Pilots Visit Santa Clara Before Hosting BYU on Saturday

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Portland Pilots (5-17, 2-7) at Santa Clara Broncos (8-13, 0-8)
Date: Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012
Tip-off: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Santa Clara, Calif.
Arena: Leavey Center (4,500)
Television: ESPNU
Radio: 800 AM
Overall Series: 28-55
At UP: 20-20
At SCU: 7-31
At Neutral: 1-4
Last: POR 84, SCU 74 (January 5, 2012 at Portland)

Portland Pilots (5-17, 2-7) vs. Brigham Young Cougars (18-6, 6-3)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012
Tip-off: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Portland, Ore.
Arena: Chiles Center (4,852)
Television: BYUtv
Radio: 800 AM
Overall Series: 0-5
At UP: 0-2
At BYU: 0-3
Last: BYU 91, POR 76 (December 13, 2008 at BYU)


COMING UP
• Portland (5-17, 2-7 WCC) looks to snap a six-game losing streak with a visit to the Santa Clara Broncos (8-13, 0-8) on Thursday at the Leavey Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised live on ESPNU with Mark Neely and Mark Adams calling the action.
• The Pilots will return home for a Saturday meeting with the newest member of the West Coast Conference, the BYU Cougars. Tip-off for Saturday’s game is set for 7 p.m. and the action will be televised live on BYUtv.
• 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.
 
TICKETS
• Tickets are still available for Portland’s three remaining home games, including Saturday’s contest versus BYU.
• Fans can get tickets through all Ticketmaster outlets, online at ticketmaster.com, or through the Pilot Box Office (M-F, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.). Tickets may also be purchased at the door 90 minutes prior to tipoff each game. Call the Pilot Box Office at (503) 943-7525 with any questions.


ABOUT THE PILOTS
• The Pilots dropped their sixth straight game with a heartbreaking 62-59 defeat at Loyola Marymount on Saturday.
• Freshman G Kevin Bailey matched a season high with 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting, but LMU’s Jarred DuBois hit a three-pointer with 17 seconds left to break a tie and give the Lions the win.
• Portland lost a competitive 74-62 game to the Gonzaga Bulldogs at home last Thursday. Portland led by four at the half and was within three late in regulation before the veteran Bulldogs pulled away in the closing minutes.
• Sophomore F Ryan Nicholas leads the Pilots in scoring (11.0) and rebounding (7.5), while collecting four double-doubles this season.
• UP underclassmen are accounting for 77 percent of the minutes played and 79 percent of the team’s scoring thus far.
• In all five Pilot wins this year, the team has held opponents under 40 percent shooting from the field.
• 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 was No. 14 nationally, the second highest among non-BCS schools and tops in the WCC according to KenPom.com.
• Senior PG Eric Waterford made his first start of the season on Jan. 22 against San Francisco, but left the game with a knee injury after just three minutes. He had surgery last week and will be out this week.
• The Pilots have also been without sophomore C Riley Barker (knee) since Dec. 3 and he will not play on Thursday.
• 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.
 
LAST OUTING
• Loyola Marymount 62, Portland 59 (Los Angeles, Calif.): LMU guard Jarred DuBois hit a game winning three-pointer with 17 seconds remaining to lead the Lions over the Pilots on Saturday night at Gersten Pavilion. Portland freshman Kevin Bailey matched his season-high with 22 points in the loss. The Pilots had the ball with less than one minute remaining and the game tied at 59-59, but turned the ball over. The Lions (13-9, 6-3) took the shot clock down to the end before finding DuBois on the right wing for an uncontested three-pointer. After a timeout, Portland was unable to get a shot off as the Lions knocked the ball away at the top of the key as the final buzzer went off. The game was tied 31-31 at halftime and the home Lions quickly grabbed the lead early in the second half. LMU would lead by as much as seven when sophomore Anthony Ireland hit a runner for a 46-39 lead with 12:59 remaining. Portland would fight back and tie the game on four occasions in the closing minutes, but could not get over the hump. Bailey finished 9-of-12 from the field in his 34 minutes, matching his career-high set nine days ago against San Diego. Fellow freshman Thomas van der Mars added 10 points and five rebounds for the Pilots. DuBois made 3-of-5 three-pointers to finish with a team-high 18 points for the Lions, while sophomore guard Anthony Ireland was held to nine points, six below his average. The game featured a total of 14 ties and 12 lead changes. Portland only committed 10 turnovers in the game, but was outrebounded by a 34-26 margin, including 14 offensive rebounds by the Lions. LMU was able to gain a 15-6 edge in second chance points. The Lions also made 18-of-26 free throws, compared to 7-of-11 for the Pilots. Portland shot 49 percent from the field for the game and held LMU to 42 percent shooting.
 
