Men's Hoops Plays at No. 2 Michigan State in Coaches vs. Cancer Opener
Complete Release (PDF) I Michigan State Information I Live Audio I Live Stats
Portland Pilots (1-1) at No. 2 Michigan State Spartans (3-0)
Date: Monday, Nov. 18, 2013
Tip-off: 4:00 p.m. (PT)
Location: East Lansing, Mich.
Arena: Breslin Center
Television: Big Ten Network
Radio: 910 AM
Overall Series: 0-1
At UP: 0-1
At MSU: 0-0
At Neutral: 0-0
Last: MSU 74, POR 60 (1961-62 season at Portland)
GAME INFORMATION
• Portland travels to East Lansing, Mich. to take on the No. 2 Michigan State Spartans as part of regional round play in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.
• Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. (PT) at the Breslin Center.
TELEVISION/RADIO/INTERNET COVERAGE
• The game will be televised live on the Big Ten Network with Eric Collins and Jim Jackson calling the action.
• Sports 910 AM (KMTT) is the new home of Portland Basketball. All games will be aired live on 910 AM with a 30-minute pregame show and a complete postgame show. Veteran broadcaster Bill Johnson will return to the sidelines once again this season.
• An audio simulcast will also be available on PortlandPilots.com.
• Get in-game updates live on Twitter @PortlandPilots.
• Michigan State will provide live statistics at www.MSUSpartans.com.
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Portland (1-1) opened the regular season with a 100-83 home win over UC Davis, then dropped a 79-73 road decision at Oregon State on Wednesday.
• Junior G Kevin Bailey had a career-high 29 points and senior F Ryan Nicholas added a career-best 27 points versus UC Davis.
• Nicholas added his first double-double of the season with 14 points and 13 rebounds against the Beavers.
• Junior G Bobby Sharp reached double figures in both games, including 18 points at Oregon State.
• Portland returns all five starters and nine lettermen from last year's team that finished 11-21 overall.
• Nicholas has led the team in scoring and rebounding each of the last two seasons and was the No. 2 rebounder in the WCC last year (8.7).
• Bailey was second on the team in scoring at 11.4 points per game last season.
• Junior C Thomas van der Mars has started 60 games for the Pilots and will join a deep frontline along with RS-Jr. C Riley Barker, West Virginia transfer F Volodymyr Gerun and senior F John Bailey.
• G Tanner Riley and G Korey Thieleke join Nicholas and John Bailey as Portland's four seniors.
• Head coach Eric Reveno returns for his eighth year on The Bluff. Assistant coaches Eric Jackson and Mike Wolf also return for their eighth year, while Colin Pfaff returns for his second year as an assistant coach after two years as Director of Basketball Operations.
• Portland looks to return to the form it had from 2008-2011, a stretch that included back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time in school history and 60 wins over three seasons.
• The Pilots were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) for three consecutive seasons from 2008-2011.
• The Pilots were picked to finish ninth in the 10-team West Coast Conference in the pre-season coaches poll.
ABOUT MICHIGAN STATE
• The Spartans (3-0) are ranked No. 2 nationally in both the AP and Coaches Poll, most likely moving to No. 1 when the new polls are released on Monday.
• MSU defeated current No. 1 Kentucky 78-74 in Chicago last week behind 22 points, eight rebounds and eight assists from senior G Keith Appling.
• The Spartans followed with a come-from-behind 62-53 win over Columbia on Friday at the Breslin Center.
• Adreian Payne and Gary Harris are leading MSU in scoring at 17.0 points per game thus far, while Appling joins them in double figures at 12.0 ppg.
• Known for being one of the top rebounding team's annually, the Spartans have a +7.0 rebounding margin so far this season.
• Head coach Tom Izzo is in his 19th season with the Spartans and has been named the National Coach of the Year eight times. He led MSU to the 2000 NCAA title and has taken the Spartans to six Final Fours and 16-straight NCAA Tournaments.
PORTLAND-MICHIGAN STATE SERIES NOTES
• The Spartans won the only previous meeting between the two schools which took place in Portland during the 1961-62 season (74-60).
