Pilot Visit Rupp Arena to Face No. 19 Kentucky Saturday Morning
Live Video I Live Audio I Live Stats I Kentucky Basketball I Portland Game Notes (PDF)
Portland Pilots (3-5) at #19 Kentucky Wildcats (5-3)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012
Tip-off: 9:00 a.m. (PST)
Location: Lexington, Ky.
Arena: Rupp Arena (23,000)
TV: ESPN2, WatchESPN.com
Radio: 800 AM
Overall Series: 0-3
At UP: 0-1
At UK: 0-2
At Neutral: 0-0
Last: UK 87, POR 63 (at Kentucky - Nov. 26, 2011)
GAME COVERAGE
• Saturday’s game will be televised live on ESPN2 and WatchESPN with Dave Flemming and Sean Farnham on the call.
• All Portland basketball games will be broadcast live on True Talk 800 AM. Coverage begins Saturday at 8:30 a.m. with a 30-minute pregame show. The audio simulcast and live game statistics will also be available on PortlandPilots.com.
COMING UP
• The Pilots will return to the Chiles Center for a three-game homestand.
• Portland hosts Portland Bible College in the second game of a doubleheader with the UP women on Friday, Dec. 14 at 7:30 p.m. The Pilot women host Fresno State at 5:15 p.m.
• Portland then hosts Cal State Bakersfield on Dec. 17 and North Florida on Dec. 19 with both games tipping off at 7 p.m.
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Portland (3-5) led for a majority of the game, before dropping a 68-60 decision to No. 18 UNLV on Tuesday at the Chiles Center.
• Junior F Ryan Nicholas scored 15 points and recorded career-highs of 19 rebounds and six assists in the loss.
• Junior G Korey Thieleke also added a career-best 12 points, while sophomore C Thomas van der Mars added 12 points and nine rebounds.
• Portland led by nine early in the second half, but UNLV took the lead for good at the under 12-minute timeout.
• The Runnin’ Rebels made 18-of-29 free throws compared to 5-of-9 for Portland.
• The defeat was the first at the Chiles Center this season (3-1) and the Pilots are 44-16 at home the last five seasons.
• Nicholas, who averaged team highs of 11.5 points and 7.6 rebounds last season, is again leading the Pilots in scoring (13.6) and is second in the WCC in rebounding (10.1).
• Sophomore G Kevin Bailey is the only other Pilot averaging double figures (10.0).
• Thieleke has started the last five games and provided a big energy boost while establishing career highs in every statistical category.
• Freshman G Bryce Pressley missed the UNLV game (concussion) and will not be available on Saturday.
• Head coach Eric Reveno returns for his seventh year on The Bluff. Assistant coaches Eric Jackson and Mike Wolf also return for their seventh year, while Colin Pfaff returns for his first year as an assistant coach after two years as Director of Basketball Operations. Marshall Cho (Director of Basketball Operations) and Kevin Bruinsma (Director of Basketball Technology) are new to the staff this year.
• Portland is coming off a 7-24 season after winning 60 games from 2008-2011, a stretch that included back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time in school history.
• Portland returns three starters and 10 lettermen from last year’s team that finished eighth in the WCC with a 3-13 league record.
• PG Derrick Rodgers is the team’s lone senior.
• The Pilots were picked to finish eighth in the nine-team West Coast Conference in the pre-season coaches poll.
• The Pilots were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) for three consecutive seasons from 2008-2011.
• All 11 UP graduates in the last three years and have gone on to play pro ball.
• Portland announced the signing of PG Alec Wintering (Concord, N.C./United Faith Christian Academy) to a NLI on November 14.
ABOUT NO. 19 KENTUCKY
• Kentucky is the defending NCAA Champion and the all-time NCAA wins leader (2,095).
• The Wildcats (5-3) are ranked No. 19 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and are receiving votes in the Associated Press Top 25.
