Live Video I Complete Release (PDF)
Game Information
The University of Portland men’s basketball team will make its second consecutive postseason appearance as the Pilots have been named to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) for the second year in a row. Portland faces Northern Colorado University in a first round matchup at the Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion in Greeley, Colo. on Wednesday, March 17 at 6:05 p.m. (Pacific). The game will be aired live on 970 AM (KCMD), while a video broadcast of all CIT games will be available at foxcollegesports.com for $8 per event.
Tournament Information
This is the second 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.
CIT First Round Matchups
First Round
March 16
South Dakota (22-9) @ Creighton (16-15)
Fairfield (22-10) @ George Mason (17-14)
Western Carolina (22-11) @ Marshall (23-9)
March 17
Pacific (20-11) @ Loyola Marymount (18-14)
Middle Tennessee State (19-13) @ Missouri State (20-12)
Harvard (21-7) @ Appalachian State (22-10)
Portland (21-10) @ Northern Colorado (24-7)
March 18
Southern Mississippi (20-13) @ Louisiana Tech (23-10)
Quarterfinals - March 22
Semifinals - March 24
Championship Game - March 30 (Fox College Sports)
Pilots Briefly
* The Pilots are making their fourth postseason appearance overall and second straight since moving to Division I prior to the 1958-59 season
* It is the second straight CIT appearance, UP also went to the NCAA Tournament in 1959 and 1996
* Portland defeated San Diego in the WCC Tournament quarterifinals (72-57) before falling to eventual tourney champion Saint Mary’s in the semifinals (69-55)
* Portland has matched the most wins in school history (21) at the D-I level (1994-95, 21-8)
* The Pilots matched the best WCC record in school history (10-4) and are the second UP team to record 20 wins at the D-I level
* Robin Smeulders recorded his 1,000th career point on March 2 vs. Lewis & Clark
* UP finished third in the WCC standings for the second straight season (first time in school history) and the 19 WCC wins in a two-year period is a program record
* Jared Stohl leads the nation in three-point percentage (.477) and is the school’s career leader in three-pointers made (242, ninth in WCC history)
* Smeulders and Campbell earned All-WCC First Team honors; Stohl/Sikma honorable mention
* Leading scorer Nik Raivio has missed the last 14 games with an Achilles strain (Pilots are 11-3 in his absence) and will not be available on Wednesday
* Portland had three players on the WCC All-Academic Team (Smeulders, Niedermeyer, Knutson)
* Pilots are 13-2 at home this year and 25-4 at the Chiles Center over the last two seasons
* Campbell is the first Pilot in history to earn three WCC player of the week honors in one year
* Stohl went 10-for-15 from the three-point line vs. Idaho on Dec. 22 with 30 points, becoming the first college player in a decade to score 30 without making a free throw or two-point field goal
* UP cracked the AP Top 25 for the first time in 50 years on Nov. 30 (#25)
* Portland appeared in the inaugural CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) last year, the program’s first postseason appearance since 1996
* 2009 WCC Coach of the Year Eric Reveno and his staff remain together and enter their fourth year at the helm of the Pilots (assistants Joel Sobotka, Eric Jackson and Michael Wolf)
* Four high school seniors singed NLI’s with Portland on Nov. 11, 2009: Riley Barker, John Bailey, Ryan Nicholas and Tanner Riley
UP-Northern Colorado History
Wednesday’s CIT matchup with Portland and Northern Colorado will be the fourth meeting between the two schools. The Pilots currently own a 2-1 margin in the series, although the Bears are 1-0 at the Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion. UNC defeated the Pilots 76-73 last year in Greeley. Portland won 70-63 at the Chiles Center in 2007-08 and also own an 86-81 win during the 1974-75 season.
Second CIT for the Pilots
Portland and Pacific are the only two teams in the current CIT field that competed in last year’s tournament. Pacific eliminated the Pilots with an 82-76 victory in Stockton, Calif. in 2009.
Campbell, Smeulders Named NABC District 9 Second Team
Seniors T.J. Campbell and Robin Smeulders were named to the NABC All-District 9 Second Team. District 9 consists of teams from the West Coast Conference and Big West Conference.
Pilots Tie Program Record for Wins
Portland’s win over San Diego in the WCC semifinals tied a program record for single-season wins (21) at the Division I level. The 1994-95 Pilots finished 21-8 and was the only other 20-win season at the D-I level.
Stohl Leading the Country in 3-Point Percentage
Junior sharpshooter Jared Stohl is leading the nation in three-point percentage according to the latest NCAA statistics released on March 14. The Marysville, Wash. native is 95-199 (.477) on the season. Last year he finished third nationally at 45.6 percent.