COACHES VS. CANCER CLASSIC CONTINUES AT THE CHILES CENTER
• The Philips Norelco Coaches vs. Cancer Classic includes 12 teams, with Michigan State, Oklahoma, Seton Hall and Virginia Tech serving as the regional hosts.
• Portland will continue the tournament by hosting a round-robin series at the Chiles Center featuring Idaho, Columbia and North Texas on Nov. 21-23.
• The Coaches vs. Cancer program is a nationwide collaboration between the American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org) and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (www.NABC.org) that empowers basketball coaches, their teams, and local communities to make a difference in the fight against cancer. The program leverages the personal experiences, community leadership, and professional excellence of basketball coaches nationwide to increase cancer awareness and promote healthy living through year-round awareness efforts, fundraising activities, and advocacy programs. Since 1993, the initiative has raised more than $87 million dollars to fund groundbreaking research, provide up-to-date cancer information, advocate for public health policies and deliver services to improve the quality of life for patients and their families.
PORTLAND VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
• Portland is 6-53 all-time against AP Top 25 ranked opponents with the last win coming versus No. 22 Minnesota at the 2009 Anaheim 76 Classic.
• The Pilots have lost their last ten games against ranked opponents.
• Portland has never beaten a team ranked in the top 10 (0-20).
SHARP SHOOTER
• Junior transfer Bobby Sharp has jumped right into the rotation and reached double figures off the bench in his first two games as a Pilot.
• Sharp, the MVP of the Big 8 Conference at Santa Rosa JC last season, was recruited as a shooter and he has lived up to the hype thus far.
• He had 10 points in his season debut vs. UC Davis, then dropped 18 points at OSU with five three-pointers.
• Sharp is 7-for-17 from beyond the arc in two games.
GERUN GETS GOING
• West Virginia transfer Volodymyr Gerun, more commonly called 'Voldy' by teammates, had a breakout second half at Oregon State on Wednesday.
• Gerun scored all nine of his points during Portland's second half comeback. All nine of his points were scored during a four-minute spurt midway through the period to make it a three-point game.
• The 6-10, 250 pound junior joined the Pilots this summer and is expected to make a big contribution as he gets more comfortable with Portland's system.
CENTURY CLUB!
• The 100 points scored in Portland's season opener marked the first time the Pilots hit the century mark since defeating Evergreen State College 101-77 on Dec. 31, 2009.
• It is the first time UP reached 100 against a Division I opponent since the opener of the 1993 season versus Hawaii at the Great Alaska Shootout.
CAREER NIGHTS
• Kevin Bailey's 29 points were a career high and the most points scored by a Pilot since Luke Sikma had 29 on Jan. 22, 2011 at Santa Clara. His previous career high was 27 points, scored against North Florida on Dec. 19, 2012.
• Ryan Nicholas bettered his previous career high of 24 points with his 27-point effort vs. UC Davis. Nicholas finished 8-for-12 from the field, 3-for-5 from the three-point line and 8-for-9 at the free throw line.
PRESSLEY IMPRESSES
• Sophomore G Bryce Pressley started the final seven games of the 2012-13 season and also took over backup point guard duties late in the year.
• Pressley has started the first two games on the wing and also has been the backup point guard. He finished with seven points, five rebounds, seven assists and one steal with zero turnovers against UC Davis.
• He was forced into backup PG duty again to start this season after David Carr (concussion) was sidelined.
STRONG START FOR THE WCC
• The West Coast Conference is off to a collective 27-3 start to the season and trails only the Big Ten (32-2) in terms of win percentage and fewest losses.
• The WCC has expanded to 10 teams with the addition of Pacific (Calif.) to the league at the start of this season. BYU joined the league prior to the 2011-12 season.
NICHOLAS APPROACHING 1,000 POINTS
• Ryan Nicholas has 920 career points and is in line to become the 35th player in school history to score 1,000 points.
• He picked up his first double-double of the season and 15th of his career against Oregon State (14 pts, 13 rebs).
