Complete Release (PDF)
Game Information
The University of Portland men’s basketball team takes a three-game winning streak to Pepperdine University in West Coast Conference action on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Firestone Fieldhouse. The Pilots (12-7, 3-1) knocked off Loyola Marymount by a 75-59 margin on Thursday night, while the Waves (4-16, 1-3) dropped an 83-69 decision to Gonzaga.
Game Coverage
The game will be broadcast live on 970 AM (KCMD) in the Portland-metro area with a free live simulcast at portlandpilots.com.
About The Pilots
Portland (12-7, 3-1) extended its winning streak to three games with a 75-59 win at Loyola Marymount on Thursday. Junior G Nik Raivio recorded his first career double-double with 15 points, 15 rebounds and six assists. The Pilots made 9-of-20 three-pointers, including eight in the second half, to pull away from a three-point halftime lead. The 3-1 start to league play is the first since the 1998 Pilots opened with a 4-1 record.
Raivio leads four Pilots averaging double figures and is fourth in the West Coast Conference in scoring at 15.8 points per game. Junior F Robin Smeulders is 13th in the conference in scoring (11.6). Sophomore G Jared Stohl is 14th overall in scoring (11.6) and also paces in the conference in three-pointers made per game (2.9). Sophomore C Kramer Knutson is shooting 64 percent from the field to lead the league.
Junior PG T.J. Campbell has been a strong addition to the roster and averages 10.5 points and 4.9 assists. A Glendale (Ariz.) Junior College transfer, Campbell is among the conference leaders in six statistical categories.
Portland leads the WCC in three-point percentage (.389) and three-pointers made (7.7) and is second in field goal percentage (.460), assists (15.1) and rebounding defense (30.0). The team’s 70.0 points per game average is third in the league and 6.9 points higher than last year’s average.
Head coach Eric Reveno returns 80 percent of the team’s scoring and 87 percent of its rebounding from last year’s squad. Picked to finish sixth in the WCC Preseason Coaches’ Poll, Reveno’s roster features eight underclassmen and no seniors.
One of the main focuses for the program throughout the offseason was improving in the weight room. The results are noticeable, as every player has either added good basketball weight or dropped pounds, if necessary. Reveno describes sophomore center Jasonn Hannibal as the “poster boy” for the strength and conditioning program. Hannibal dropped 30 pounds and reduced his body fat to below 10 percent.
The Pilots will be competing with perhaps the best returning core group of players in WCC basketball history. After a banner year in which the league sent a record three teams to the NCAA Tournament, 13 of 15 starters will be returning to those squads. Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s and San Diego are the favorites to compete for the WCC crown again this year as the league moves the WCC Tournament to a neutral site (Las Vegas, Nev.) for the first time in history. The Pilots play 11 games this season against teams that advanced to postseason play last year.
About Pepperdine
The Waves (4-16, 1-3) played No. 23 Gonzaga tough on Thursday before falling by an 83-69 margin at home. Freshman G Keion Bell had a good all-around game with 19 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. Pepperdine’s lone conference win came against LMU at Firestone Fieldhouse. Head coach Tom Asbury returned this season to Pepperdine, where he was a former assistant and head coach. Asbury has a very young roster which features three freshman starters. Bell and sophomore F Mychal Thompson pace the Waves in scoring at 11.4 points per game each. Pepperdine is allowing opponents an average of 76.1 points per game and are shooting just 39 percent from the field. The young Waves are also turning the ball over 17.5 times per game. Asbury was at Pepperdine for 15 seasons, the first nine as an assistant coach (1980-88) and then the next six as the head coach (1989-94). He then served as head coach at Kansas State from 1995-00 and was most recently an assistant at Alabama from 2004-07. The Waves went to the postseason five times in six years with three NCAA Tournament appearances (1991, ’92, ’94) and two berths in the NIT (1989, ’93) during Asbury’s first run with the program.
Portland-Pepperdine Series Notes
All-Time: Pepperdine leads 52-25
At PEP: PEP leads 24-10
At UP: PEP leads 23-14
At Neutral: PEP leads 5-1
Current Streak: PEP, 2 wins
Last Five: UP leads 3-2
Last Meeting: Pepperdine 50, Portland 48 (ot) (3/7/08, at San Diego)
