Pacific -- Thursday @ 7 & St. Mary's -- Saturday @ 7

Well, by my count, the Pilots have had 1 very good win this season (Princeton), but have also had 4 bad losses (North Texas, Montana St., and then USF and SCU in WCC play).

When the very good Pacific Tigers (9-3) and the even better St. Mary's Gaels (10-3) come to town this weekend it will be a great opportunity for the Pilots to turn things around before facing Gonzaga next week.

Both games will be televised on Root TV....so this will be an opportunity for potential recruits who may have an interest in attending UP to see what the team looks like in action.  But, as we know, classes at UP don't resume until after the Pilots' 5 game homestand....so we'll be counting on lots of young kids to make noise for the home team.  

I wouldn't be surprised if the Pilots will be favored over the Tigers, and the Gaels favored over the Pilots when the game day odds are posted....but whatever the odds, these should be two very good games to watch.

I think I'd count these last two losses as "disappointing" rather than "bad" - there's just no gimmes in the WCC this season (I hope).

Desperation time for both teams. Loss tonight for the Pilots is a devastating 0-3 start for what was supposed to be an "up" year, and similarly a loss for Pacific will also likely mean an 0-3 start for the Tigers with Gonzaga looming on the horizon on Saturday.

Is it ridiculous to call Game #3 of the 18-game conference schedule a must-win game?

DeanMurdoch wrote:Is it ridiculous to call Game #3 of the 18-game conference schedule a must-win game?

Not at all, especially when you look at the schedule. A loss tonight drops us to 0-3 (all at home), with the next 2 games being against GU and SMC... The ability of the team to turn things around while playing GU, SMC and then 2 on the road is quite a daunting task.

Tonight's game might just be the game that we look back on as the key to the season going one way or the other.

DeanMurdoch wrote:I think I'd count these last two losses as "disappointing" rather than "bad" - there's just no gimmes in the WCC this season (I hope).

Hmm.  Well, I'm sticking with "bad" for the USF game, but SCU just had a "killer" afternoon, and the Pilots just had no answer for the 3's SCU was throwing up....so yea, that was disappointing.

Las Vegas odds: Pilots by 3.5 over the Tigers today.

(GU by 7 over SMC; USF by 3 over LMU; and SCU by 5.5 over PU.  All home teams are expected to win).

There's pretty good money to be made betting against the Pilots at home this season.

Hmmm, another halftime lead....now what?

That sure looked a scrambly game in places but 100% marks to the Pilots for scrapping it out. Haven't seen the rebounding numbers yet but must be a massive advantage to UP.

Whew. Good win on great defense to hold UOP to 32%.

Who wants to start the discussion about the Reveno game plan that got 3 players to register double doubles?

The coaching staff was certainly fired up tonight, even amongst themselves...  it seems that they had lit a fire under themselves prior to this game, and it seemed transferred to the team.

I need to check out the stats, before saying too much, but Thomas had a great game, as did Nicholas.  The highlight had to be Thomas' "Look at me!! I'm w-i-d-e open over here!!" dance in the closing minutes when UoP was fouling.

DoubleDipper wrote:Las Vegas odds: Pilots by 3.5 over the Tigers today.

(GU by 7 over SMC; USF by 3 over LMU; and SCU by 5.5 over PU.  All home teams are expected to win).

Reality: UP by 8; GU by 22; USF by 14; and PU by 9 on the road.....

Whew... that game got too close for comfort.

The good:
• Great rebounding. Three guys in double figures.
• Started the game going 0-9 from the field. Good job battling through that rough start.
• Balanced offensive attack.
• Wintering: 5 assists, 0 turnovers
• We won! Thankfully, Pacific's run came too late in the game and they ran out of time. Once they had to start fouling we won it at the charity stripe. (If they had started their full-court press 3 minutes earlier it might have been a different outcome...)

The bad:
• We let Pacific back into the game.
• Gave up a lot of three-pointers again (thank goodness they missed a lot, too).
• Pacific's full-court press gave us headaches and led to several turnovers. If other coaches watch this game film, we may see a lot more full-court press throughout conference play.
• Not very good three-point shooting.
• A few bad passing decisions contributed to an above-average TO number (13).

Great win for the Pilots tonight. Thomas van der Mars seems to be getting better every game.

Just noticed that this was the Pilots' first victory in the Chiles Center since December 1st.