• Nicholas was an All-WCC honorable mention pick after leading the Pilots in scoring (13.0 ppg) and finishing second in the WCC in rebounding (8.7) last year.
• He had many highlights, including a career night against then-No. 18 UNLV with 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.
• He followed that with a double-double at No. 19 Kentucky with 15 points and 13 rebounds.
• Nicknamed 'Rhino', he sat behind All-WCC forward Luke Sikma and four-year starting center Kramer Knutson as a freshman but followed with a breakout sophomore year (11.5 ppg, 7.6 rpg).
RETURNING FIREPOWER
• The Pilots return five players that started 17 or more games last year as well as six of the team's top seven scorers.
• Two-time leading scorer and rebounder Ryan Nicholas is back to anchor the Pilot frontcourt along with two-year starting center Thomas van der Mars.
• Junior G Kevin Bailey is also a two-year starter and was the team's second leading scorer a season ago.
CARR SIDELINED
• Junior PG David Carr (concussion) has missed the first two games of the season and will not be available for Monday's game. There is no timetable set for his return.
• Carr, who suffered a season-ending knee injury with a torn ACL after 17 games last year, battled back and was cleared to play prior to the start of training camp.
• He is expected to compete for the starting PG spot once he is cleared to return to the court.
WINTERING GIVEN THE KEYS
• Carr's injury gives a starting opportunity for promising freshman PG Alec Wintering.
• Wintering scored 15 points in the exhibition win over Concordia-Irvine last month and had nine points, one rebound, one assist, two steals and zero turnovers in 18 minutes against UC Davis. Four fouls limited his playing time.
• He followed with six points, four assists and two steals at Oregon State.
• Portland secured a commitment from Wintering out of United Faith Christian Academy in North Carolina, where he was coached by former NBA point guard Muggsy Bogues.
• Wintering's ties to Portland go back to when he lived in Arizona and looked up to former Pilot PG T.J. Campbell, a two-time All-WCC selection for the Pilots in 2008-10.
SPAIN FOREIGN TOUR
• Portland benefitted from a 10-day Foreign Tour to Spain and the Canary Islands back in August.
• The team was able to integrate all four newcomers and play against some elite competition, while gaining valuable practice time.
• On the court, Portland went down to the final possession against both Angola (No. 15 ranked team in the world) and Venezuela (No. 24) while in Madrid.
• The Pilots then routed three select teams in the Canary Islands to finish the tour 3-2.
• Check out photos, video highlights and other information from the trip at www.PortlandPilots.com/Spain2013.
IT'S ALL ACADEMIC
• Ryan Nicholas (3.47 GPA, Psychology) and Thomas van der Mars (3.94, Operations Technology Management) were named to the 2013 WCC All-Academic Team, while Riley Barker (3.46, Marketing) earned honorable mention honors.
• Nicholas picks up his second award in as many years.
• Coach Reveno has had a total of 13 WCC All-Academic selections in his seven years.
SPORTS 910 AM PORTLAND'S NEW HOME FOR RADIO & COACHES SHOW
• Sports 910 (KMTT) will be the new home for University of Portland men's basketball this season.
• In addition to airing every Pilot game live, the station will host a weekly show with Coach Eric Reveno every Monday night at 7 p.m.
• Game broadcasts will have a 30-minute pregame and 30-minute postgame show.
• Veteran Pilot play-by-play broadcaster Bill Johnson returns to call the action and host the Coaches Show for the Pilots.
TELEVISION SCHEDULE
• Portland will once again have a lot of regional and national television exposure as a total of 13 Pilot games will be televised this season.
• UP will host Gonzaga in a nationally televised game on ESPNU on Jan. 9
• ROOT Sports NW will broadcast a total of nine Pilot games, while BYUtv will pick up the game in Provo.
• Other televised games are at Oregon State (Pac-12 Network) and at Michigan State (Big 10 Network).
• All non-televised Portland home games will have a multi-camera live video production with replays and commentary available at www.PilotsVideo.com.
