Portland Pilots (6-3, 0-0 WCC) at San Francisco Dons (7-5, 1-1 WCC)
Date: Thursday, Jan. 7
Time: 6 p.m.
Place: San Francisco, Calif.
Arena: Sobrato Center
TV: ESPNU
Radio: 910 ESPN-Portland (KMTT)
Live Coverage Links: Video |
Audio |
Stats
Portland vs. San Francisco Series
Overall: USF leads 63-28
Streak: USF W1
At Portland: USF leads 25-18
At San Francisco: USF leads 35-9
Neutral: USF leads 3-1
Last Game: San Francisco 81, Pilots 65 (2/27/20 – at USF)
GAME INFORMATION
• Portland opens West Coast Conference play on Thursday against the San Francisco Dons with a 6 p.m. tip-off at the Sobrato Center. The game will be televised live on ESPNU with Dave Feldman and Corey Williams on the call.
• The game was announced on Monday as COVID-19-related pauses among WCC programs has forced the league schedule to shuffle. Portland was originally slated to open league play at Pacific on Jan. 2 and then host LMU on Thursday.
• The Pilots (6-3) are coming off an 84-68 loss at Seattle U on Dec. 30, while the Dons (7-5, 1-1) opened league play with a win vs. San Diego and loss at No. 1 Gonzaga.
• 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.
LAST GAME
• Ahmed Ali scored 19 points, but Seattle U beat the Pilots 84-68 on Wednesday night at the Redhawk Center in the final game before WCC play.
• Ali added four assists, three rebounds and two steals, while Latrell Jones finished with 17 points and four rebounds for the Pilots.
• The Redhawks used a 7-0 run to grab the early lead and went up by as much as 12 points late in the first period and took a 41-32 Seattle U edge into halftime.
• Ali hit a step-back midway through the second half to make it a 50-47 deficit, but SU quickly pushed the margin back to double digits and held on for the win.
• The Redhawks outrebounded Portland 47-34 and gained a 46-24 edge in points in the paint. SU shot 49 percent from the field and limited the Pilots to just 34 percent overall.
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Portland's five-game win streak before falling to Oregon on Dec. 19 matched the program's best since winning six straight during the 2008-09 season.
• The Pilots are shooting 77.4 percent from the free throw line as a team, which ranks 23rd nationally. The program record for a single-season is 74.8 percent (1990-91).
• Ahmed Ali garnered WCC Player of the Week honors as well as mid-major National Player of the Week on Dec. 14 after erupting for 26 points, six rebounds and four assists in an overtime win at Oregon State. His 19.0 points per game ranks second in the WCC.
• UP lost its season-opener to Seattle U. The game was scheduled on less than 24 hours' notice for the Pilots, replacing Idaho who was unable to play due to COVID.
• 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 nine 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.
• Curtiss has been a force defensively and ranks third in the WCC with 15 blocked shots. He has 10 blocks in the last two games. His six blocked shots against Montana State on Dec. 22 was one shy of the school single-game record.
• 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 (117), trailing 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).
• 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 SAN FRANCISCO
• The Dons (7-5, 1-1 WCC) are coming off of an 85-62 loss at No. 1 Gonzaga after defeating San Diego at home last week.USF posted notable wins against Virginia, Nevada, Grand Canyon and Long Beach State and dropped close games at California and Oregon.
• USF sits at No. 93 in the latest NCAA NET Rankings and No. 77 by KenPom.
• Nine players average double-digit minutes for the Dons. Jamaree Bouyea (18.0) and Khalil Shabazz (14.3) lead a dynamic backcourt attack.
• Head Coach Todd Golden is in his second year at the helm of the Dons after being promoted when Kyle Smith moved to Washington State following the 2018-19 season.
• Golden led the Dons to a 22-12 record last season.
IMPACT D-I TRANSFERS
• Division I transfers Ahmed Ali and Michael Henn have been impact contributors 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 seven times, including a career-high 28 points against Portland State and 26 points at Oregon State. He ranks second in WCC in scoring (19.0) 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 on Dec. 15 and is averaging 7.8 points and 4.8 rebounds.
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 is second on the roster at 11.3 points per game and also leads the team in rebounds (5.6).
• Junior G Isiah Dasher had two standout years at State College of Florida. Dasher is averaging 9.0 points and has a team-best 15 steals.
• Junior G Latrell Jones became the first Pilot this season to record a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds against Portland State. Jones played two years at College of Central Florida and adds 9.4 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.
• 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 5-for-12 from three-point range, has made all 13-of-14 free throw attempts, and is second on the roster with 11 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 77.4 percent as a team at the free throw line and has been above 70 percent in eight of the first nine games. The program record for a season is 74.8 percent (1990-91).
• The team was 25-for-26 from the stripe against Montana State on Dec. 22 and converted all 17 second-half attempts.
• Ahmed Ali made 15-of-18 attempts against Portland State to become the first Pilot since Alec Wintering on Nov. 25, 2016 to make 15-or-more in a game.
