PORTLAND, Ore. – University of Portland men's basketball announced its complete 2019-20 schedule on Tuesday, highlighted by a trip to the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic over Christmas, a road game at USC and a 17-game home slate. The Pilots will play a minimum of nine games against teams that competed in postseason tournaments last season, including the West Coast Conference opener against 2019 Elite Eight participant Gonzaga on Thursday, January 2.
 
Fans can place a deposit for season tickets now starting as low as $126. Season ticket holder benefits include the ability to purchase West Coast Conference Tournament tickets and extra Gonzaga single-game tickets prior to the on-sale dates for the public. Purchase of a men's season ticket will also include women's basketball season tickets. For more ticket information, visit PortlandPilots.com/Tickets.  

Portland will open the season with a November 2 exhibition against George Fox with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m. The regular season opener is versus Willamette on Tuesday, November 5 at 7 p.m. and then the Pilots will visit USC on Friday, November 8 in Los Angeles. Other non-league road games will be at San Jose State (Nov. 10), Portland State (Nov. 20) and Seattle University (Dec. 7).

The remaining non-conference home schedule features Maine (Nov. 16), UC Davis (Nov. 23), Incarnate Word (Dec. 1), Cal State Northridge (Dec. 4), Evergreen State (Dec. 13), Florida A&M (Dec. 16) and Jackson State (Dec. 19).

Portland will head to the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic and open the tournament against the Houston Cougars on December 22. Houston reached the Elite Eight of the 2019 NCAA Tournament. The Pilots will then face either Georgia Tech or Boise State on December 23, before concluding the tournament on Christmas Day. Other participating teams in the event include Washington, UTEP, Ball State and host Hawai'i.

The race for the WCC regular season crown will stretch over a nine-week span, featuring 16 conference games. Conference play is slated to begin on Thursday, January 2, 2020 and will conclude on Saturday, February 29. Portland hosts perennial contender and 2019 NCAA Elite Eight participant Gonzaga in the WCC opener.

Five WCC teams concluded the 2018-19 season with a top-100 ranking in the ESPN BPI poll, headlined by Gonzaga (No. 2), Saint Mary's (38), San Francisco (62), San Diego (87) and BYU (94). The Zags (33-4) led the nation in adjusted offense according to KenPom.com (124.5), while the Gaels (23rd/114.7) also cracked the top-25 in offensive efficiency.
 
In the way-too-early 2019-20 ESPN poll, Gonzaga checked in at No. 6 while the 2019 WCC Tournament Champion Gaels are No. 21. The Zags (No. 11) and Saint Mary's (24) appear in the latest CBS Sports Top-25 and One and check in at No. 11 and No. 16 respectively on the NBC Sports poll.

All told, four WCC programs earned postseason berths in 2018-19. The Gaels and Zags gave the WCC multiple teams in the NCAA Tournament field for the sixth time in the last eight seasons. In addition, San Diego qualified for the NIT Postseason for the first time in program history and LMU advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2019 CBI Tournament.

This marks year two of the modified WCC men's basketball schedule. The 16-game schedule is the result of changes adopted by the WCC Presidents' Council as part of the Conference's Men's Basketball Enhancement Plan .

These schedule initiatives demonstrate the league-wide commitment by WCC Presidents and Athletic Directors to adopt an innovative approach to advance men's basketball on the national stage.

The WCC will celebrate its 12th year in Las Vegas when the 2020 West Coast Conference Basketball Tournaments return to the Orleans Arena from March 5-10.

Fans can expect an announcement regarding the full slate of WCC broadcasts in the coming weeks. The complete 2020 WCC men's basketball composite schedule can be accessed here, but is subject to change.

Pilot Opponents in the 2019 Postseason
Gonzaga – NCAA Elite Eight
Houston – NCAA Sweet 16
Saint Mary's – NCAA First Round
San Diego – NIT First Round
Loyola Marymount – CBI Semifinals
Cal State Northridge – CBI First Round
Seattle U. – CIT First Round