Men’s Hoops Opens Road Trip at San Diego

Complete Release (PDF) I Game Central

Portland Pilots (6-19, 3-9) at San Diego Toreros (10-15, 5-8)
Date: Thursday, Feb. 16, 2012
Tip-off: 5:30 p.m.
Location: San Diego, Calif.
Arena: Jenny Craig Pavilion (5,100)
Television: CSN-NW
Radio: 800 AM
Overall Series: 29-53
At UP: 21-20
At USD: 7-30
At Neutral: 1-3
Last: USD 82, POR 63 (January 19, 2012 at Portland)

COMING UP
• Portland (6-19, 3-9 WCC) heads to Southern California this weekend for a pair of crucial road games that will go far in determining seeding for the Zappos.com West Coast Conference Basketball Championships.
• The Pilots will be at San Diego on Thursday for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off. The Toreros (10-15, 5-8) are currently sixth in the WCC standings, one spot ahead of Portland. The game will be televised live on Comcast SportsNet Northwest with Steve Quis and Jim Brogan calling the action.
• Portland will then make the short trip up to Malibu, Calif. to play the Pepperdine Waves (8-17, 2-12) on Saturday at 7 p.m. Pepperdine trails the Pilots and are currently eighth in the league standings. Saturday’s game will be televised live on FSN Prime Ticket and tape-delayed on CSN Northwest at 10:30 p.m. Paul Sunderland and Mitch Butler will call the action.
• All Portland basketball games will be broadcast live on True Talk 800 AM, with a 30-minute pregame show. Bill Johnson will provide the play-by-play and an audio simulcast will also be available on www.PilotsVideo.com.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• The Pilots dropped their only game last week, a 76-62 decision at home to LMU. Sophomores Ryan Nicholas and Tanner Riley scored 13 points each to lead the Pilots.
• Nicholas leads the Pilots in scoring (11.3) and rebounding (7.5), while collecting four double-doubles this season.
• Portland underclassmen are accounting for 77 percent of the minutes played and 79 percent of the team’s scoring thus far.
• UP’s five freshmen have been the most productive freshman class in Coach Reveno’s six years on The Bluff.  The group has accounted for at least 40 percent of nearly all key statistical categories this season.
• In five of the Pilots six 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. 32 nationally, the fourth 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 is doubtful for Thursday.
• 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 76, Portland 62 (Portland, Ore.): Sophomores Ryan Nicholas and Tanner Riley each scored 13 points for Portland, but the Loyola Marymount Lions shot 58 percent from the field in the second half en route to a 76-62 win on Thursday before 2, 067 fans at the Chiles Center. Freshman Kevin Bailey and sophomore Tim Douglas added 11 points apiece for the Pilots (6-19, 3-9 WCC). The Lions (16-9, 9-3) moved into sole possession of third place in the West Coast Conference standings with the win. LMU had five players score in double figures, led by senior Drew Viney with 16 points. The Lions, who scored 60 second half points in a comeback win on Saturday against San Francisco, lit it up again in the second half on Thursday by finishing the period 6-of-9 on three-pointers and outscoring the Pilots, 47-37. In the previous meeting between the two teams, the Lions escaped with a 62-59 win in Los Angeles. Rebounding was the difference then as LMU held a 34-26 margin on the boards and 15-6 edge in second chance points. The theme continued on Thursday as the Lions outrebounded the Pilots 33-23 and held a 14-2 margin in second chance points. The Pilots shot 43 percent from the field for the game, made 7-of-22 three-pointers and 9-of-11 free throws. LMU finished the game at 51 percent from the floor, made 10-of-19 threes and 16-of-24 free throws. The Lions jumped out to an early 21-7 lead after drilling four early three-pointers, but the Pilots were able to bring the deficit back to single digits. Portland junior Derrick Rodgers hit a half court buzzer beater to bring the Pilots within four at 29-25 at intermission. Back-to-back three-pointers by LMU’s C.J. Blackwell gave the Lions at 47-36 lead with 14:00 remaining, but the Pilots would cut the margin to five at 60-55 on a three by Riley with 6:08 left. That would be as close as Portland would get as LMU extended the lead with free throws in the closing minutes.
 
ABOUT SAN DIEGO
• The Toreros (10-15, 5-8 WCC) split a pair of games last weekend, knocking off Pepperdine on the road (70-57) before dropping an 81-70 decision to San Francisco at home.
• USD currently sits in sixth-place in the WCC standings, one spot ahead of the Pilots.
• Portland’s five-game winning streak over USD was halted by an 82-63 win at the Chiles Center on Jan. 19. The Toreros made 14-of-19 three-pointers in the game, tying a Chiles Center and school record for threes made.
• Freshman G Johnny Dee leads USD and is seventh in the WCC in scoring on the year (14.1 ppg). He is the top scoring freshman in the league.
• Freshman G Chris Anderson is fourth in the league in assists (4.6) and is averaging 10.9 points in WCC games.
• USD’s roster consists of one senior, three juniors, one sophomore and nine freshmen.
• The Toreros were picked to finish ninth in the WCC Preseason Poll after going 6-24 and 2-12 in the WCC a season ago.
• Head coach Bill Grier is in his fifth year at the helm of the Toreros. In his first year, Grier led USD to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after winning the WCC Tournament. He posts a 65-90 career record.
 
LINEUP NOTES
• Senior PG Eric Waterford (knee) is doubtful for Thursday.
• Sophomore C Riley Barker has missed the last 18 games (knee) and is out Thursday.
• Head coach Eric Reveno has used eight different starting lineups this year.
• Sophomore Ryan Nicholas is the only Pilot to start all 25 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 five of the Pilots six wins, opponents have shot under 40 percent from the field. Opponents are shooting a combined 37.4 percent. In UP’s 19 losses, opponents have shot 49.4 percent from the floor.
• Portland is allowing 64.2 points in wins and 80.1 points in losses.
 
BAILEY BREAKING THROUGH
• Freshman G Kevin Bailey is averaging 11.0 points in WCC games and has scored a season-high 22 points twice.
• Bailey has reached double figures in six of the last ten games, while leading the Pilots in scoring a team-high eight times this year.
• The Clovis, Calif. ranks 21st in scoring 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 40 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.
• Thomas van der Mars is leading all WCC Freshman in rebounds per game (5.3) and second in FG percentage (.558, fourth among all players) and blocked shots (19).
• In WCC games, van der Mars is also the top rebounding freshman (5.9).

YOUTH MOVEMENT
• Portland’s highly-touted four true freshmen have each appeared in all 25 games and are all averaging more than 15 minutes per game.
• Thomas van der Mars (Gouda, Netherlands) has started the last 20 games.
• Kevin Bailey (Clovis, Calif./East Clovis HS) has started the last 17 games.
• Dorian Cason (Fontana, Calif./Summit HS) is the team’s third leading rebounder (4.2).
• David Carr (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic HS) started the first four games at guard and is averaging 15.7 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 11.3 points (15th 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 six 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. 32 nationally entering Wednesday, fourth 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 190-106 (.639).
 
HOME SWEET HOME
• Portland has rattled off a 41-14 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 (.304, 119-391).
 
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.