Portland Pilots (5-1, 0-0 WCC) at Oregon Ducks (5-1, 1-0 Pac-12)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 19
Time: 12 p.m.
Place: Eugene, Ore.
Arena: Matthew Knight Arena
TV: Pac-12 Network
Radio: 910 ESPN-Portland (KMTT)
Live Coverage Links: Video | Audio | Stats
Portland vs. Oregon Series
Overall: UO leads 49-10
Last 5/10: UO leads 3-2/7-3
At Portland: UO leads 25-9
At Oregon: UO leads 24-1
Last Game: Pilots 88, Oregon 81 (11/21/09 - Chiles Center)
GAME INFORMATION
• Portland visits the Oregon Ducks on Saturday for a noon tip-off at Matthew Knight Arena. Both teams enter the contest with 5-1 records.
• The Pilots have won five straight, including wins over the other two Division I schools in Oregon. UP defeated Portland State 86-73 on Dec. 5 and won at Oregon State on Dec. 10 by an 87-86 margin in overtime.
• The Ducks have also won five in a row after knocking off San Francisco on Thursday.
• The game will be aired on the Pac-12 Network with Rich Burk and Eldridge Recasner on the call.
• All Pilot men's basketball games are on the radio on 910 ESPN-Portland (KMTT) with Jason Swygard calling the action. The pre-game show begins 30 minutes prior to tip-off.
• Live coverage links for Portland games can be found at PortlandPilots.com.
• Follow @PilotHoops on Twitter for in-game updates.
LAST GAME
• Ahmed Ali scored a game-high 22 points and Michael Henn recorded a career-high 21 points as Portland never trailed in an 88-74 win against College of Idaho on Tuesday night at the Chiles Center.
• Henn scored 16 first-half points and closed the half with a three-pointer for a 40-25 lead as the Yotes were held to 28 percent shooting in the period.
• Ali took over after intermission as he went a perfect 6-for-6 from the field and scored 15 of his 20 points in the period. Clythus Griffith Jr. added 11 points off the bench.
• Portland led by 20 early in the second half and held a comfortable lead throughout as all active players on the Pilot roster saw court action.
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Portland's five straight wins matches the longest winning streak for the program since the Pilots won six straight during the 2008-09 season.
• Ahmed Ali garnered WCC Player of the Week honors as well as the Lou Henson Award for mid-major National Player of the Week after erupting for 26 points, six rebounds and four assists in the win at Oregon State last Thursday. His 21.5 points per game ranks third in the WCC.
• Portland lost its season-opener to Seattle U on Nov. 25. That game was scheduled on less than 24 hours notice for the Pilots, replacing Idaho who was unable to play due to COVID-related issues.
• Portland got a later start than most as a result of complications from COVID-19. The Pilots were waiting for an exemption from the State of Oregon and Oregon Health Authority before being allowed full contact practice. UP was given the exemption on Sunday, Nov. 22, three days before the season officially started.
• The Pilot roster features nine newcomers to The Bluff this season, while returning just five lettermen. Only four of those returners are on the active roster, as senior F Tahirou Diabate has opted out of the season for personal reasons.
• The Pilots return just 25 percent of the scoring from last year to the active roster.
• UP's starting lineup in each of the first six games has consisted of all newcomers.
• Portland got much-needed experience with the addition of Division I transfers Ahmed Ali (Washington State/Hawaii) and Michael Henn (UC Davis/Cal Baptist). The Pilots also hit the JUCO recruiting circuit in the spring and signed five players from those ranks to join incoming freshmen Zac Triplett and Hayden Curtiss.
• Sophomore PG Chase Adams is coming off of an impressive season where he racked up the second most assists by a Pilot freshman in program history. He started 30 games for the Pilots while his 117 total assists trailed only Hall of Famer and former NBA standout, Darwin Cook (128). Adams also led the WCC in steals per game (1.8) and was eighth in assists per game (3.7).
