Pilots vs. Gonzaga @ 7pm on Thursday - Root TV

by DoubleDipper Tue Jan 15, 2013 10:10 am

On paper, this game appears it will be the most lopsided GU (15-1/3-0) at UP (8-10/1-2) affair in recent memory when GU visits the Chiles Center on Thursday evening.

In WCC play, the Pilots rank last in the league in FG%, turnovers, and free throw shooting, and next to last in 3-point shooting. They are playing pretty darn good defense to this point though, ranking 3rd overall in the WCC, but they face a Bulldogs team that is #1 in offense.

The one statistic that stands out for UP is their ability to rebound, but even then their ability to get second chance points has been disappointing.

Having seen Gonzaga totally dismantle some very good teams this year there’s just no way anyone can predict a UP win. So why don’t I go out on a limb and say the Pilots by 1 point based upon Ryan Nicholas having a monster game!

However, if GU effectively shuts down Ryan, they’ll have shut down the Pilots…unless of course Coach Reveno unleashes UP’s secret scoring weapon, David Ahern.......you just never know! Shocked

Sagarin: GU is #11 – UP #231
Pomeroy: #14 GU 75 - #232 UP 58
RealTimeRPI: #6 GU 83 - #221 UP 67

by blacksheep Tue Jan 15, 2013 10:25 am

According to RealTime, the Pilots have an 18 percent chance of winning !!!!

I don't know, this might just be the best Gonzaga team ever.

by DoubleDipper Tue Jan 15, 2013 10:33 am

blacksheep wrote:According to RealTime, the Pilots have an 18 percent chance of winning !!!!

I don't know, this might just be the best Gonzaga team ever.

Agreed, THIS IS THE BEST GU TEAM EVER!!

Pomeroy give UP a 7% chance....and his computers are usually pretty conservative.

by blacksheep Tue Jan 15, 2013 11:18 am

DoubleDipper wrote:
blacksheep wrote:According to RealTime, the Pilots have an 18 percent chance of winning !!!!

I don't know, this might just be the best Gonzaga team ever.
Agreed, THIS IS THE BEST GU TEAM EVER!!

Pomeroy give UP a 7% chance....and his computers are usually pretty conservative.

I don't like saying things like "I hope we can just keep it close" because I know the team will be playing to win, but I really hope we can just keep it close.

by NoPoNeighbor Tue Jan 15, 2013 12:39 pm

Greg Crawford's prediction: "Gonzaga (64) at Portland (65) Biggest upset of the year in college basketball, but for it to happen, Ryan Nicholas has to have a monster game for the Pilots. He is without question the best player on the team, but has been too inconsistent so far this season."

As far as I see it, the only we can even stay close in this game is if we shoot and rebound as well as we did against LMU, but protect the ball as well as we did against Lewis and Clark. It would also help if Olynyk experiences muscle cramps that sideline him for most of the game.

by blacksheep Tue Jan 15, 2013 12:47 pm

NoPoNeighbor wrote:It would also help if Olynyk experiences muscle cramps that sideline him for most of the game.

I was thinking maybe the flu epidemic infecting half the team.

by NoPoNeighbor Tue Jan 15, 2013 12:49 pm

blacksheep wrote:
NoPoNeighbor wrote:It would also help if Olynyk experiences muscle cramps that sideline him for most of the game.

I was thinking maybe the flu epidemic infecting half the team.

I'd like them to be healthy enough to defeat Butler on Saturday, so maybe a 24-hour flu epidemic.

by dholcombe Tue Jan 15, 2013 3:39 pm

3-hour flu so they have time to rehydrate?

by **PilotNut** Tue Jan 15, 2013 3:45 pm

dholcombe wrote:3-hour flu so they have time to rehydrate?

The Commons just needs to serve them up with Taco Night. That seemed to be the result in the dorms way back when... Razz

by Guest Tue Jan 15, 2013 3:51 pm

From the KGW Morning Show last week (not sure if this was posted somewhere) -

Reporter: "You probably don't know this - Wiley Post, the lead producer on this show? Went to Gonzaga."

Reveno: "Huh. You probably have some glitches with the back room once in a while, right?"

Hah!!

by dholcombe Tue Jan 15, 2013 9:39 pm

Ken Jennings is going to be @ the Burnside Powell's Thursday. I wonder what a crazed Zag fan pays for a 2nd row ticket... The Zags come to town every year.... but then I'd have to reset my consecutive games counter...and how would I ever catch Mauro then? I'm still 40 years behind already.

by DoubleDipper Wed Jan 16, 2013 2:17 pm

The University of Portland versus Gonzaga University men’s basketball game scheduled for Thursday night at the Chiles Center is sold out, the Pilot Box Office announced today.

Now, if we can just get everyone to come to the game and cheer! It's one thing to have a sell-out, it's another to have all the seats full.

Everyone is encouraged to give away or sell their tickets if they can't make to the game....pass the word.

by DTLegend Wed Jan 16, 2013 2:44 pm

Everyone is encouraged to give away or sell their tickets if they can't make to the game....pass the word.

