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Game Information
The University of Portland men’s basketball team will make its first postseason appearance since 1996 as the Pilots have been named to the inaugural CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). Portland faces the University of the Pacific in a first round matchup at the Spanos Center in Stockton, Calif. on Wednesday, March 18 at 7 p.m.
Tournament Tidbits
This is the first year for the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. It is a single-elimination tournament with a field of 16 teams and consisting of four rounds, with all games being played at on-campus sites. In similar fashion to the old NIT structure, future matchups will be determined after each round is completed. Teams were selected based on merit as all participants were required to have at least a .500 regular season record against Division I opponents.
About The Pilots
The Pilots (19-12, 9-5) earned an invitation to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament after having the program’s best season in 13 years. Portland earned the No. 3 seed in the West Coast Conference Tournament and posted a quarterfinals win over Pepperdine (69-45) before falling to second-seeded Saint Mary’s (71-61) in the semifinals. Portland was paced in the semifinals loss by junior G Nik Raivio with 15 points. Junior PG T.J. Campbell was limited to just 14 minutes of action before fouling out, but still had 12 points.
Head coach Eric Reveno, in his third year at the helm, was voted the WCC Coach of the Year as Portland secured the program’s highest season win total since posting a 19-11 record and going to the 1996 NCAA Tournament. The Pilots are one shy of only their second 20-win season at the Division I level. With a 10-win improvement over the 2008 season, the Pilots are tied for sixth nationally among Division I programs for the biggest win improvement from last season.
Four Pilots earned All-WCC awards, tying for the most in school history. Campbell shared league Newcomer of the Year honors with Santa Clara freshman Kevin Foster. Cambell was joined on the 10-player All-WCC First Team by junior G Nik Raivio. Sophomore G Jared Stohl and junior F Robin Smeulders were honorable mention selections. Smeulders, Ethan Niedermeyer and Kramer Knutson earned WCC All-Academic Team honors.
Portland ranks second nationally as a team in three-point shooting (.418), while Stohl is fourth in the nation individually (.463, min. 2.5 per game). Stohl leads the WCC in three-pointers made (2.9), while Campbell paces the conference in three-point percentage (.545) and is second in assists (4.8). Raivio leads four Pilots averaging double figures and is fourth in the WCC in scoring at 15.7 points per game.
The Pilots also lead the league in three-pointers made (7.9) and assists (15.3). The team’s 70.1 points per game is third in the league and 7.3 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. The Pilots played 12 games this season against teams that advanced to postseason play in 2008.
About Pacific
The Tigers (19-12, 10-6 Big West) tied for second place in the Big West Conference and were seconds away from an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament before losing in overtime to Cal State Northridge in the Big West Conference tournament championship game, 71-66. Michael Kirby was an All-Big West Conference second team honoree, while DeLuc, Anthony Brown and Chad Troyer earned honorable mention all-conference status. DeLuc leads the Tigers in scoring (11.5) and is joined in double figures by Troyer (10.9). Seven Tigers average at least 6.0 points per game. The Tigers faced five WCC schools during the regular season, posting wins over San Francisco, Pepperdine and Santa Clara, with losses to Saint Mary’s and San Diego. Pacific leads the all-time series with the Pilots by a 19-8 margin, but this will be the first meeting in nearly 20 years. The Tigers last defeated Portland on Nov. 29, 1989 by an 80-66 margin. Head coach Bob Thomason is in his 21st year at the helm of the TIgers and posts a 362-262 career record at Pacific. Thomason has guided the Tigers to four NCAA Tournament appearances, including three consecutive from 2004-06.
