone it's tough to schedule a potential rivalry series with the Redhawks!

Oops, I mixed up November and December. SU likely still on. So it might be PSU, or a non-D1 team being replaced, right before the PK80 games.

up7587 wrote:Oops, I mixed up November and December.  SU likely still on.  So it might be PSU, or a non-D1 team being replaced, right before the PK80 games.

Dang, sucked me in, but I'll learn.

We're on break between summer school and "fall" classes (school starts on 8/28), so my brain is also on break...and that's the story I'm sticking with.  

Another piece of the puzzle:

Warner Pacific will play the Pilots in an exhibition game in the Chile's Center on Tuesday November 14th preceded by the UP women playing Utah Valley @ 5 PM.

Apparently the men's team is still looking for an opponent November 16-20.

StudentPilot wrote:Warner Pacific will play the Pilots in an exhibition game in the Chile's Center on Tuesday November 14th preceded by the UP women playing Utah Valley @ 5 PM.

Not so fast!

This morning, according to both school's websites, Warner Pacific AND Walla Walla University indicate they are playing UP on November 14 after the women's game.

I guess it really doesn't matter which non-D1 school the Pilots will play as long as we know there will be a game on November 14th.  

My guess is it will be Walla Walla....

StudentPilot wrote:This morning, according to both school's websites, Warner Pacific AND Walla Walla University indicate they are playing UP on November 14 after the women's game.

My guess is it will be Walla Walla....

Both schools still list UP as their opponent on November 14, but those who seem to know have said the men will play Walla Walla University (remember, they did UP a favor by scheduling a winnable late season game last February) on November 14 at 7:30 after the women play Utah Valley at 5.

Apparently no D1 teams have taken up UP's offer to host a game November 16-20 to get in another game in before PK80, which means UP may have to schedule another NAIA or D2 team during that period.

UP will play Lewis & Clark in an exhibition at 5 on November 4 (men's soccer and women's basketball at 7 and 7:30), and the men take on Multnomah University on November 30.

Haven't heard when UP will play PSU, CS Fullerton, and San Jose St., but I believe the PSU game will be the Pilots first non-exhibition game of the season...and it will be played at the Chiles Center for the second year in a row.

Not sure we can believe other school's websites anymore, but San Jose State's indicates the Spartans are playing at UP on Sunday, December 10.....

This seems like the latest UP has gone for several years without the official schedule being released.

Other WCC schools yet to release their schedule are Gonzaga, Saint Mary's and San Diego.

Of the remaining 6 schools, here are their best non-conference games (vs teams from power conferences, and mid-majors that are often good)

USF: vs LBSU, at Arizona St, at Stanford, vs Nevada (neutral)
SCU: vs Nevada, at USC, vs Valparaiso
UotP: at Stanford, vs Nevada, vs UNLV, at Arizona St
BYU: at Princeton, vs Alabama (neutral), vs Weber St (neutral), vs Utah
PU: at Oklahoma St, at Texas A&M, vs LBSU, at Belmont, at Weber St
LMU: at Boise St, at Oregon St, at Washington

Hats off to USF, Pacific and LMU, which each scheduled two Pac12 foes. After playing three Pac12 opponents last year, it looks like we won't play any this season.

Another observation... There several games between the WCC and MWC, but not as many as I'd like to see. Nevada plays three WCC opponents. Boise St is playing us and LMU. San Diego St is playing at Gonzaga, and probably against USD. San José State takes the prize. They've got USD and SMC at home (WOW, Saint Mary's is playing a non-conference road game!) and road games against us and Santa Clara.

I'd love to see one of those "challenge" weekends that other pairs of conferences have, in which every team in one conference plays an opponent in the other conference on the same weekend. The MWC/WCC Challenge. Or, make it into a portmanteau: The MWCChallenge

I think that we should be playing either Oregon or Oregon State every single year. We haven't played Oregon since 2008-09 (?) when we beat them in Chiles, I believe. As for why we haven't gotten the schedule yet, I assume its related to the fact that they were still looking for opponents? As amazing of an opportunity as that PK80 Tournament is, we might need some cupcakes or opponents at our level during the non-conference season to help with RPI and confidence. I will echo your "challenge" sentiment. That would be a fun concept. The MWC would probably provide the best challenge for the WCC.

SouthCarolinaPilot wrote:I think that we should be playing either Oregon or Oregon State every single year. We haven't played Oregon since 2008-09 (?) when we beat them in Chiles, I believe.