Full marks to the players for a huge effort tonight. Tenacity and aggressiveness rebounding and on the defensive side of the ball won this game for them tonight. They'll have to bring that same mentality on Saturday along with some greater efficiency on the offence if the Pilots hope to snare a badly, badly needed W over Saint Mary's to get back up to .500.

I was surprised to see Pressley ended up with a double-double as well as van der Mars and Nicholas - I would have had no idea if the Geezer hadn't mentioned it above.

Looking at the box score, how did UOP get off 73 shots?

It also looks like Coach relied a little more on the starters tonight. They played about 15 minutes more than they have been averaging as a group.

up7587 wrote:Looking at the box score, how did UOP get off 73 shots?

It also looks like Coach relied a little more on the starters tonight. They played about 15 minutes more than they have been averaging as a group.

Pacific is a very tough veteran team that won the Big West last year before heading to the NCAA Tournament.

For the Pilots to beat such a battle tested team showed what a tough team UP has become….especially UP’s five starters, but this game, and the two previous WCC games, also exposed UP’s bench to be not as deep as was once thought.

There have been a number of fans who have wanted David to take over at the 1, but tonight it was pretty obvious the offense slowed to a crawl and the defense suffered in his 4 minutes of play…..to the extent the game almost got away.

Riley continues to hold his own, and is in no way hurting the team, but so far we haven’t seen him go to the hoop with any regularity.

Korey continues to bring wonderful energy on defense, and tonight received a couple of nice passes while streaking to the bucket, but when he’s holding the ball on offense the defenders sag inside knowing he won’t shoot.

I love Bobby’s energy, but unless he’s hitting the open three’s he’s being presented, his lack of speed and lateral movement on defense drag down his contributions considerably.  BUT, I love his attitude and effort, and expect he will continue to improve as the season progresses.

Voldy is still finding his way, especially under the bucket…..and he’ll never reach Rhino’s level of toughness and leadership, but I expect he’ll continue to show considerable improvement this year before stepping into Rhino’s role next season.

I’m sure JB, Tanner, and Xubi are disappointed they’re not playing, but the reality is they’ll probably spend a lot more time on the bench the rest of the season….and unless Alec and Bryce need a break, like they did tonight, David will also “ride the pine” most of the year.  It may be on par with many teams, but that’s still too many upperclassmen (3) who are not contributing on game day, IMO.

DoubleDipper wrote:

up7587 wrote:Looking at the box score, how did UOP get off 73 shots?

It also looks like Coach relied a little more on the starters tonight. They played about 15 minutes more than they have been averaging as a group.

Pacific is a very tough veteran team that won the Big West last year before heading to the NCAA Tournament.

For the Pilots to beat such a battle tested team showed what a tough team UP has become….especially UP’s five starters, but this game, and the two previous WCC games, also exposed UP’s bench to be not as deep as was once thought.

There have been a number of fans who have wanted David to take over at the 1, but tonight it was pretty obvious the offense slowed to a crawl and the defense suffered in his 4 minutes of play…..to the extent the game almost got away.

Riley continues to hold his own, and is in no way hurting the team, but so far we haven’t seen him go to the hoop with any regularity.

Korey continues to bring wonderful energy on defense, and tonight received a couple of nice passes while streaking to the bucket, but when he’s holding the ball on offense the defenders sag inside knowing he won’t shoot.

I love Bobby’s energy, but unless he’s hitting the open three’s he’s being presented, his lack of speed and lateral movement on defense drag down his contributions considerably.  BUT, I love his attitude and effort, and expect he will continue to improve as the season progresses.

Voldy is still finding his way, especially under the bucket…..and he’ll never reach Rhino’s level of toughness and leadership, but I expect he’ll continue to show considerable improvement this year before stepping into Rhino’s role next season.

I’m sure JB, Tanner, and Xubi are disappointed they’re not playing, but the reality is they’ll probably spend a lot more time on the bench the rest of the season….and unless Alec and Bryce need a break, like they did tonight, David will also “ride the pine” most of the year.  It may be on par with many teams, but that’s still too many upperclassmen (3) who are not contributing on game day, IMO.

The biggest key was the addition of a new member of the team. I'm not sure how many of you saw him, but Fr. Gerry Olinger is now the team chaplain. Yesterday was his first game, so he still has a perfect record!

PurpleGeezer wrote:Whew. Good win on great defense to hold UOP to 32%.

Who wants to start the discussion about the Reveno game plan that got 3 players to register double doubles?

