UP @ USF, 2/5 @ 6:00

by Dean Murdoch Tue Feb 03, 2015 10:57 am

DATE: Feb. 5, 2015
TIME: 6:00 pm
LOCATION: War Memorial Gym, USF
TV: ROOT NW, ROOT RM, CSN Bay Area
RADIO: 910 AM
VIDEO: http://www.thew.tv

Portland (12-10, 3-7 WCC)
Best wins: 64-61 over #72 Murray State (N), 61-58 over #140 San Diego (A)
Starting: Alec Wintering (5-11/160 So), Bryce Pressley (6-4/200 Jr), Kevin Bailey (6-5/205 Sr), Voldy Gerun (6-10/250 Sr), Thomas van der Mars (6-11/235 Sr)
Off the Bench: Jason Todd (6-6/200 Fr), Bobby Sharp (6-2/165 Sr), Gabe Taylor (6-8/200 Fr)
Projected # of wins in last eight WCC games needed to avoid Friday in Vegas: 5
Projected # of wins in WCC + Vegas needed for CIT: 4

KenPom	•	Sagarin	•	RPI
152		135		140

San Francisco (9-15, 3-8 WCC)
Best wins: 71-59 over #85 Pepperdine (H), 89-77 over #152 Portland (A)
Starting: Devin Watson (6-1/165 Fr), Tim Derksen (6-3/202 Jr), Matt Glover (6-5/212 Sr), Mark Tollefsen (6-9/199 Jr), Kruize Pinkins (6-7/230 Sr)
Off the Bench: Chris Adams (6-4/194 Sr), Matt Christiansen (6-9/235 Jr)

KenPom	•	Sagarin	•	RPI
136		141		199

KenPom Prediction: Portland 70, San Francisco 75

by DoubleDipper Tue Feb 03, 2015 3:19 pm

I think we all recall how USF shot lights-out against the Pilots in the Chiles Center....yes, some of it may have been UP's defense, but I recall about 10 3-pointers made from no-man's land.

Also in that game USF's early pressing defense really disrupted the flow of the game for the Pilots, and when Alec got in foul trouble (Bryce was out with a concussion) it made for a very long evening for the home team.

USF appears to be a better team than there WCC record would indicate, but they are either really hot (like against UP and PU) or very cold (SCU and LMU.

UP fans have to hope for the cold version Thursday night in San Francisco. tongue

by Dean Murdoch Thu Feb 05, 2015 8:13 pm

Well hey, fellas...chalk up a nice road win! Great start, a little blip to end the first half, but they played a real nice road game for pretty much the entire second half.

Happy for them, and they've got a chance on Saturday to make it a real successful road trip.

by **PilotNut** Thu Feb 05, 2015 8:19 pm

Agreed... our second half slump seemed to happen a little early... but we recovered and looked good in the second half, and dominated USF. Thomas looked good, and it was great to see Wintering play so well.

This win helps us keep pace with the top 6, and does not allow USF to get the first tiebreaker (head to head) for tournament seeding. A win on Saturday would give us the tiebreaker over SCU (sweep) should we need it! #GoPilots

by NoPoNeighbor Thu Feb 05, 2015 10:36 pm

PilotNut wrote:This win helps us keep pace with the top 6, and does not allow USF to get the first tiebreaker (head to head) for tournament seeding. A win on Saturday would give us the tiebreaker over SCU (sweep) should we need it!

With the way this conference race is shaping up, I have a feeling that multiple tie-breaks will come into play!

by **PilotNut** Thu Feb 05, 2015 10:53 pm

Pilots Get Big Road Win at San Francisco

On the Web: http://portlandpilots.com/news/2015/2/5/MBB_0205153900.aspx

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – The Portland Pilots defeated the San Francisco Dons 69-57 in West Coast Conference basketball action Thursday night at War Memorial Gym. Kevin Bailey and Alec Wintering scored 20 points each to pace the Pilots. Portland outscored the Dons 36-21 in the second half to pull away down the stretch.

