Complete Release (PDF) I Game Central
Portland Pilots (5-11, 2-1) at San Francisco Dons (10-8, 0-4)
Date: Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012
Tip-off: 7:00 p.m.
Location: San Francisco, Calif.
Arena: War Memorial Gym (4,800)
Radio: 800 AM
Overall Series: 25-47
At UP: 17-17
At USF: 7-28
At Neutral: 1-2
Last: USF 82, POR 73 (Feb. 17, 2011 at Portland)
COMING UP
• Portland (5-11, 2-1 WCC) will look for its third straight win and continue West Coast Conference play by visiting the San Francisco Dons (10-8, 0-4) on Thursday at 7 p.m. at War Memorial Gymnasium.
• The Pilots will then make the short trip to Moraga, Calif. on Saturday to take on the Saint Mary’s Gaels (15-2, 4-0) on Saturday at 8 p.m.
• Saturday’s game will be televised live on Comcast Bay Area and tape-delayed at 9 p.m. on Comcast SportsNet Northwest. Glenn Kuiper and Stan Morrison will be calling the action.
• All Portland basketball games will be broadcast live on True Talk 800 AM, with a 30-minute pregame show. Bill Johnson will call the action courtside and an audio simulcast will also be available on www.PilotsVideo.com.
GAME TIME CHANGES
• Fans are encouraged to check portlandpilots.com for updated game times as many times have changed from the originally printed pocket schedule and on season tickets. The home game versus San Francisco on Saturday, Jan. 21 will now be a 1:30 p.m. tip-off.
LAST OUTING
•
Portland 53, Pepperdine 43 (Portland, Ore.): Freshman Kevin Bailey scored a season-high 15 points and sophomore Ryan Nicholas added 11 points and nine rebounds to lead the Pilots to the win. The Pilots played suffocating defense for the second game in row, holding the Waves to 31 percent shooting from the field and 0-for-14 from three-point range. On Thursday, Portland limited the Santa Clara Broncos to 38 percent shooting in an 84-74 win. Portland has struggled from three-point range all season, but found the touch on Saturday and finished 7-for-12 from beyond the arc. Portland shot 38 percent from the field and committed just 10 turnovers, compared to Pepperdine’s 14 giveaways. Back-to-back three-pointers by senior Nemanja Mitrovic and Bailey and a dunk by freshman Thomas van der Mars took Portland into the half with a 29-19 lead. The margin would grow to 42-25 on another Nicholas jumper with 11:20 remaining, but Pepperdine had one last surge. The Waves pulled within eight at 47-39 with 5:56 remaining as the Pilots went nearly six minutes without a point. Freshman David Carr buried a corner three-pointer with 2:40 left to put the lead back to double-digits as the Pilots would hold on for the win.
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• The Pilots snapped a seven-game losing streak with an 83-73 win last Thursday over Santa Clara, then started a winning streak with the 10-point win two days later over Pepperdine.
• Sophomore F Ryan Nicholas leads the Pilots in scoring (11.3) and rebounding (7.9).
• UP underclassmen are accounting for 77 percent of the minutes played and 78 percent of the team’s scoring thus far.
• Portland has outrebounded 10 of 16 opponents this year.
• Defensive intensity picked up in the last two wins as Portland held Santa Clara and Pepperdine both under 40 percent shooting from the field. The Pilots are 5-0 when holding teams under 40 percent shooting.
• The Pilots played one of the most difficult non-conference schedules in the nation, including nine of 13 games away from the Chiles Center. Portland’s strength of schedule entering Wednesday is No. 7 nationally, according to KenPom.com.
• Sophomore C Riley Barker (knee) has missed the last nine games due to injury and will not be available on Thursday.
• Portland is 0-8 on the road this year, with two of those losses coming against ranked opponents (#2 Kentucky, #23 Saint Louis).
• Head coach Eric Reveno and all three assistant coaches return for their sixth year together on The Bluff, the longest current stretch of any Division I coaching staff in the nation.
• Portland is coming off of back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time ever.
• The Pilots were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) for the third consecutive season in 2011.
• Portland returns two starters and nine lettermen from last year’s team that finished 20-12 overall and 7-7 in the WCC.