• Kentucky is coming off of an 88-56 win over Samford behind 18 points from freshman Archie Goodwin and 12 points and 12 rebounds from freshman Willey Cauley-Stein.
• Kentucky has a notable win over Maryland (72-69), while the team’s three losses have come to Duke (75-68), at Notre Dame (64-50) and versus Baylor (64-55).
• Goodwin (16.6) and fellow freshman Alex Poythress (15.5) are leading four players averaging double figures.
• Former Portland and Jesuit HS native Kyle Wiltjer is averaging 10.3 points.
• Head coach John Calipari is in his fifth year with Kentucky and has a 107-17 record at the school.
NICHOLAS ERUPTS
• Junior F Ryan Nicholas had a career night on Tuesday against No. 18 UNLV.
• The Spokane, Wash. native had 15 points, 19 rebounds and six assists.
• The 19 rebounds are tied for the second most since Rick Raivio grabbed 20 on Jan. 18, 1979 at Air Force.
• It marked his second double-double of the season (16 pts, 11 rebs at Ohio).
• Nicknamed ‘Rhino’, he is averaging team-highs of 13.6 points and 10.1 rebounds, which is second in the WCC.
• After sitting behind All-WCC forward Luke Sikma and four-year starting center Kramer Knutson as a freshman, Nicholas had a breakout sophomore year (11.5 ppg, 7.6 rpg).
• He finished the year strong with a 19-point, 14-rebound effort in the regular season finale at BYU, followed by a 24-point, 11-rebound performance in the WCC Tournament opening round win over Santa Clara.
CARR RUNNING THE SHOW
• Sophomore PG David Carr has started all eight games and has 21 assists and just six turnovers.
• Carr, who was recruited as a shooter, has found his three-point stroke of late by making 5-of-8 over the last two games.
• He also has scored season highs of eight and nine points in consecutive games.
• Carr moved into a starting role for the final four games of the 2011-12 season and earned as a freshman.
THIELEKE TAKES OVER
• Junior G Korey Thieleke has started the last five games for the Pilots and established career highs in all statistical categories.
• He had totals of 64 minutes and 12 points in his first two full seasons on The Bluff, but has taken advantage of his opportunity this season.
• The Bakersfield, Calif. native made the most of his first start of the season against Portland State on Nov. 21 by finishing with nine points, four assists, three rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals in 23 minutes of action.
• He followed up with 11 points, six rebounds, three assists, four blocked shots and four steals in 37 minutes against New Mexico.
• Thieleke scored a career-high 12 points versus UNLV on Tuesday
• He is leading the team will 12 steals and nine blocked shots.
HOME VERSUS ROAD
• Portland is 3-1 at home this season, but 0-4 on the road.
• At the Chiles Center the Pilots are scoring 67.5 points and allowing 62.2, while on the road UP is averaging 57.5 and surrendering 76.3 points.
• The Pilots have a +7.3 rebounding margin at home and -8.3 on the road.
PILOTS FIND THE RANGE
• Portland went 11-for-25 from three-point range against Washington State on Dec. 1, marking the most makes and attempts this season from beyond the arc.
• The Pilots had previously made no more than five three-pointers in a game and were shooting just 27 percent as a team entering that contest.
• Ryan Nicholas, who was 1-for-10 prior to the game, finished 5-of-9 to lead the way.
• Portland was previously the top 3-point shooting team in the country from 2007-09.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
• Portland once again has one of the youngest rosters in the nation.
• The Pilots have just one senior and three juniors.
• Freshmen Oskars Reinfelds, Bryce Pressley and Jake Ehlers have all seen action this season, while freshman PG David Ahern is expected to redshirt.
FRESHMAN IMPACT
• Oskars Reinfelds, a teammate of fellow Pilot Thomas van der Mars at the Canarias Basketball Academy, has drilled his last four three-pointers and is averaging 6.0 ppg and 2.0 rebounds in the last three games.
