Portland Announces 2014-15 Men's Basketball Schedule

2014-15 Schedule I PDF Schedule I Tickets

PORTLAND, Ore. --- Featured home games against Oregon State and Portland State as well as a road matchup with UNLV and participation in the 2014 Challenge in Music City highlight the University of Portland 2014-15 men's basketball non-conference schedule. The Pilots will open West Coast Conference play with a road trip to San Diego and Brigham Young on Dec. 27 and Dec. 29, respectively, before hosting Gonzaga in the team's WCC home-opener on Jan. 3.

Following an exhibition game against NAIA power Concordia-Irvine on Saturday, Nov. 8, the Pilots open the regular season versus Concordia (Ore.) on Friday, Nov. 14. Portland will play a total of 16 home games at the Chiles Center.

Season tickets are on sale now through the Pilot Box Office at (503) 943-7525 with prices ranges from $126 to $280. 

"Coach (Michael) Wolf put together a challenging non-conference schedule that is vital in preparing our program for West Coast Conference play," Portland head coach Eric Reveno said. "This year's schedule balances out nicely to provide us with great road and neutral site competition, while also putting together a quality home schedule. The Challenge in Music City features a quality field of programs, like ours, that have conference championship aspirations."

Following the Concordia opener, the Pilots will make a quick trip to play at San Jose State on Nov. 16 before returning to host SIU-Edwardsville on Nov. 22.

The team will then head to Nashville, Tenn. to participate in the first annual Challenge in the Music City. The Pilots will open against perennial postseason contender Murray State and also face Drake and Valparaiso over Thanksgiving weekend.

December kicks off with a pair of in-state rivals visiting the Chiles Center as the Pilots host Portland State on Dec. 3 and then Oregon State on Dec. 6.

"It is always our goal to play the other Division I schools in the state," Reveno added. "Getting both Oregon State and Portland State at the Chiles Center this season will be a great way to showcase our program to local college basketball fans."

Road games at Sacramento State (Dec. 14) and UNLV (Dec. 17) are next, followed by two more home games against Montana State (20) and Lewis & Clark (Dec. 22) leading into the beginning of WCC play.

After opening the league slate on the road at San Diego and BYU in late December, the Pilots will return home for five of their next seven conference games highlighted by Gonzaga on Saturday, Jan. 3. Portland knocked off Gonzaga last year by an 82-73 margin at the Chiles Center. Other January home games include Santa Clara, San Francisco, Pacific (Calif.) and Saint Mary's.

"The WCC is a great basketball conference and we are excited to compete for the university's first-ever league championship this season," Reveno noted. "I think the conference did a great job this year of providing balance with the schedule. Although we will be challenged early on the road, our guys will embrace the competition. I'm happy that our students will get to see a majority of our WCC home games this season, because we are going to have an exciting team that they will be eager to support."

The second half of league play begins at Gonzaga on Jan. 29 and the Pilots close out the regular season with home games against Brigham Young on Feb. 26 and then San Diego on Feb. 28. The 2015 WCC Basketball Championships are scheduled for March 5-10 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.
 
Portland returns four starters and nine lettermen from a 2013-14 team that finished 15-16 overall, tied for sixth in the West Coast Conference standings, and posted signature wins over Gonzaga and BYU. The team returns seven of its eight leading scorers, including senior guard Kevin Bailey who averaged a team-best 16.5 points per game and is a three-year starter.

Senior center Thomas van der Mars, also a three-year starter, had a breakout junior year and earned All-WCC honorable mention honors after averaging 13.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Alec Wintering was among the WCC leaders in both assists and steals as a true freshman point guard, while junior guard Bryce Pressley was second in the league in three-point percentage (.457). The Pilots finished top 20 nationally in three-point percentage (.393). Portland adds four incoming freshmen and a junior college transfer to a veteran roster that will feature six seniors.

"We have a nice mix of proven veterans and young talent on our roster this season and we are excited to get going," Reveno added. "Each year we have high expectations and I think we have a hungry and very confident group. Our fans got to experience some thrilling wins last season and we want them along for a lot more this year."