• All nine UP graduates in the last two years and have gone on to play pro ball.
• The Pilots were picked to finish seventh in the nine-team West Coast Conference, while senior G Nemanja Mitrovic was named to the preseason all-conference team.
ABOUT SAN FRANCISCO
• The Dons (10-8, 0-4 WCC) dropped an 87-72 decision at Saint Mary’s on Monday and have now lost five of their last six games. USF is also winless in WCC play, having dropped road games at Pepperdine and BYU and a home overtime contest to Loyola Marymount.
• USF rattled off a 10-4 non-conference record, including a narrow loss to currently ranked Murray State (70-67) at the Great Alaska Shootout.
• The Dons best win came at Montana by a 65-62 margin.
• USF is led by senior F Angelo Caloiaro (14.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg) and sophomore F Perris Blackwell (11.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg).
• Senior G Rashad Green (10.9 ppg) and junior G Michael Williams (10.6 ppg) were both named to the Preseason All-WCC Team.
• The Dons were picked fourth in the WCC Preseason Poll after returning all five starters from last year’s surprise squad that finished 19-15 overall and third in the WCC with a 10-4 league record.
• Former Kansas and NBA standout Rex Walters returns for his fourth year as head coach of the Dons.
GETTING DEFENSIVE
• Defensive intensity picked up in the last two wins as Portland held Santa Clara and Pepperdine both under 40 percent shooting from the field.
• In all five Pilot wins, opponents have shot under 40 percent from the field and averaged 36.3 percent. In UP’s 11 losses, opponents have shot 49.8 percent with no opponent converting less than 42 percent from the floor.
• Portland is allowing 61.4 points in wins and 82.1 points in losses.
BREAKOUT WEEK FOR VARIOUS PILOTS
• In addition to breaking a seven-game losing streak as a team against Santa Clara last Thursday, many Pilots recorded career-highs individually:
• POINTS: Sophomore F Ryan Nicholas (19), freshman G David Carr (11) and freshman F/C John Bailey (7); (freshman G Kevin Bailey (15) matched his high versus Pepperdine on Saturday.)
• ASSISTS: Sophomore PG Tim Douglas (8) and senior G Nemanja Mitrovic (5).
• REBOUNDS: John Bailey (5).
• TEAM HIGHS: Portland registered season highs in points (84), rebounds (44), assists (17), and free throws made (28).
LINEUP NOTES
• Sophomore C Riley Barker has missed the last nine games (knee) and will not be available on Thursday.
• Head coach Eric Reveno has used six different starting lineups this year.
• Sophomore Ryan Nicholas is the only Pilot to start all 16 games this year, while 10 different Pilots have started at least one game.
• Three different freshmen have started at least four games.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
• Portland’s highly-touted four true freshmen have each appeared in all 16 games and are all averaging more than 15 minutes per game.
• Thomas van der Mars (Gouda, Netherlands) has started the last 11 games and is averaging a freshman-best 8.0 points and 4.6 rebounds. He also is fourth in the WCC in field goal percentage (.537).
• Kevin Bailey (Clovis, Calif./East Clovis HS) has started the last eight games and has reached double figures five times this season. He played one of his best all-around games against Santa Clara, holding the league’s leading scorer, Kevin Foster, to 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting. Bailey then matched his season-high with 15 points vs. Pepperdine.
• Dorian Cason (Fontana, Calif./Summit HS) averages 17.1 minutes per game and is the team’s third leading rebounder (4.4).
• David Carr (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic HS) started the first four games at guard and is averaging 15.0 minutes per game. He recorded a career-high 11 points to go with three rebounds against Santa Clara.
• Redshirt freshman F John Bailey (Mesa, Ariz./Dobson HS) played a season-high 10 minutes against SCU and responded with highs of seven points, five rebounds and a blocked shot.
NICHOLAS’ TIME IS NOW
• After sitting behind All-WCC forward Luke Sikma and four-year starting center Kramer Knutson last season as a freshman, Ryan Nicholas is off to a fast start this year.
• Making his first 16 career starts, Nicholas is averaging team-highs of 11.3 points (15th in the WCC) and 7.9 rebounds per game (fourth in the WCC). He is also 12th in the league in FG percentage (.482).