PurpleGeezer I get that Rev is the greatest thing since sliced bread to you but I have to disagree with you again. If this is the game that gets everyone thinking we've righted the ship then I understand why the expectations for this program are so low. Last night's game was terrible. As bad as the Tiger's were playing they still managed to pull within 2 possessions late in the game. Despite having 3 Pilots register a "double-double" we were a couple of missed baskets away from overtime or worse. UOP's defense was Horrible (that's Horrible with a capital H). Applaud our guys for taking advantage of defensive mismatches and getting some easy buckets early but no one with even a modicum of basketball IQ can think that this is a recipe for long term success.

Our guards we're completely out of rhythm which was evident in our dreadful shooting percentages. That we still haven't figured out that Bailey will draw a foul every time he drives, that Presley is more effective in transition than in the half court, and that our defensive energy is greater when our tempo is up... is mind boggling to me. When our guards spend the whole shot clock looking for an entry pass and then our bigs miss the shot, UP transition defense is terrible.

With 2.5 mins left it's a 5 point game. We dribble down the shot clock looking for an entry pass inside (which at this point in the game the Tigers have adjusted to defensively) It's a Bailey pull up with 6 or 7 secs on the clock that put us up 7. The next possession it's a Presley drive that essentially puts the game out of reach. His 1st step is so quick that either the defense has to foul him or the help has to come over which creates an easier opportunity for our bigs. Our guards would be 1st team all conference if they played on any other team. They have to be the focal point of our offense if we want to make a run at the top half of the conference.

I'm confused..

Is our energy greater when our tempo is up, or is our tempo up when our energy is greater?

blacksheep wrote:The biggest key was the addition of a new member of the team.  I'm not sure how many of you saw him, but Fr. Gerry Olinger is now the team chaplain.  Yesterday was his first game, so he still has a perfect record!

Ha ha, yea but his perfect record is going to be tested this evening when the women play Gonzaga at 7 PM in the Chiles Center.

Yes, Fr. Jerry will also be on the sidelines with the women's team this year....his sister Colleen, a favorite of most everyone, is a member of that team!

NewPilotFan: I would love to hear Rev talk about the good points you bring up...  in fact we all have the chance to ask him questions!  On Monday nights, Sports 910 AM (and a stream on the UP site) hosts the Portland Pilots Basketball Show from 7-8pm, with Bill Johnson, Coach Rev and others.  I would encourage you to formulate your thoughts into question(s) and call in and so we can all hear his thoughts directly from his mouth!

PilotNut wrote:NewPilotFan: I would love to hear Rev talk about the good points you bring up...  in fact we all have the chance to ask him questions!  On Monday nights, Sports 910 AM (and a stream on the UP site) hosts the Portland Pilots Basketball Show from 7-8pm, with Bill Johnson, Coach Rev and others.  I would encourage you to formulate your thoughts into question(s) and call in and so we can all hear his thoughts directly from his mouth!

I will make sure to listen next week and call in with any questions.

Just took a glance at the Pacific box score.....Rhino and the rest of the team held consensus Top-5 power forward Tony Gill to just 2 points on Thursday night....

Another Top-5 power forward, St. Mary’s’ Beau Levesque, could easily drop 25 on UP Saturday without the same effort and commitment from UP’s Top-5 power forward, Ryan Nicholas.  It should be a great battle.

Defense IS a difference maker!!  

St. Mary's preview:

A year ago SMC trounced the Pilots in the Chiles Center, 60-38; later in Moraga, the Pilots lost, 77-42.

Both teams have lost their starting point guards from last year…..enough said!!

newpilotfan wrote: Last night's game was terrible. As bad as the Tiger's were playing they still managed to pull within 2 possessions late in the game. Despite having 3 Pilots register a "double-double" we were a couple of missed baskets away from overtime or worse.

So, we go up against a senior-laden team from a good program that went to the tournament last year, build up a lead of 14, but then allow them to come within a possession, so the game was terrible?  It wasn't pretty, but we never even allowed them to tie.  If beating a good conference opponent by 8 where we dominate the boards and suffocate them defensively rates as "terrible", then one wonders what would rate even as "halfway decent" on such a scale.  Top four seed in conference tourney?  Top two?  What would "good" be?  Running the board with double digit margins?

Direct from Las Vegas:

SMC by 3 at UP; GU by 14 over UOP; BYU by 13 over USD; SCU by 3.5 over LMU; and USF by 4 over PU.

UP is the only home NOT favored in the WCC today....