Preferably to people wearing purple

by DoubleDipper Wed Jan 16, 2013 2:51 pm

DTLegend wrote:
Everyone is encouraged to give away or sell their tickets if they can't make to the game....pass the word.

Preferably to people wearing purple

Oh god yes, sorry, I should have been more clear.

Yes, there will already be enough red in the place as it is....don't add to the visiting color scheme!

by DoubleDipper Thu Jan 17, 2013 12:53 am

Portland Pilots forward Ryan Nicholas attended high school at Spokane’s Gonzaga Prep, which begs the question: why not Gonzaga and its star-studded men’s basketball program for college?

Nicholas replies with a simple answer.

“They never recruited me,” he said.

Today's Oregonian

by DoubleDipper Thu Jan 17, 2013 9:55 am

Portland is 0-12 against Gonzaga under Coach Reveno. The Pilots have lost 18 consecutive games to the Bulldogs, and are 1-32 since 1997; the only win coming in 2003 in Spokane when Pooh and Donald were freshmen.

Well, now that UP has twice as many freshmen..…it should be a snap!

by DoubleDipper Thu Jan 17, 2013 10:20 am

From UP Athletics:

ABOUT #8 GONZAGA
• The Bulldogs (16-1, 3-0 WCC) are ranked No. 8 nationally in both the Associated Press and Coaches Polls this week.
• Gonzaga has posted non-conference wins over West Virginia, Clemson, Oklahoma, Kansas State and Oklahoma State, while its lone loss was an 85-74 defeat to Illinois.
• The Bulldogs defeated Saint Mary’s 83-78 on Thursday in Spokane.
• Redshirt junior Kelly Olynyk leads three players averaging double figures at 18.1 points per game. Senior Elias Harris (14.9) and sophomore Kevin Pangos (12.4) also averaged double-digits.
• Harris, Pangos, Gary Bell and Sam Dower were all named to the Preseason All-WCC Team, while Gonzaga was picked to win the league.
• Head coach Mark Few posts a 358-91 overall record in 14 years with Gonzaga. He has led the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament every season.
• The Bulldogs have won 18 straight over the Pilots, including nine in a row at the Chiles Center.

by **PilotNut** Thu Jan 17, 2013 11:20 am

PORTLAND PILOTS

Portland Pilots (8-10, 1-2) vs. #8 Gonzaga Bulldogs (16-1, 3-0)
Date: Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013
Tip-off: 7:00 p.m. (PST)
Location: Portland, Ore.
Arena: Chiles Center (4,852)
Television: ROOT Sports
Radio: 800 AM
Overall Series: 65-90
At UP: 34-35
At GU: 22-43
At Neutral: 9-12
Last: GU 74, POR 62 (Jan. 26, 2012 at Portland)

GAME INFORMATION
• Portland opens its West Coast Conference home schedule with four consecutive games at the Chiles Center beginning with No. 8 Gonzaga on Thursday at 7 p.m.
• The Pilots will return to the court on Saturday for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off against defending WCC Champion Saint Mary’s.

GAME COVERAGE
• Both games will be carried live on ROOT Sports Northwest and CSN Bay Area with Tom Glasgow, Bill Krueger and Jen Mueller on the call.
• All Portland basketball games will be broadcast live on True Talk 800 AM with Bill Johnson calling the play-by-play and a 30-minute pregame show.

TICKET INFORMATION
• Thursday’s game is sold out, but tickets still remain for the rest of the WCC home schedule.
• Tickets start at $10 for adults and $5 for kids for most games, while a special $25 reserved seat ticket and food voucher are available for all games.
• Tickets are available through all Ticketmaster outlets, online at Ticketmaster.com or through the Pilot Box Office at (503) 943-7525.

PILOTS VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS
• Portland is 6-51 all-time against AP Top 25 ranked opponents with the last win coming versus No. 22 Minnesota at the 2009 Anaheim 76 Classic.
• The Pilots have lost their last eight games against ranked opponents.
• Portland has never beaten a team ranked in the top 10 (0-18).

by dholcombe Thu Jan 17, 2013 4:06 pm

I'm hungry already.....but it's still 2 hours until pasta.

by Guest Thu Jan 17, 2013 7:47 pm

Gonzaga killing it from three-point range (7-for-12 late in the first half).

Haven't seen a team come into Chiles and rip it up from downtown like this since....Portland Bible College.

by pilotfan4life Thu Jan 17, 2013 8:42 pm

What's with our passes? Been some easy deflections and steals for Gonzaga. How come the crowd has gotten quieter in the second half?

by pilotfan4life Thu Jan 17, 2013 8:51 pm

And we're losing the rebound battle too! We need to grab the ball, not tip or swat!

