2014-15 schedule

WARNING…..this may be just a meaningless post, but the boss’ plane is down for maintenance, it’s the recruiting “quiet period” until 9 Sep, it’s much too hot to play golf, and the pool is full of kids…….and face it, this thread has been languishing of late!

The end of the 2013-14 season had the Pilots ranked #113 in the nation by Pomeroy.  Probably a higher ranking than many thought the team deserved based upon their 15-16 record, another loss to Montana St., and a first round loss to LMU in Las Vegas, but IMO key injuries down the stretch put a damper on an otherwise positive year for the Pilots…..and that was recognized by KenPom.com.

In previous years the Pilots have played teams like Duke, Kentucky, and Michigan St…….games that probably helped boost UP’s overall Pomeroy rankings………that is NOT the case this coming season, but the preseason opponents still average slightly more difficult than last year’s based upon Pomeroy’s season ending rankings.
 
This coming year (2014-15): 213.1/last year (2013-14): 215.6

UP’s preseason opponents this coming year (4 home, 3 away, and 3 neutral) average 213.1 based upon the team’s final ratings from last season.:

#91 @ UNLV 20-13
#110 OSU 16-16
#115 Murray St. 23-11 (in Nashville)
#169 Valparaiso 18-16 (in Nashville)
#200 Drake 15-16 (in Nashville)
#275 @ Sacramento St. 14-16
#276 Portland St. 17-15
#285 Southern Illinois – Edwardsville 11-20
#302 @ San Jose St. 7-24
#308 Montana St.  14-17

It’s conceivable UP could add another D-1 school to the schedule, but it seems likely the Pilots will face schools like Concordia and Lewis & Clark to stay sharp during the breaks in D-1 action.

Last year (7 home, 3 away, and 2 neutral) 215.6:

#9 @ Michigan St/lost 67-82
#101 Princeton (in Las Vegas)/won 93-79
#110 @ OSU/lost 73-79
#123 Columbia/won 69-52
#214 Bradley (in Las Vegas)/won 74-53
#229 North Texas/lost 72-77 in 2 O/T’s
#246 Idaho/won 88-74
#276 @ PSU/won 92-76
#302 San Jose St/won 86-69
#308 Montana St/lost 69-72
#319 UC-Davis/won 100-83
#351 (out of #351 D-1 teams) Southern Utah/won 86-57

DoubleDipper wrote:WARNING…..this may be just a meaningless post...

Well... It is perhaps less than meaningful in that it compares how good last year's opponents actually were with how good this year's opponents were LAST year.

And PLEASE oh please let's play another home game against a D-I school, instead of two games against Lewis & Clark et al.

NoPoNeighbor wrote:

DoubleDipper wrote:WARNING…..this may be just a meaningless post...

Well... It is perhaps less than meaningful in that it compares how good last year's opponents actually were with how good this year's opponents were LAST year.

Ha, ha......yaw, I know.....that's what I meant, but it gave me a chance to do some research and (hopefully) start the thread again. 

DoubleDipper wrote:WARNING…..this may be just a meaningless post, but the boss’ plane is down for maintenance, it’s the recruiting “quiet period” until 9 Sep, it’s much too hot to play golf, and the pool is full of kids…….and face it, this thread has been languishing of late!

I've seen more meaningless posts than this one. Probably posted by myself.

What does a recruiting "quiet period" mean? Can a kid still contact the coach to commit to the mighty Pilots? #EuP

DeanMurdoch wrote:
What does a recruiting "quiet period" mean? Can a kid still contact the coach to commit to the mighty Pilots? #EuP

Looks like he can, but he has to make any personal contact on the coach's campus.
From recruitlook.com:

Contact:
A contact is classified as a face-to-face encounter between a college coach and the student athlete (or their legal guardians or relatives) where more than a greeting occurs. Anything beyond a hello is considered a contact. Another form of contact occurs when a college coach has any contact with you or your legal guardians at your high school, or any other location where you are competing or practicing.

Contact Period:
College coaches are allowed to have in-person contact with you or your legal guardians. This period means coaches can watch you compete anywhere, and the coach can write and make telephone calls.

Dead Period:
The college coach cannot make in-person contact with you or your legal guardians. This prevents the coach from making any evaluations of you whatsoever. However, the coach can make telephone calls to you or your legal guardians.

Evaluation:
This is the process where a coach watches you compete in a game or practice, and makes note on your athletic abilities.

Evaluation Period:
It is permissible for the college coach to evaluate your playing abilities at your high school or any other place where you are competing. During this period the coach cannot have off campus in-person contact with you or your legal guardians. The coach can still make telephone calls to you or your legal guardians, and you are allowed to make campus visits during this period.

Quiet Period:
During this time a college coach cannot watch you compete at any location. It is allowed for the college coach to make in-person contact with you or your legal guardians if it occurs on the coach's campus. The coach can still make telephone calls to you or your legal guardians, and you can make visits to college campuses during this time.

Don't know if you can get a bagel.

Geezaldinho wrote:

DeanMurdoch wrote:
What does a recruiting "quiet period" mean? Can a kid still contact the coach to commit to the mighty Pilots? #EuP

Looks like he can, but he has to make any personal contact on the coach's campus.
From recruitlook.com:

Thanks Geez. I googled too but was getting conflicting results, and sure didn't feel like going through the NCAA rulebook to find out.

