Men’s Hoops Hosts No. 23 Saint Mary’s on Thursday

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Portland Pilots (6-21, 3-11) vs. #23 Saint Mary’s Gaels (23-5, 12-2)
Date: Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012
Tip-off: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Portland, Ore.
Arena: Chiles Center (4,852)
Television: ESPNU
Radio: 800 AM
Overall Series: 29-53
At UP: 21-19
At SMC: 7-31
At Neutral: 1-3
Last: SMC 69, POR 61 (January 14, 2012 at Saint Mary’s)

COMING UP
• Portland (6-21, 3-11 WCC) will play its final home game of the season when the West Coast Conference-leading and No. 23-ranked Saint Mary’s Gaels (23-5, 12-2) visit the Chiles Center on Thursday at 7 p.m.
• The game will be televised nationally live on ESPNU with Mark Neely and Mark Adams calling the action.
• It will be Senior Night for guards Nemanja Mitrovic and Eric Waterford, who will be recognized about 10 minutes prior to tip-off with an on court presentation.
• 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.

TICKETS & PROMOTIONS
• Thursday is Nacho Night, with general admission tickets available for $5 and nachos for $4 by using the promotional code ‘Nacho’ at either the Pilot Box Office or online at www.ticketmaster.com.
• All fans in attendance will also get a chance to win a trip for two to Hawaii, courtesy of All About Hawaii Travel, as part of a halftime paper airplane contest.


ABOUT THE PILOTS
• The Pilots dropped a pair of road games at San Diego (78-75, OT) and Pepperdine (70-65) last week and are currently seventh in the WCC standings with two games remaining.
• Freshman G Kevin Bailey scored game-highs of 18 points in both losses, including a buzzer-beating three-pointer at USD to force overtime. 
• Sophomore F Ryan Nicholas leads the Pilots in scoring (11.1) and rebounding (7.4), while collecting four double-doubles this season.
• Portland underclassmen are accounting for 77 percent of the minutes played and 80 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 non-conference strength of schedule is No. 10 nationally, while the Pilots’ overall SOS entering Friday was No. 49 nationally, the ninth highest among non-BCS schools and tops in the WCC according to KenPom.com.
• Senior PG Eric Waterford is hoping to return from a knee injury suffered Jan. 19 versus San Diego. He is probably for Thursday’s game after missing the previous eight contests.
• The Pilots have 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
• Pepperdine 70, Portland 65 (Malibu, Calif.): For the second time in as many games the Portland Pilots put forth a spirited second half comeback before falling just short on the road. The Pilots dropped a 70-65 decision to the Pepperdine Waves on Saturday night at Firestone Fieldhouse as freshman guard Kevin Bailey scored a game-high 18 points. Sophomore guard Tanner Riley added a career-best 16 points and freshman forward Dorian Cason also set a career-high with 13 points off the Pilots bench. The Pilots trailed by 13 points in the second half before cutting the margin to one possession late. Two days earlier at San Diego, Portland forced overtime after falling behind by 17 points late in regulation. The results both games were the same though, as a late Pepperdine flurry was too much to overcome. The win on Senior Night for the host Waves (9-18, 3-12) was crucial in terms of seeding for the 2012 Zappos.com West Coast Conference Championships. A Pilots win would have secured a seventh place finish and avoided a placement in the 8-9 game scheduled for Wednesday. Now Portland will have to pick up at least one more victory to avoid Wednesday’s opening round game. The Pilots led 31-29 early in the second half on Saturday, but an 18-3 Pepperdine run gave the host Waves a 47-34 lead with 11:15 remaining. The teams would trade baskets until the Pilots were able to pull within three points at 58-55 on a runner by Tanner Riley with 3:16 remaining. On the ensuing Pepperdine possession, Riley got a steal but Portland could not convert on the offensive end and the Waves would score the next seven points to create separation. Bailey finished 8-for-13 from the field and has now led the Pilots in scoring a team-best 10 times. Cason was 4-of-5 from the field, including 2-for-2 from the three-point line. Senior forward Taylor Darby and freshman guard Jordan Baker led Pepperdine with 17 points apiece. Joshua Lowery and Corbin Moore added 14 and 10 points, respectively. The Waves gained a 41-32 rebounding advantage in the game. Pepperdine finished at 46 percent shooting from the field, while Portland was held to 40 percent.
 