ABOUT SANTA CLARA
• The Broncos (8-13, 0-8) remained winless in league action after dropping a 90-77 home game to San Francisco and 74-62 road contest at Pepperdine.
• Santa Clara has played the last three games without leading scorer Kevin Foster (17.8 ppg) and his status for Thursday is not known.
• The Broncos posted impressive non-conference wins over New Mexico (79-76, OT) and Villanova (65-64), but have dropped all eight league games by double digits.
• Sophomore Evan Roquemore averages 14.0 ppg and is 2nd in the WCC in assists (5.2).
• Sophomore F Niyi Harrison adds 10.7 ppg and a team-high 6.3 rebounds per game.
• Santa Clara won the 2011 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) and was picked to finish fifth in the WCC. SCU suffered a big blow when senior Marc Trasolini was lost for the season with a knee injury during a foreign tour in the summer.
• Kerry Keating is in his fifth season as the head coach and posts a 74-80 overall record.
 
LINEUP NOTES
• Senior PG Eric Waterford (knee) is out for Thursday.
• Sophomore C Riley Barker has missed the last 15 games (knee) and is also out for Thursday.
• Head coach Eric Reveno has used eight different starting lineups this year.
• Sophomore Ryan Nicholas is the only Pilot to start all 22 games this year, while 11 different Pilots have started at least one game.
• Three different freshmen have started at least four games.
 
GETTING DEFENSIVE?
• In home wins over Santa Clara and Pepperdine, both teams shot 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 17 losses, opponents have shot 50.1 percent from the floor.
• Portland is allowing 61.4 points in wins and 80.4 points in losses.
 
BAILEY BREAKING THROUGH
• Freshman G Kevin Bailey is averaging 11.1 points in WCC games and has scored a season-high 22 points in two of the last four games.
• Bailey has reached double figures in four of the last seven games, while leading the Pilots in scoring a team-high seven times this year.
• The Clovis, Calif. ranks 19th overall in scoring (11.1) in WCC games and fifth among freshmen.

FRESHMEN PHENOMS
• UP’s 2011-12 freshman class is accounting for the most production of any freshman class in Reveno’s tenure as head coach.
• This year’s five freshman are logging 41 percent of the team’s minutes played, 40 percent of the scoring and 39 percent of the rebounds.
* Among the nine WCC programs, the Pilots lead the league in freshman rebounding and are second to only San Diego in minutes played and scoring.
* Freshman C Thomas van der Mars is second among WCC Freshman in rebounds per game (5.2), FG percentage (.551) and blocked shots (17).
* In WCC games, van der Mars is the top rebounding freshman (5.8).

YOUTH MOVEMENT
• Portland’s highly-touted four true freshmen have each appeared in all 22 games and are all averaging more than 15 minutes per game.
• Thomas van der Mars (Gouda, Netherlands) has started the last 17 games and is averaging 9.6 points and 5.8 rebounds in WCC games. He also is fourth overall in the WCC in field goal percentage (.551).
• Kevin Bailey (Clovis, Calif./East Clovis HS) has started the last 14 games and has reached double figures eight times this season.
• Dorian Cason (Fontana, Calif./Summit HS) is the team’s third leading rebounder (4.4) and scored a season-high 10 points versus San Francisco.
• David Carr (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic HS) started the first four games at guard and is averaging 15.0 minutes per game.
• Redshirt freshman F John Bailey (Mesa, Ariz./Dobson HS) played a season-high 10 minutes against SCU on Jan. 5 and responded with seven points, five rebounds.
 
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 having a breakout year.
• Nicholas is averaging team-highs of 11.0 points (17th in the WCC) and 7.5 rebounds per game (fifth in the WCC).
• He recorded his first career double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds in the season-opener against FAU. He has since recorded three more double-doubles, including two of the last four games.
 
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. 14 nationally entering Wednesday, second highest among non-BCS schools and tops in the WCC.
• 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 159-90 (.639).
 
HOME SWEET HOME
• Portland has rattled off a 41-12 home record since the start of the 2008-09 season.
• The Pilots had a 19-game home winning streak 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.
 
YOUTH MOVEMENT
• Portland’s 2011-12 roster features only three upperclassmen in seniors Nemanja Mitrovic and Eric Waterford, along with junior Derrick Rodgers.
• 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 79 percent of the team’s scoring this 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 (.298, 102-342).
 
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.