The Pilots (13-10, 4-7 WCC) outrebounded USF by a 39-28 margin and held the Dons (9-15, 3-9) to 36 percent shooting for the game.

Wintering finished 3-for-6 from beyond the arch and 9-of-10 at the free throw line on the night. He added seven assists and three rebounds.

Bailey finished 6-of-10 from the field and 7-of-8 from foul line and also grabbed six rebounds. Senior center Thomas van der Mars collected a game-high 13 rebounds and blocked two shots. He is now one block shy of tying the school career record of 103.

Junior guard Bryce Pressley also had a solid game finishing with nine points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals.

San Francisco was led by junior guard Tim Derksen with a team-high 17 points, while Mark Tollefsen was the only other USF player in double figures with 10 points.

Portland looked to be in control early after jumping out to a 10-0 lead and had a 20-7 margin midway through the first period. The Dons responded by forcing the Pilots into nine first half turnovers and closed the half with a 12-4 run for a 36-33 halftime lead.

The Pilots committed just five turnovers in the second half and held the Dons to 23 percent shooting in the period.

Portland finished at 44 percent from the field overall and made 9-of-18 three-pointers.

The Pilots will conclude the road trip at Santa Clara on Saturday at 5 p.m. The game will be streamed live on TheW.tv and radio coverage begins at 4:30 p.m. on Sports 910 (KMTT).

Newspaper Box Score
Portland vs University of San Francisco
02/05/15 6:00 p.m. at San Francisco, CA (Memorial Gymnasium)
At San Francisco, CA (Memorial Gymnasium)

PORTLAND 69, UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO 57

PORTLAND (13-10 (4-7 WCC))
WINTERING, Alec 4-9 9-10 20; BAILEY, Kevin 6-10 7-8 20; PRESSLEY, Bryce 3-7
0-0 9; VAN DER MARS, Thomas 2-7 3-4 7; GERUN, Volodymyr 2-7 1-4 5; TODD,
Jason 2-3 0-0 5; TYSON, D'Marques 1-2 0-0 3; HARTWICH, Philipp 0-0 0-1 0.
Totals 20-45 20-27 69.

UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO (9-15 (3-9 WCC))
DERKSEN, Tim 7-14 1-3 17; TOLLEFSEN, Mark 2-8 5-6 10; PINKINS, Kruize 2-9
3-4 8; GLOVER, Matt 2-3 0-0 5; HILLIARD, Corey 2-5 0-0 5; CHRISTIANSEN, Matt
2-5 0-0 4; ADAMS, Chris 1-3 0-0 3; WATSON, Devin 1-4 0-0 3; FERRARI, Frankie
1-3 0-0 2; FOSTER, Chase 0-1 0-0 0; ROBERTSON, Derrell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals
20-55 9-13 57.

Portland...................... 33 36 - 69
University of San Francisco... 36 21 - 57

3-point goals--Portland 9-18 (WINTERING, Alec 3-6; PRESSLEY, Bryce 3-6;
BAILEY, Kevin 1-3; TODD, Jason 1-1; TYSON, D'Marques 1-2), University of San
Francisco 8-25 (DERKSEN, Tim 2-6; PINKINS, Kruize 1-3; WATSON, Devin 1-3;
TOLLEFSEN, Mark 1-4; HILLIARD, Corey 1-2; GLOVER, Matt 1-2; ADAMS, Chris
1-3; FERRARI, Frankie 0-1; FOSTER, Chase 0-1). Fouled out--Portland-TODD,
Jason, University of San Francisco-GLOVER, Matt. Rebounds--Portland 39 (VAN
DER MARS, Thomas 13), University of San Francisco 28 (CHRISTIANSEN, Matt 6;
GLOVER, Matt 6). Assists--Portland 13 (WINTERING, Alec 7), University of San
Francisco 13 (WATSON, Devin 5). Total fouls--Portland 18, University of San
Francisco 20. Technical fouls--Portland-None, University of San
Francisco-None. A-1386
Time of Game: 1:52

by NoPoNeighbor Thu Feb 05, 2015 11:06 pm

The Pilots played a really short bench tonight. I commend the coaching staff for that. Bobby Sharp did not see the floor, which is a GREAT move. He has been way too inconsistent. The starting guards (Bailey, Pressley, Wintering) and subs Todd and Tyson all shoot a better 3-point percentage than Sharp, and they are also more versatile players. Sharp is completely one-dimensional, and this year he isn't even that good at his one dimension.