• Redshirt junior G Takiula Fahrensohn also had a breakout 2019-20 campaign. Despite battling injuries, Fahrensohn started eight games and averaged 7.8 points and 3.0 rebounds. He shot 41 percent from the field and was second best on the team in three-point percentage (.390) and three-pointers made (46). Fahrensohn missed the Portland State game due to injury (shoulder).
• The current roster features players 11 different states, countries or territories including three from Washington, two from California and Canada, and one each from Australia, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Mali, New Zealand, New Jersey and North Carolina.
• The Pilots were picked to finish 10th in the WCC Preseason Head Coaches Poll.
• A total of 13 former Pilots have played professionally overseas in the last year, while alum Erik Spoelstra ('92) is the head coach of the Miami HEAT and Ben Sullivan ('07) is on the Milwaukee Bucks coaching staff.
• Former NBA All-Star Terry Porter is in his fifth year as the head coach of the Pilots.
• The Pilots signed PG Deng Dut (6-4, 190) from Melbourne, Australia and the College of Southern Idaho to a NLI in November.
ABOUT OREGON
• The Ducks (5-1) lost their season opener to undefeated Missouri and have won five straight since. Oregon has wins over Washington, Seton Hall, Florida A&M, Eastern Washington and San Francisco.
• Eugene Omoruyi averages a team-best 19.5 points, while Chris Duarte (14.5) and Eric Williams Jr. (14.2) are also averaging double figures.
• Head Coach Dana Altman is looking for his 675th career win, which would tie him with former Louisville icon Denny Krum. Altman is in his 11th year at Oregon.
IMPACT D-I TRANSFERS
• Division I transfers Ahmed Ali and Michael Henn have been impact contributors out of the gates and provided much needed experience to the roster.
• Ali, a JC All-American at Eastern Florida State College, started for Washington State during the 2018-19 season before transferring to Hawaii and sitting out last year due to injury. He has led the team in scoring each of the first six games, including a career-high 28 points against Portland State and 26 points at Oregon State. He ranks third in WCC in scoring (21.5) and was named the WCC Player of the Week on Dec. 14.
• Henn helped UC Davis reach the NCAA Tournament as a freshman in 2017 before transferring to Cal Baptist. He sat one year and then started 24 games during the 2018-19 season before being sidelined last year with an injury. Henn scored a career-high 21 points vs. College of Idaho and is averaging 9.7 points and a team-high 5.5 rebounds per game while playing more than 27 minutes per game.
JUCO TRANSFERS PROVIDE BIG BOOST
• Portland signed five JUCO transfers in the spring and they have had a major impact.
• Junior F Eddie Davis helped Colby JC in Kansas reach the JUCO Nationals and earned league MVP honors. Davis has started all six games, is second on the roster at 12.3 points per game and also second in rebounds per game (5.2).
• Junior G Isiah Dasher is also a starter after two standout years at State College of Florida. Dasher is averaging 10.2 points and swiped five steals against Northwest U.
• Junior G Latrell Jones became the first Pilot this season to record a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds against Portland State. He opened the game with a monster put-back dunk to set the tone and continued to make big plays throughout, including a clutch three late in regulation. Jones played two years at College of Central Florida, averaging double figures both years, and brings great athleticism to the roster.
• Junior G Clythus Griffith, Jr. has been a sharpshooter off the bench who averaged more than 20 points per game last year at SW Tennessee Community College. Griffith Jr. is 15-for-28 from the field, 5-for-8 from three-point range and has made all eight free throw attempts this season. He is also second on the roster with ten steals.
• Junior F Hunter Seymour is a developing big man that played at Cabrillo College the last two years and averaged a double-double of 11.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.2 blocked shots per game a year ago. He logged season highs of four points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots vs. College of Idaho.
FREE THROW EFFICIENCY
• Portland is shooting 73.9 percent as a team at the free throw line and has been above 70 percent in five of the first six games.
• Ahmed Ali converted 15-of-18 free throw attempts against Portland State on Saturday to become the first Pilot since Alec Wintering on Nov. 25, 2016 to make 15-or-more free throws in a game.