by DTLegend Fri Jan 18, 2013 7:54 am

Well, another year same story I guess. Just a few thoughts:
I'll start with some concerns.
Ryan's play was not good. I think he was frustrated early and never recovered. He looked slow out there. He had some TERRIBLE passes, he forced his offense a little. Granted he was probably focused more on the defensive end of the floor with the Gonzaga bigs, but still. Our best chance of winning is when Ryan is efficient and effective rebounding the ball.
Korey only played 14 minutes which was unexpected but not too surprising I guess. Korey has been a spark plug this year, giving energy and tough defense and transition opportunities, but when it comes to half court offense his strength is solely as a slasher. He's not a consistent shooter, and the Gonzaga scouting report exploited this. They gave him his shots. He missed his shots. He missed all of his shots. He did make two free throws but also had zero assits and two turnovers.
Thomas played 19 minutes, was 0-1 from the field, had more personal fouls than rebounds and points combined. Also threw in a turnover because he didn't want to be the only Pilot not to give the ball away.
Speaking of those turnovers, we had too many of them. We also gave up too many dunks. We also were slow on our defensive rotations in the first half and they shot 8-15 from three that half.

There were a few bright spots and it starts with Oskars. When he came in we had 2 points i'm pretty sure, and he made a few great plays in a row, gave us some energy off the bench and all of a sudden we could play. He hit a few outside shots but wasn't relying on it (2-4), he was aggressive and attacking the basket, he had a steal and throw down, he's tough whih I love, he was the ONLY PILOT to have an assist to turnover ratio better than 1, plus added 2 steals. At one point there was a line up of Oskars, Bryce, David, Riley, and Thomas... and they looked pretty good.
Kevin showed up. 7-9 shooting and most of those he created by himself which isn't easy to do. When you have a productive player like that it takes pressure off a little and opens up lanes. Now we're just looking for consistensy and for him to cut down on the turnovers. Also, we need to get out into transition more for him to reach his full potential.
Riley Barker also showed up. You know my first memory of him ever was that dunk when Kentucky came to the Rose Garden. We were already way down, but he came in and had a pretty nasty two handed throw down after just being put in. I think he can be big for us in the next few years. 4 Blocks, and they were all pretty impressive.
Also, Bryce seemed to play well, and David gave us some solid minutes. Derrick would be a steady backup guard, but asking him to playmake for 34 minutes is asking a lot. We also had 9 steals which is pretty nice.

Overall I think last night showed us how far away we really are form where we want to be. Gonzaga has been the Gold standard going on 15 years now and after a few years of progress between 2008-2010 we've regressed a bit. but overall the trend is on an upslope I think.

by Rochin54 Fri Jan 18, 2013 8:48 am

My thought: this zag team is a legitimate top 10 team. We showed a little bit of fight (especially with Oskars, as you mentioned) and toughness last night, which was good. I think we'll be just fine in conference play from here on out. Keep our focus on defense and rebounding.

by blacksheep Fri Jan 18, 2013 9:56 am

I was encouraged by the game last night. Gonzaga is good, I mean really good! Nobody really expected that we would win the game. We were able to stay competitive for most of the game. Heck, it was a five point game with just a few minutes left in the first half.

I love the improvement I've seen this year from our young guys, especially Oskars!

Pilots vs. Gonzaga @ 7pm on Thursday - Root TV

Pilots vs. Gonzaga @ 7pm on Thursday - Root TV

Re: Pilots vs. Gonzaga @ 7pm on Thursday - Root TV

Re: Pilots vs. Gonzaga @ 7pm on Thursday - Root TV

Re: Pilots vs. Gonzaga @ 7pm on Thursday - Root TV

Re: Pilots vs. Gonzaga @ 7pm on Thursday - Root TV

Re: Pilots vs. Gonzaga @ 7pm on Thursday - Root TV

Re: Pilots vs. Gonzaga @ 7pm on Thursday - Root TV

Re: Pilots vs. Gonzaga @ 7pm on Thursday - Root TV

Re: Pilots vs. Gonzaga @ 7pm on Thursday - Root TV

Re: Pilots vs. Gonzaga @ 7pm on Thursday - Root TV

Re: Pilots vs. Gonzaga @ 7pm on Thursday - Root TV

Re: Pilots vs. Gonzaga @ 7pm on Thursday - Root TV

Re: Pilots vs. Gonzaga @ 7pm on Thursday - Root TV

Re: Pilots vs. Gonzaga @ 7pm on Thursday - Root TV

Re: Pilots vs. Gonzaga @ 7pm on Thursday - Root TV

Re: Pilots vs. Gonzaga @ 7pm on Thursday - Root TV

Re: Pilots vs. Gonzaga @ 7pm on Thursday - Root TV

Re: Pilots vs. Gonzaga @ 7pm on Thursday - Root TV

Re: Pilots vs. Gonzaga @ 7pm on Thursday - Root TV

Re: Pilots vs. Gonzaga @ 7pm on Thursday - Root TV

Re: Pilots vs. Gonzaga @ 7pm on Thursday - Root TV

Re: Pilots vs. Gonzaga @ 7pm on Thursday - Root TV

Re: Pilots vs. Gonzaga @ 7pm on Thursday - Root TV

Re: Pilots vs. Gonzaga @ 7pm on Thursday - Root TV

Re: Pilots vs. Gonzaga @ 7pm on Thursday - Root TV