Somewhat surprising is that Gabe Taylor did not play at all. With all of the starters having played at least 28 minutes tonight, Taylor and Tyson might need to play more minutes on Saturday. However, I hope the coaches continue to leave Sharp on the bench.

by DoubleDipper Thu Feb 05, 2015 11:27 pm

Very impressed with van der Mars steady play and ability to disrupt and rebound (13). We've seen him shoot better, but he was enough of a threat inside to make others open on the outside.

Good to see Kevin assimilate himself into the flow of the game instead of trying to do it all at the expense of his teammates. And also a good game from Pressley. I don't think Bryce scored in the second half, but his timely 3's in the first half and his excellent overall game and leadership were apparent.

USF's trapping defense before halftime could have spelled disaster without a UP response, but in the second half the Pilots were much better with their spacing and second and third passes. It was obvious it was an area of emphasis during practice and during the halftime talk.

Fatigue could be a big factor against SCU on Saturday as all five starters played the entire game except 10 minutes from Todd, 3 minutes from Tyson, and less than a minute from Hartwich. Interesting we didn't see Taylor at all; I think he'll have to get some minutes against SCU.

Finally, a very good effort from Alec. Everyone has been looking tired lately, and Alec has probably absorbed the most punishment and played the most minutes of anyone on the team. He's been bothered by a hip pointer for a few weeks now, but it did not seem to hinder him tonight.

Let's hope the Pilots built some momentum and get a WCC weekend road sweep. When did that last happen?

by NoPoNeighbor Thu Feb 05, 2015 11:32 pm

DoubleDipper wrote:...a WCC weekend road sweep. When did that last happen?

Two weeks ago, when we were swept by LMU and Pepperdine! Oh... you mean the last time we WON two games on the road? No idea.

by **PilotNut** Thu Feb 05, 2015 11:34 pm

Per the UP radio broadcast, Taylor was fighting some sort of virus, and while suited up, was not expected to play.

Fortunately, SCU could be a bit drained after their effort tonight. Lets hope they used up all of their spark/energy/juju vs. the Zags!

by Guest Thu Feb 05, 2015 11:37 pm

Wow, that looked nothing like the USF team I saw at Chiles. And what was with Rex? He seemed uninvolved, almost like he gave up. Few time-outs, no yelling.

The 14 TOs by Pilots were driving me nuts, but shooting 50% from 3PT made up for it. And Kevin and Alec combining for 89% and 16 points on FTs really helped. Got one back, now let's get another one Saturday.

by Guest Thu Feb 05, 2015 11:39 pm

NoPoNeighbor wrote:However, I hope the coaches continue to leave Sharp on the bench.

I hope Bobby makes 8 threes on Saturday.

by **PilotNut** Thu Feb 05, 2015 11:40 pm

NoPoNeighbor wrote:
DoubleDipper wrote:...a WCC weekend road sweep. When did that last happen?
Two weeks ago, when we were swept by LMU and Pepperdine! Oh... you mean the last time we WON two games on the road? No idea.

by **PilotNut** Thu Feb 05, 2015 11:42 pm

While I certainly didn't mind it, did it seem like USF threw in the towel early? Most teams would have started fouling with a minute to go, down 9....

by DoubleDipper Fri Feb 06, 2015 12:02 am

PilotNut wrote:
NoPoNeighbor wrote:
DoubleDipper wrote:...a WCC weekend road sweep. When did that last happen?
Two weeks ago, when we were swept by LMU and Pepperdine! Oh... you mean the last time we WON two games on the road? No idea.