We were spoiled in the 2000s in terms of playing the Ducks. To his great credit, Ernie Kent agreed to a very long home-and-home series... something like 8 years? Maybe his days as SMC's coach made him sympathetic to the plight of mid-majors. But now it's very, very unlikely the Ducks will ever set foot in the Chiles Center as long as Dana Altman is coach. Apparently his time at Creighton didn't make him as sympathetic as Ernie.

Wayne Tinkle has been seemingly pretty good about scheduling the Pilots, though. And the partnership with the Far West Classic (or whatever it's called now) means the schools have a working relationship. Wouldn't surprise me if the Beavers came to play in Chiles every now and then.

Sorry for the hold up guys. Finally paid for my season tickets. They should have enough money now to pay one of the student workers to post the schedule tomorrow.

dholcombe wrote:Sorry for the hold up guys. Finally paid for my season tickets. They should have enough money now to pay one of the student workers to post the schedule tomorrow.

So you've been the hold up!

I think you're correct, we should see the schedule in the next couple of days, but it will need updating once the Pilots find an opponent for the November 16-20 time frame that is currently open after a game was cancelled.

StudentPilot has given us some good hints on the schedule, and to put all those hints in order, the Pilots open the season against Lewis & Clark on November 4 and then play PSU on Veterans Day, November 11, before playing Walla Walla University, not Warner Pacific, on November 14.  They will then play one more TBD game before opening the PK80 Tournament on Thanksgiving Day against National Champion UNC.

It looks like UP will play Multnomah College on November 30 before hitting the road to play Boise State on December 3 and then returning home to take on Cal State Fullerton on December 6, and San Jose St. on December 9

After playing at Seattle U. immediately after finals on December 16, UP will return home to play Hartford on December 19 before heading to Sacramento State for a December 21 game and then begin WCC play at home against USF on December 30.

Aside from the Phil Knight tournament, that's a clunker of a schedule. Two non-DI opponents in the regular season? I assume whoever the TBD opponent ends up being will be either non-DI or of the same caliber as the teams below...

Last year's final KenPom ranks:

PSU -- 240
Boise -- 94
Fullerton -- 261
San José -- 213
Seattle -- 265
Hartford -- 334
Sacramento -- 291

To be fair, we were 280 in the final rankings, so at least the coaches are putting us up again competition of the same ilk. I'd like to see a couple more-challenging opponents later in the non-conference to help the guys get up to WCC speed.

While I agree that we want to avoid as many non-D1 opponents as possible, I think that the PK 80 Tournament should more than make up for that. We might need some confidence builders, but hopefully not too many. We will play at least three of the following and are guaranteed North Carolina.

North Carolina -- 3
Arkansas --35
Oklahoma -- 65
DePaul -- 184
Michigan State -- 40
Connecticut -- 96
Oregon -- 10

NoPoNeighbor wrote: I assume whoever the TBD opponent ends up being will be either non-DI or of the same caliber as the teams below...

From what I gather, the staff is still attempting to schedule a D1 opponent, but it could be a road game and they are attempting avoid going two or three time zones away during the Thanksgiving crush and prior to PK80.

Looks like you can plan a "normal" Thanksgiving dinner with family and friends without having it interrupted by Pilots Basketball....whether it be in person or on ESPN.

The Pilots and National Champion UNC will tipoff at 11:30 in the inaugural game of the PK80 Tournament in the Moda Center....the game will be nationally televised on ESPN.

If the Pilots were to lose to UNC, it appears they will play at 3:00 on Friday in the Memorial Coliseum....that game will be streamed on ESPN3.

You can go here to figure all the bracket possibilities: http://pkinvitational.com/brackets

EDIT: There's a rumor one more team, in addition to Georgetown (replaced by DePaul), may drop out of the tournament....just a rumor at this point.

EDIT: Article now on UP Athletics website explaining it all: http://portlandpilots.com/news/2017/9/7/mens-basketball-portland-north-carolina-to-open-pk80-thanksgiving-morning-on-espn.aspx

DoubleDipper wrote:StudentPilot has given us some good hints on the schedule, and to put all those hints in order, the Pilots open the season against Lewis & Clark on November 4 and then play PSU on Veterans Day, November 11, before playing Walla Walla University, not Warner Pacific, on November 14.  They will then play one more TBD game before opening the PK80 Tournament on Thanksgiving Day against National Champion UNC.

It looks like UP will play Multnomah College on November 30 before hitting the road to play Boise State on December 3 and then returning home to take on Cal State Fullerton on December 6, and San Jose St. on December 9

After playing at Seattle U. immediately after finals on December 16, UP will return home to play Hartford on December 19 before heading to Sacramento State for a December 21 game and then begin WCC play at home against USF on December 30.

