Complete Release I GameCentral I Tickets
Portland (18-8, 5-5 WCC) vs San Francisco (13-12, 7-3)
February 17, 2011 • 6:00 PM • Portland, Ore. (Chiles Center - 4,852)
TV: ESPNU
Radio: 800 AM (KPDQ)
Live Audio/Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Series: USF leads 46-25
Last Meeting: USF 81, UP 74 (1/20/11 at USF)
Portland (18-8, 5-5 WCC) vs Santa Clara (16-11, 6-4)
February 19, 2011 • 5:30 PM • Portland, Ore. (Chiles Center - 4,852)
TV: CSN NW
Radio: 800 AM (KPDQ)
Live Audio/Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Series: SCU leads 55-26
Last Meeting: SCU 72, UP 59 (1/22/11 at SCU)
This Week in Pilots Hoops...
A huge weekend of University of Portland men’s basketball comes to The Bluff beginning on Thursday with a night of remembrance and battle for WCC seeding. The Pilots host San Francisco at 6 p.m. on ESPNU as the program will recognize our Ultimate Fan, Mauro Potestio. Fans are encouraged to wear bow ties to the game in honor of Potestio, who watched a remarkable 898 consecutive UP games from 1949-2011 and wore his signature bow tie to nearly every game. The Pilots will then take on Santa Clara on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. in the regular season home finale. Portland’s four seniors will be recognized 10 minutes prior to tipoff with a Senior Night presentation.
Ticket Information
Thursday’s game is featuring a buy one get one free ticket special. Tickets for all Portland home games are available through all Ticketmaster outlets, online at www.ticketmaster.com, over the phone at (800) 745-3000 or in-person at the Pilot Box Office. The Box Office will also be open one hour before tip-off for walk-up sales.
Wear a Bowtie on Thursday
Help us honor our Ultimate Fan Mauro Potestio by wearing a bow tie to Thursday’s game against San Francisco at the Chiles Center. Mauro, who passed away last Saturday, is legendary for his amazing devotion to the Pilots (he attended 898 consecutive home games from 1949-2011) and for wearing his signature bow tie to nearly every game. To learn more about Mauro, his streak, and his incredible impact on Pilots athletics, check out these articles from The Oregonian, The Portland Tribune and look at a slideshow of his time here at UP.
Halftime Mile is Back!
A halftime show that was immensely popular previously at Portland is making a comeback on Thursday. Portland will host the Halftime Mile, featuring four members of the University of Portland’s track team against four runners from the University of San Francisco. Pilot sophomore sensation Trevor Dunbar, the reigning USA Junior Cross Country and 10,000-meter champion, will chase his father’s Chiles Center mile record (4:04). Fans are encouraged to line the track upstairs to cheer on the runners, or can watch the proceedings on the Chiles Center video board. OregonLive.com previewed the event.
Senior Night on Saturday
Show up early on Saturday as Portland’s four seniors will be recognized 10 minutes prior to tip-off as part of Senior Night. The quartet of Jasonn Hannibal, Kramer Knutson, Jared Stohl and Luke Sikma have put together one of the best four-year runs in school history and have achieved unprecedented success as Pilot hoopsters. The program will recognize each player and the families of all four will be on hand for the special occasion.
Canzano On-Site for BFT on Thursday
John Canzano will be hosting his Bald-Faced Truth radio show at the Chiles Center on Thursday from 3-6 p.m. The show airs Monday-Friday on 95.5 The Game on the FM dial. Check in early or tune in to catch Canzano talk about the Pilots and get on a few special guests. Canzano on Coach Reveno and the Pilots.
Game Coverage
Thursday’s game will be nationally televised on ESPNU with Todd Harris and Miles Simon calling the action. Saturday’s 5:30 p.m. game against Santa Clara will be aired on CSN Northwest and CSN Bay Area with Scott Lynn and Dwight Jaynes on the call. All Portland games will be aired live on the radio on 800 AM (KPDQ) with Bill Johnson providing the play-by-play, including a 30-minute pregame show.
Portland Briefly…
• The Pilots earned a road split last week by following Thursday’s 66-64 loss at Pepperdine with a 71-48 victory at Loyola Marymount.
• Senior F Luke Sikma scored 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds against LMU.
• Sikma became the school’s top all-time rebounder on Thursday, passing Rick Raivio (1976-80, 910) and he now has 928 career rebounds.
• Sikma is also just three points shy of joining the 1,000-point club.
• Senior C Kramer Knutson is the Portland career leader in games started (115).
• The Pilots are fifth nationally in team 3-point percentage (.419).
• Junior G Nemanja Mitrovic is No. 2 in the nation in three-point percentage (.485) and senior G Jared Stohl is No. 17 (.435).
• Mitrovic (79) and Stohl (74) have combined to make 153 three-pointers which is tied for the highest total of any teammate duo in the nation with BYU’s Jimmer Fredette and Jackson Emery (153).
• UP is No. 21 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25.
• Portland’s 58 wins over the last three years are the most of any three-year stretch since the Pilots joined Division I for the 1958-59 season.
• Portland is coming off of back-to-back postseason appearances and tied a school record with 21 wins last year. Head coach Eric Reveno welcomes eight newcomers to the roster, including seven true freshmen.
About San Francisco (13-12, 7-3 WCC)
• The Dons are tied for second place in the WCC standings after splitting a home stand last weekend. USF beat San Diego (61-47) and lost to No. 23 Saint Mary’s (86-68).