A. Good job on the research, Nut. I had gotten so used to typing a question mark on PN and getting an instant answer from Geezer, but I guess those days are in the past. Shocked

B. Wow, really....5 years ago!! I'm seriously considering heading down to Santa Clara to see a "only once every five years" event. I saw there was a little bit of Purple in the stands tonight including the AD and the Alumni Director....and KTodd and Mrs. KTodd.

by Geezaldinho Fri Feb 06, 2015 12:14 am

i might point out that even if we beat SCU it won't be a weekend sweep.

by NoPoNeighbor Fri Feb 06, 2015 12:14 am

up7587 wrote:
NoPoNeighbor wrote:However, I hope the coaches continue to leave Sharp on the bench.
I hope Bobby makes 8 threes on Saturday.

I'd be fine with that, too!

by DoubleDipper Fri Feb 06, 2015 12:20 am

Geezaldinho wrote:i might point out that even if we beat SCU it won't be a weekend sweep.

Hahaha, now that's more like the Geez we know.

However, it would seem with your current employment status (and mine, btw) every day is a weekend day! tongue

by sam thomas Sat Feb 07, 2015 12:18 pm

I am new to this forum but have been reading the comments for some time. I am a pilot fan and enjoy watching them play. What I do have trouble with is listening to certain so called fans heckle our own players. Isn't the heckling meant for the opposing team?! One certain older man who I can only assume is an alumni likes to make it known that he is unhappy when certain players go in the game. I wonder if that person realizes what an effect he might have on "his team". Aren't we after all fans of the pilots and that means all of them! Also, these young men have more than basketball to deal with and we all know UP is not a cake walk. Full time student, full time athlete. Also noticed No Po doesn't want Sharp but would be ok if he went in and shot 8 3's?! Huh? Just a thought. Go Pilots!!

by Dean Murdoch Sat Feb 07, 2015 1:26 pm

sam thomas wrote:Also noticed No Po doesn't want Sharp but would be ok if he went in and shot 8 3's?! Huh?

Close...NoPo didn't want Sharp to go in, but it was up7587 (did I get the number right?) with the reply that he wanted him to go in and hit 8 threes.

I'm with up7587 on that, by the way...it was Bobby Sharp that almost singlehandedly gave the Pilots the win in what remains the best college basketball game I've ever seen, and I've got tons of confidence in the kid even though he's shooting just a bit under what he'd probably like to be shooting this year! He's at .333 right now...heck, he goes 5-for-8 tonight and he's up over .350 which is about the minimum you want your shooters to be at. Get him some open looks and he'll hit them...but he also won't shy away from the catch-and-quick-release that has a high degree of difficulty, and as such tends to drag down his % a bit.

Nice to see a couple new faces on the board. Keep posting.

by NoPoNeighbor Sat Feb 07, 2015 3:25 pm

I do believe that our best chance to win most games is with Sharp on the bench, and the minutes he would be playing going to other guards who are A) Shooting better from 3-point range this season, and B) More versatile, all-around players. Players who meet these two criteria: Pressley, Tyson, Todd, Bailey, Wintering. I think it's hard to make a case for why Sharp should take minutes from any of those players.

I completely agree with the first half of Mr. Cahill's statement: "it was Bobby Sharp that almost singlehandedly gave the Pilots the win in what remains the best college basketball game I've ever seen..." I do not agree with the second half: "I've got tons of confidence in the kid even though he's shooting just a bit under what he'd probably like to be shooting this year!"

However, if Bobby gets into the game and hits 8 threes tonight, I would be VERY happy to be proven wrong. I would love to see Bobby return to form and be a consistent offensive threat. That's my position, and I stand by it -- no matter how self-contradictory it is!

UP @ USF, 2/5 @ 6:00

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