Portland Pilots (0-1, 0-0 WCC) vs. Willamette Bearcats (0-1, 0-0 NWC)
Date: Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021
Time: 7:30 p.m.
City: Portland, Ore.
Arena: Chiles Center (4,852)
Video: WCC Network
Radio: 910 ESPN Portland (KMTT)
Live Coverage Links: Video I Audio I Stats

THIS WEEK
• Portland is home for a pair of doubleheaders at Chiles Center on Thursday and Saturday with the women's team.
• The men will host Willamette on Thursday at 7:30 p.m., after the Pilot women open their season at 5 p.m. versus UC San Diego.
• Saturday's doubleheader features the men against Alcorn State at 5 p.m. followed by the women versus Weber State at 7:30 p.m.
• Portland's home games will air on the WCC Network.
• 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 and features a post-game show will stats, highlights and interviews.
• Live coverage links for Portland games can be found at PortlandPilots.com.
• Follow @PortlandMBB on Twitter for in-game updates.

ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Portland won a home exhibition contest against Division III Lewis & Clark College on Nov. 1 by a 93-67 margin. Chris Austin scored a team-high 20 points and Mike Meadows added 19 points. Freshman F Vasilije Vucinic recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds while starting at center. Tyler Robertson filled the stat sheet with 9 points, five rebounds, seven assists and three steals in his first time on the court for the Pilots. Freshman Matija Svetozarevic added nine points and four rebounds off the bench.
• The Pilots dropped their regular season opener on Tuesday at Arizona State by a 76-60 margin. Robertson was a late scratch due to injury and Portland couldn't overcome 21 turnovers. Austin scored a game-high 22 points and Mike Meadows added 16 points and seven rebounds.
• First-year head coach Shantay Legans came to The Bluff after serving the last four seasons as head coach at Eastern Washington. Legans was hired last March after he led the Eagles to the NCAA Tournament and nearly upset Kansas in the First Round. He compiled the best overall (.605) and conference (.726) winning percentages in school history at EWU. He also guided the Eagles to an NCAA Tournament appearance, earned Big Sky Coach of the Year honors and won two conference championships.
• Portland returns just three players from last year's roster and added seven transfers and seven true freshmen.
• The seven incoming transfers this season are fourth most in the nation, while Portland's 8.5 percent returner scoring production is second lowest nationally.
• Portland and Arizona are tied for the most international players (8) on a roster among all NCAA Division I schools.
• The Pilots were picked 10th in the WCC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• Notable upcoming non-conference road games include Portland State (Nov. 23) and Oregon (Dec. 15), while the team will host seven non-league home games before opening WCC play at home against BYU on Jan. 1 at 7 p.m.
• A total of 14 Pilot graduates are currently playing professionally, while alum Erik Spoelstra ('92) has won two NBA Championships as head coach of the Miami HEAT. Ben Sullivan ('07) also won a title last spring as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks coaching staff and is now an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics.
 
ABOUT WILLAMETTE
• The Willamette Bearcats are a Division III member of the Northwest Conference and come into tonight's game with an 0-1 record after dropping a 117-83 decision to Bushnell University on Tuesday.
• Head coach Kip Ioane is in his 13^th year as head coach and 21^st season overall at the school
• Portland owns a 16-2 all-time record against Willamette and most recently earned an 86-36 win at the Chiles Center on Nov. 5, 2019.

EXPERIENCED 'YOUTH'
• Portland's roster features just two upperclassmen in terms of eligibility remaining: graduate transfer Jack Perry and COVID junior Clythus Griffith Jr.
• Portland's six other transfers all have three years of eligibility remaining including UNLV graduate transfer Moses Wood. The 6-8 forward began his career at Tulane and transferred to the Runnin' Rebels after a coaching change. He redshirted one of his two years at UNLV, which also had a coaching change this offseason, so Wood joins the Pilots with three years left to play.
• Chris Austin, Mike Meadows and Kristian Sjolund also spent three years at their previous schools, but each utilized redshirt seasons and got an extra year due to COVID.

COACHING CONTINUITY
• In addition to the three Eastern Washington players that transferred to Portland with Coach Legans, three staff members also made the move. Assistant coaches Bobby Suarez and T.J. Lipold, as well as video coordinator Thomas Moore remained with Legans during his transition to the Rose City.
• Legans' staff is one of the youngest in the nation as all three assistant coaches are 33 or younger.

PILOTS ON TV
• Portland's complete television schedule has yet to be completed, but a number of games will be on the big screen.
• Additionally, the Portland Sports Network - the University's athletic department video unit - will produce a number of games across a wide range of sports that will air on Portland's CW (KRCW).
• Below are currently known television broadcasts.
Date      Opponent           Station
Nov. 9   Arizona State     Pac-12 Network
Nov. 20 Morgan State     Portland's CW
Nov. 23 Portland State   Portland's CW
Dec. 15 Oregon               Pac-12 Network
Dec. 17 San Jose State  Portland's CW
Jan. 1     BYU                      Stadium
Jan. 27   Pacific                  Portland's CW
Feb. 19  Pepperdine        Portland's CW

RIVERBOAT PILOTS (NOT AIRPLANE)!
Although many people assume the Portland Pilots mascot is in reference to airplane pilots, it is actually an homage to the riverboat pilots that navigate the Willamette and Columbia rivers near campus. According to Bluff legend, though the original nickname that students chose in a 1935 contest resulted in "Chinooks" (after the Indian tribe that inhabited the area, and the largest of the salmon species in the Willamette River), the "Pilots" was chosen by presidential fiat. From that day forward, The Bluff had a new mascot, and he was Wally Pilot. When the University changed its name from Columbia University (its earliest sports teams were known as the Cliff dwellers or the Columbias), to the University of Portland in 1935, the name and University had already begun to adapt a more "nautical motif," suitable for a campus site overlooking the Willamette River. At the same time, the Pilot athletic teams became associated with Wally (a stylized riverboat pilot), and the pilot's wheel became the logical logo.

TICKET INFORMATION, VACCINATION & TESTING REQUIREMENTS FOR HOME GAMES
We are thrilled to welcome fans back to the Chiles Center for Portland Pilots basketball games. Season tickets, flex packs and single-game offerings are available now by visiting PortlandPilots.com/Tickets or calling the Pilot Box Office at (503) 943-GOUP. Proof of vaccination against COVID-19 or documentation of a negative lab-based test taken within 72 hours of the event is required for entry. Fans under the age of 12 will not need vaccination or negative text records to be admitted.