ABOUT #23 SAINT MARY’S
• The Gaels (23-5, 12-2 WCC) are ranked No. 23 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and are alone atop the WCC standings, despite losing three of their last four games.
• Last week, SMC dropped a 75-60 home game to LMU on Wednesday and lost sophomore G Stephen Holt to a knee injury. Holt missed Saturday’s 65-51 loss at Murray State and will not be available on Thursday.
• Junior G Matthew Dellavedova leads the Gaels and is tied for second in the WCC in scoring (15.5 ppg) and is the league leader in assists per game (6.4 apg).
• Senior F Rob Jones adds 14.9 points per game and a league-leading 10.5 rebounds per game.
• SMC is tops in the WCC in scoring defense (62.2 ppg) and averages 75.0 ppg.
• The Gaels knocked off the Pilots in Moraga by a 69-61 margin on Jan. 14 as Holt led the way with 21 points. Thomas van der Mars and Ryan Nicholas combined for 34 points to lead the Pilots.
• The Gaels were picked second in the WCC Preseason Poll after returning four starters from last year’s surprise squad that finished 25-9 overall and shared the league title with Gonzaga. The Gaels missed an NCAA bid, but were invited to the NIT.
• Head coach Randy Bennett is in his 11th year at the helm and has guided SMC to three NCAA appearances, including a Sweet 16 run in 2010.
 
SENIOR NIGHT
• Three members of the Portland basketball team will be honored approximately 10 minutes prior to tip-off on Thursday: Senior G Nemanja Mitrovic, Senior PG Eric Waterford and Team Manager Derek Duman.
• This senior class has accumulated the fourth most wins (66) of any class since UP joined the Division I ranks for the 1958-59 season.
• Mitrovic was an All-WCC First Team selection last year and ranks on Portland’s all-time Top 10 list in three-pointers made (6th, 151) and three-point percentage (10th, .383).
• Waterford has battled injuries as a senior, but has appeared in 78 career games with 24 starts. He is expected to return to the lineup Thursday after missing the previous eight games with a knee injury.
• Derek Duman has been a team manager with the Pilots since his freshman season.

WCC TOURNAMENT SEEDING SCENARIOS
• Entering the season’s final weekend, only three seeds are known for the 2012 Zappos.com WCC Basketball Championships next week in Las Vegas: San Francisco will be the No. 5 seed, San Diego will be the No. 6 seed, and Santa Clara will be the No. 9 seed.  
• The top four seeds are still up for grabs, while Portland (3-11) is battling for the No. 7 seed with Pepperdine (3-12).
• The 8/9 seeds will play an opening round game on Wednesday at 6 p.m. and move on to face the No. 5 San Francisco on Thursday, while the No. 7 seed will play No. 6 San Diego on Thursday.
• Portland will clinch the No. 7 seed with a win over Saint Mary’s or BYU. If Portland loses both games, Pepperdine will receive the No. 7 seed and the Pilots will play Santa Clara on Wednesday in the 8/9 game.

LINEUP NOTES
• Eric Waterford (knee) is probably for Thursday after missing the last eight games.
• Sophomore C Riley Barker has missed the last 20 games (knee) and is out Thursday.
• Head coach Eric Reveno has used nine different starting lineups this year.
• Sophomore Ryan Nicholas is the only Pilot to start all 27 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 21 losses, opponents have shot 49.1 percent from the floor.
• Portland is allowing 64.2 points in wins and 79.5 points in losses.
 
BAILEY BREAKING THROUGH
• Freshman G Kevin Bailey is averaging 12.0 points in WCC games and has scored a season-high 22 points twice.
• Bailey scored all of his 18 points after halftime, including the game-tying three-pointer at the regulation buzzer to force overtime, Thursday at USD.
• He has reached double figures in seven of the last nine games and is averaging 15.0 ppg over the last six games.
• The Clovis, Calif. ranks 16th in scoring in WCC games and fourth 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 42 percent of the team’s minutes played, 41 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 (.555, fifth among all players) and blocked shots (23).
• 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 27 games and are all averaging more than 16 minutes per game.
• Thomas van der Mars (Gouda, Netherlands) has started the last 22 games.
• Kevin Bailey (Clovis, Calif./East Clovis HS) has started the last 19 games.
• Dorian Cason (Fontana, Calif./Summit HS) is the team’s third leading rebounder (4.4).
• David Carr (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic HS) has transitioned to point guard and has a 2.4 assist/turnover ratio in WCC games.
• 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.
 
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).
 
NOT AN EASY ROAD
• The Pilots have played one of the most challenging schedules in the nation.
• Ken Pomeroy listed Portland’s non-conference strength of schedule No. 10 nationally and the Pilots’ overall SOS No. 49 nationally entering Wednesday, ninth 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 204-112 (.646).
 
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 80 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.