• The Dons post an RPI of 127, fourth best in the conference.
• USF is one of the youngest teams in Division I basketball this season with just seven years of returning Division I experience.
• Michael Williams (15.1 ppg), Rashad Green (11.6) and Perris Blackwell (10.4 ppg) lead the Dons.
• USF knocked off the Pilots by an 81-74 margin on Jan. 20 in San Francisco, snapping a four-game losing streak to Portland.
About Santa Clara (16-11, 6-4 WCC)
• The Broncos are alone in fourth place entering Thursday’s game at Gonzaga.
• SCU overcame a 20-point second half deficit to defeat San Diego 60-56 at home on Saturday after a 65-59 loss to No. 23 Saint Mary’s on Thursday.
• SCU is led by sophomore Kevin Foster who leads the WCC in scoring (19.3 ppg).
• Junior F Marc Trasolini adds 11.8 ppg and freshman PG Evan Roquemore 10.8 ppg.
• Head coach Kerry Keating is in his fourth year at SCU with a career record of 59-65.
• Santa Clara was picked fourth in the WCC Preseason Coaches Poll.
• The Broncos dealt the Pilots a 72-59 defeat on Jan. 22 in Santa Clara.
• Portland has won four of the last six meetings with the Broncos.
Sikma Three Points Shy of 1,000
Senior F Luke Sikma is sitting on 997 career points entering Thursday’s game with San Francisco. He is set to become the 34th player in school history to join the 1,000-point club, following fellow senior Jared Stohl who eclipsed the mark earlier this season.
Sikma Breaks UP Career Rebounding Record
Luke Sikma corralled seven second half rebounds against Pepperdine on Feb. 10 to pass Rick Raivio (910, 1976-80) as the Portland all-time leader in career rebounds. Sikma now has 928 for his career. He also ranks in the school’s top 10 in blocked shots (2nd, 87) and field goal percentage (6th, .542). The Bellevue, Wash. native is also in the Top 20 in career assists (t-17th, 236) and steals (t-13th, 111).
Mitrovic No. 2 Nationally in 3-Point Percentage
Junior G Nemanja Mitrovic is currently No. 2 in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage according to NCAA statistics (minimum of 2.5 made per game). Mitrovic is shooting .485 from beyond the arc and is trailing only Weber State’s Scott Bamforth (.542). He is looking to follow teammate Jared Stohl as the national leader as Stohl led the country last year by finishing at .478. Stohl is currently 17th this season at .435 and could become the first player in NCAA history to lead the nation in consecutive seasons.
Pilots No. 5 Nationally in Three-Point Percentage
Portland is fifth in the nation in team three-point percentage (.419). Northern Arizona is the current national leader at .439. Last year Portland finished fifth nationally as a team in three-point percentage (.407), while the Pilots finished second nationally in 2008-09 (.418).
Knutson Sets Career Starts Record
Senior C Kramer Knutson has started a school record 115 career games for the Pilots. He broke the previous record of 112 (Dionn Holton, 1995-98) on Feb. 5 at Seattle. A four-year starter for Portland, the Mesa, Ariz. native also ranks fourth in Pilot history in career field goal percentage (.552) and fifth in blocked shots (74).
Stohl/Mitrovic Top Three-Point Combo in the Nation
Jared Stohl and Nemanja Mitrovic have combined to make the most three-pointers (153) of any duo in the nation along with BYU’s Jimmer Fredette and Jackson Emery (153). Mitrovic is tied for eighth individually in three-pointers made (79), while Stohl (74) is tied for 14th. Already the Portland leader in career three-pointers made (319), Stohl moved into second place in the WCC record books after drilling five treys against Utah on Dec. 31. He is now chasing the WCC record of 363 held by Jeff Fryer of LMU (1987-90).
Stohl Makes 20 Consecutive Free Throws... Twice
Jared Stohl had a string of 24 consecutive free throws broken on Saturday at LMU. It is the second streak this season of 20 or more free throws made as he opened the season by making 22 straight. Stohl is No. 2 in UP history in career free throw percentage (.868).
Freshmen Coming On
Freshman PG Tim Douglas has moved into the starting lineup over the last six games and is averaging 9.6 points and 3.4 assists in WCC games. Other Pilot freshmen are also making impacts of late. On Thursday at Pepperdine, Ryan Nicholas played a season-high 20 minutes and finished with five points and three rebounds. Guard Tanner Riley added 11 points in only seven minutes of playing time against the Waves, including three three-pointers. Center Riley Barker added seven pointsand three rebounds on Saturday at LMU, while Korey Thieleke recorded his first career field goal in the closing seconds against the Lions.
Chiles Center Dominance
The Chiles Center has become quite comfortable for the Pilots over the last three seasons as Portland has rattled off a 37-5 home record and 19 consecutive wins prior to the loss to Gonzaga on Feb. 3. Signature home wins have come against Washington, Oregon, Nevada and Saint Mary’s three times. Portland is 12-1 at the Chiles Center this year and has had at least 10-point leads in all 13 games.
Sikma 11th Nationally in Rebounds
Senior F Luke Sikma is leading the WCC and ranks No. 11 nationally in rebounding average (10.7). Sikma has corralled double-digit rebounds in 15 games and has 12 double-doubles this season to lead the WCC. He matched his career-high with 19 rebounds versus Florida Atlantic on Nov. 14 and grabbed 18 at Idaho on Nov. 20.