• He recorded his first career double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds in the season-opener against FAU. He has since topped those career highs with 19 points versus Santa Clara and 13 rebounds at Gonzaga.
DOUGLAS GIVEN THE KEYS
• Sophomore PG Tim Douglas moved into the starting lineup during WCC play last season, but missed the team’s final three games due to injury (all losses). He was voted team co-captain by his peers entering this season.
• He was named the WCC Player of the Week twice as a freshman, joining Elias Harris (Gonzaga, 2010), Patrick Mills (Saint Mary’s, 2008), Darrell Tucker (San Francisco, 2000) and Greg Anthony (Portland, 1987) as the only freshmen in league history to do so.
• Douglas is leading the Pilots in assists (53) and second on the team in scoring (9.9).
NOT AN EASY ROAD
• The Pilots have played one of the most challenging schedules in the nation.
• Ken Pomeroy lists Portland’s strength of schedule No. 7 nationally entering Wednesday.
• UP faces eight teams that made the post-season last year, while nine of the team’s 13 non-league games were away from the Chiles Center.
• Road games included: at Washington, at #2 Kentucky, at #23 Saint Louis, at Nevada, at UC Santa Barbara, at Utah and at Boise State.
• Entering Wednesday, UP’s non-conference D-I opponents are a combined 116-64 (.644).
HOME SWEET HOME
• Portland has rattled off a 41-9 home record since the start of the 2008-09 season.
• The Pilots’ 19-game home win streak was snapped by Gonzaga last February.
• Signature home wins have come against Washington, Oregon, Nevada and Saint Mary’s three times.
• Portland finished the 2010-11 regular season with a 13-2 record at the Chiles Center for the second straight season.
MITROVIC MAKES ALL-TOURNEY TEAM
• Senior G Nemanja Mitrovic was named to the World Vision Classic All-Tournament Team after leading the Pilots to a 2-1 record and averaging 12.0 points per game.
• Mitrovic finished last season No. 6 in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage (.463) and 20th in three-pointers made per game (2.9).
• One of only two seniors on the roster, Mitrovic was voted a team captain this year along with sophomore PG, Tim Douglas.
• A native of Toronto, Mitrovic played just 43 minutes as a freshman and 312 minutes as a sophomore before averaging 13.5 ppg and earning All-WCC honors last year.
STAFF STABILITY
• Eric Reveno was named the 2009 WCC and District 9 Coach of the Year after leading UP to a 10-win improvement during the 2008-09 season.
• Now in his sixth year on The Bluff, Reveno credits the stability of his coaching staff as key to the program’s turnaround.
• All three assistants that joined Reveno when he was hired in April of 2006 have remained on the Portland bench ever since.
• No other current Division I coaching staff in the nation has retained the same four-member coaching staff longer than Reveno and his staff.
• Reveno is the third longest tenured WCC coach behind Gonzaga’s Mark Few (13) and Saint Mary’s Randy Bennett (11).
THREE-POINT THREATS
• Portland was the No. 1 three-point shooting team in the nation over the previous three seasons combined (.412, 752-1825).
• The Pilots led the nation in three-point percentage in 2009 (.418), were No. 5 in 2010 (.407), and No. 3 in 2011 (.412).
• Portland is struggling this season far from beyond the arc (.314, 82-261).
YOUTH MOVEMENT
• Portland’s 2011-12 roster features only three upperclassmen in seniors Nemanja Mitrovic and Eric Waterford, along with junior Derrick Rodgers.
• The six-player sophomore class played significant minutes as freshmen last year.
• Freshman G Kevin Bailey is the first top 100 recruit that the Pilots have landed, while freshman G David Carr is the first local Portland product to sign with the Pilots since Reveno took over the program.
• Underclassmen have accounted for 77 percent of the minutes played and 78 percent of the team’s scoring this year.
OREGON STATE PLAYER OF THE YEAR SIGNS WITH PILOTS
• Portland signed the reigning Oregon ‘5A’ State Player of the Year, Jake Ehlers, to a National Letter of Intent on Nov. 9.
• Ehlers (6-7, 200) led Corvallis High School to a 27-1 record and the Oregon ‘5A’ state championship as a junior last season while averaging 22 points per game.