The basketball recruiting calendar for 2014-2015 is here:

http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/Men%27s%20Basketball%20Recruiting%20Calendar2014.pdf

We've already identified which D-1 schools UP will probably play during the preseason, but WHEN the Pilots will play those opponents is still an unknown....or is it?

From what I've been able to glean from the various websites, and following the supposition that UP will be playing 4 D-1 games at home and 6 on the road, it would seem this is a pretty good guess (give or take):

***Probably an exhibition game against Concordia-Irvine and another “closed practice” game before heading to San Jose.

11/16 @ San Jose St.
11/22 SIU-Edwardsville
11/28-11/30 (in Nashville) Murray St., Drake, and Valparaiso
12/3 Portland St.
12/6 Oregon St.
12/8-11 Final Exams (Students return to classes on 1/12)
12/14 @ Sacramento St.
12/17 @ UNLV
12/20 Montana St.

IMO the schedule between 11/28 and 12/20 is very tight considering the travel and final exams.

If the league follows its usual trend, the WCC schedule should be out next week, giving us a much better idea of how the season will shape up.

Are season tickets cheaper when there are 4 non-conference home games vs. 7?

NoPoNeighbor wrote:Are season tickets cheaper when there are 4 non-conference home games vs. 7?

Actually, it's my guess there will be 7 games (counting exhibition and non-D-1), but only 4 D-1 games......but I know that's not answering your question directly.   

Not to just shamelessly promote my latest westcoastconvo.com post but I've been able to confirm the non-conference schedule and it's in the post

http://westcoastconvo.com/2014/08/14/portland-pilots-scheduling-recruiting-update/

Also included are thoughts about Eubanks, which have already been stated, and a little info on the Bryce Pressley/Alec Wintering trip to Europe this week.

Good piece, DTL.

Also a good follow on Twitter is @PilotsCourtside - they mentioned today that Aitor was part of a Spanish team that got thumped by the Philippines national team the other day. Not sure where that game was played at.

DoubleDipper wrote:

NoPoNeighbor wrote:Are season tickets cheaper when there are 4 non-conference home games vs. 7?

Actually, it's my guess there will be 7 games (counting exhibition and non-D-1), but only 4 D-1 games......but I know that's not answering your question directly.   

DTLegend's article confirms that....4 D-1 + 3 non-D-1/Exhibition games = 7 games in the Chiles Center.

So last year there were 8 games, if we're counting the exhibitions.

Non-D-I games should be half-price admission.

NoPoNeighbor wrote:So last year there were 8 games, if we're counting the exhibitions.

Non-D-I games should be half-price admission.

Agreed.....there should be a much reduced price if we're going by last year when there were 7 D-1 games and an exhibition game against a very good Concordia-Irvine team.

The WCC has released the conference schedule today.

http://www.wccsports.com/sports/m-baskbl/sched/west-m-baskbl-sched-full.html

12/27 @ USD
12/29 @ BYU

1/3 GU
1/8 SCU
1/10 USF
1/15 @ LMU
1/17 @ Pep
1/22 Pac
1/24 SMC
1/29 @ GU

2/5 @ USF
2/7 @ SCU
2/12 Pep
2/14 LMU
2/19 @ SMC
2/21 @ Pac
2/26 BYU
2/28 USD

Alternating home and away each weekend so there's no long stretches away from home. What a concept, right?

The tough part is having the Gonzaga game before school starts, but it's still better than last year.

The first three home games are without students.....classes begin on January 12, but I believe the dorms will be open for those who begin returning on Jan 10.

And now we have the whole thing:

http://portlandpilots.com/documents/2014/8/18//2014_15_MBB_Schedule.pdf?id=4285

PurplePrideTrumpet wrote:And now we have the whole thing:

http://portlandpilots.com/documents/2014/8/18//2014_15_MBB_Schedule.pdf?id=4285

Thanks. Looks pretty good, except for a game at 2:00PM on a Monday afternoon, during Christmas break. Hope they give away lots of free tickets to the youth leagues.

Anyone feeling like a Nashville Thanksgiving?

PilotNut wrote:Anyone feeling like a Nashville Thanksgiving?

Believe me, I've been looking into it, but found it is really pricey to fly when coming back on Sunday night or Monday due to the holiday.

I've also identified about 40 alums in the Nashville area who might be interested in the games, but as it is Thanksgiving, the thinking is everyone's priorities will be elsewhere.

The Univ. of Tennessee Volunteers play football at Vanderbilt that Saturday... It will be a festive weekend in Nashville for sure! It could also make travel arrangements (hotels, flights) more of a challenge.

Pretty good article from WestCoastConvo regarding UP's non-conference schedule....although I can't even begin to guess why the author thinks the Thanksgiving tournament in Nashville is called the "Motor City Tournament."  

Except for tradition, I guess it is difficult to think only of Detroit when it comes to motor cars these days.....

http://westcoastconvo.com/2014/08/24/breaking-portlands-non-conference-schedule/

Thanks for catching that mistake! I have no idea what my thought process was there honestly. I just fixed it.

Thanks for reading!