The schedule is out, http://portlandpilots.com/schedule.aspx?path=mbball, and it's exactly as StudentPilot predicted with the addition of another Purple-White scrimmage on October 21st, and one home game still to be added on either November 18th or 19th.

The TBD game is now on the website as a home game against Oregon Tech on Nov 19. Three regular season home games against non-DI opponents. Pathetic. Season tickets should be discounted.

NoPoNeighbor wrote:The TBD game is now on the website as a home game against Oregon Tech on Nov 19. Three regular season home games against non-DI opponents. Pathetic. Season tickets should be discounted.

To quote Vice-President for Athletics, Scott Leykam, “scheduling is a nightmare!”  Yes, the schedule is disappointing to the fans, coaches, administrators and players alike as the Pilots were supposed to play Utah State, not Oregon Tech, until that game was canceled by the NCAA/ESPN.

The game against Utah State was meant to be the “non-bracketed” or fourth game as part of PK80 that would not be played during the three days of PK80....a preliminary game if you like.  If a school elects to play in an “exempt” event such as PK80 they can play the three games in the tournament plus one other.  But in this case, the NCAA considers PK80 to be two separate tournaments, the Victory and Motion (brackets).

UP is in the Victory Bracket, and apparently because Utah State was also scheduled to play Gonzaga, a school in the Motion Bracket, it would not be "legal" for UP to play Utah State to get in the "extra" game that is allowed by an exempt tournament.  Now PSU, also part of the Motion Bracket, will play Utah State on November 20th and UP is "stuck" with Oregon Tech.  DePaul, a late addition to PK80, and UP are the only two teams of the 16 in the tournament that do NOT have non-bracket games.  

How is ESPN involved?  It’s an ESPN managed tournament that requires teams to schedule their fourth game against non-bracketed teams in their bracket.  We probably don’t even have to ask the question why GU got the game and UP didn’t. It all seems really silly, I know, but the NCAA often makes head-scratching decisions.

I believe Scott did most, if not all, of the MBB scheduling this year and was attempting to get the squad off on the right foot by scheduling what one might consider three or four winnable games, a tough road game (Boise St.), and three or four “coin flip” games. I'm told that UP tried very hard to get a D1 opponent to replace Utah State, but by the time that game was canceled there were very few scheduling options left.

At this point I think we just need to take a deep breath and a positive view and hope that everyone on the roster gets to play, unlike in the Red Cross exhibition game against EWU, and the NAIA games turn out to be good “development” games for a very young UP squad.

I'm sure it is frustrating for UP that the NCAA's rules around exempt tournaments are so confusing and convoluted. But it is also frustrating for fans that UP's athletic department did not know the rules, which seem to clearly dictate that we could not count Utah State as an exempt game. That is what put us in the position of scrambling to schedule a game long after almost every other school had finalized its schedule, resulting in the Oregon Tech game.

This fiasco would be unfortunate but forgivable if Oregon Tech were the only NAIA Division II team on our regular season schedule. However, it is the third such game on the docket. What's the excuse for the other two?

Didn't think the Walla Walla game deserved its own thread.......

Don't know if Walla Walla is traveling today or tomorrow, but I would imagine they could use a day of rest after playing Eastern Washington this past Friday, and then playing New Hope Christian on Saturday and Sunday.

They lost to EWU (as did UP in an exhibition game), but they held their own in the 81-62 defeat on the road.  At home this weekend the Wolves beat NHC twice.

There's really no sense looking back to last season's 96-58 win by the Pilots over the Wolves as the rosters have changed so much, but it's pretty obvious that UP will be much taller and more athletic.

Walla Walla has a couple of really good three-point shooters, so it will be interesting to see if UP will go out to defend the three or just count on getting some defensive rebounds.

I think we can expect to see both coaches empty the benches of all available players, and we'll see TP try some different combinations of players and schemes as a means of tuning up for the coming game against Oregon Tech (well, UNC, actually).

Phil will get fouled, but I just don't see him getting better at his free-throw shooting overnight after watching him the last three seasons....it's a process!

Looks like, as predicted, UP's redshirts will be Taki, Hugh, and of course Crisshawn.  I think everyone is for the most part healthy, although the last I heard Brian Smith is day-to-day with a sprained ankle.

Game time on Tuesday is 7:30....come on out early and watch the UP Women's team play Utah Valley beginning at 5.

Well, I'm going to put "tune-up for the Oregon Tech game" as a phrase I thought I'd never read on this forum.

For a while in the second half I was wondering why we weren't putting in our scrubs to eat up on Walla Walla a bit. Then I realized that for the first time in many years we don't really have any scrubs way at the end of the bench.