• Jake Ehlers, the two-time Oregon 5A State Player of the Year, scored his first career points, finishing with six in 11 productive minutes on Nov. 27 against Lewis & Clark.
• Bryce Pressley, the son of former NBA player and Villanova NCAA Champion Harold Pressley, will miss his second straight game (concussion), but was in the rotation prior to his injury.
• David Ahern (Novato, Calif./Marin Catholic HS) is expected to redshirt this season.
RILEY PERFECT AGAINST PORTLAND STATE
• Junior G Tanner Riley erupted for a career-high 23 points and did not miss a shot in Portland’s win over Portland State on Nov. 21.
• The North Bend, Wash. native started the first three regular season games, but struggled to find his shot and scored just 13 points in those three games combined.
• He came off the bench against PSU and got a fortunate bounce when he banked in his first three-point attempt, but the rest of his shots were pure as he finished 8-for-8 from the field, 4-for-4 from three-point range, and 3-for-3 from the free throw line.
• Riley’s previous career-best was 16 points, although he did score 27 in an exhibition win this year over Concordia-Irvine.
SOPHOMORE SURGE?
• UP’s sophomore class proved to be the most productive freshman class in Coach Reveno’s six years on The Bluff.
• The group accounted for at least 40 percent of nearly all key statistical categories this season for the Pilots.
• By the end of last season David Carr, Kevin Bailey and Thomas van der Mars were starting.
• Among the nine WCC programs, the Pilots led the league in freshman rebounding and were second to only San Diego in minutes played and scoring.
TOUGH SCHEDULE...AGAIN
• For the second straight year, the Pilots will play one of the most challenging schedules in the nation.
• Ken Pomeroy listed Portland’s non-conference strength of schedule No. 8 nationally last year.
• The 2012-13 schedule features 15 regular season games against teams that reached postseason play last year, including 10 contests against NCAA Tournament squads.
• Road games include at Kentucky (NCAA Champions), Ohio (Sweet 16) and New Mexico (Third Round).
• Portland also hosted No. 18 UNLV (NCAA First Round) on Dec. 4 and will play No. 10 Gonzaga (Third Round), BYU (Second Round) and Saint Mary’s (Second Round) twice each during league play.
• ESPN gave Portland a rank of 10-out-of-10 on non-conference schedule strength, highest in the WCC.
CHILES CENTER RENOVATIONS
• The men’s basketball team benefited from some facility upgrades to the Chiles Center over the summer
• The locker room was renovated as part of a $2.5 million investment.
• A new state-of-the-art ‘Pilot Teaching Board’ was installed in the locker room, as well as modern lockers and a more spacious wet area.
• The men’s basketball coaching staff moved into new offices as part of the build-out, while the Chiles Center training and weight rooms were also upgraded.
WCC PRESEASON POLL
• The Pilots were picked to finish eighth in the WCC Preseason Coaches Poll.
• Gonzaga was the pick to win the league, while BYU and Saint Mary’s were second and third and received one first place vote apiece.
• No Pilots were named to the preseason all-conference team.
HOME SWEET HOME
• Portland has rattled off a 44-16 home record since the start of the 2008-09 season.
• The Pilots had a 19-game home winning streak snapped by Gonzaga in 2011.
• 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.
PILOTS SIGN POINT GUARD ALEC WINTERING
• Portland signed point guard Alec Wintering (Concord, N.C./United Faith Christian Academy) to a National Letter of Intent on Nov. 14.
• Wintering is beginning his senior season at United Faith and is coached by former NBA point guard, Muggsy Bogues.
• Bogues isn’t the only notable point guard with ties to Wintering. Former Pilot great T.J. Campbell attended Sunnyslope HS in Arizona, where Wintering began his prep career.
• Wintering opened the 2012-13 season with 34 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals in an 82-72 victory over Durham Mount Zion on Nov. 13.
• He is rated the No. 3 point guard in the state of North Carolina, according to BasketballElite.com and played AAU basketball for the Upward Stars and the Charlotte Royals.
