Portland Pilots (7-2, 0-0 WCC) vs. VMI Keydets (4-4, 0-0 SoCon)
Date: Dec. 3, 2021
Time: 7 p.m. (PT)
Place: Portland, Ore.
Gym: Chiles Center
Video: WCC Network
Radio: 910 ESPN Portland (KMTT)
Live Coverage Links: Video I Audio I Stats
Series: First Meeting

THIS WEEK
• The Portland Pilots will host the VMI Keydets for a non-conference men's basketball game at the Chiles Center on Friday at 7 p.m.
• The game will be aired live on the WCC Network with Ann Schatz and Jennifer Mountain on the call.
• Tickets are available by visiting PortlandPilots.com/Tickets and the first 200 students will receive free Voodoo Doughnuts.
• Pilot men's basketball games are on the radio on 910 ESPN Portland (KMTT) with Jason Swygard and Xavier Hallinan calling the action. The program begins 30 minutes prior to tip-off and the concludes with a full post-game show.
• Live coverage links for Portland games can be found at PortlandPilots.com.
• Follow @PortlandMBB on Twitter for in-game updates.

ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Portland improved to 7-2 on the season after going 3-1 last week. The Pilots defeated crosstown rival Portland State 69-54 on the road on Tuesday. Four Pilots reached double figures led by Chris Austin's 15 points and nine rebounds, while Matheus Silveira recorded a career-best 13 points and Moses Wood notched his second double-double of the year with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
• Portland then won 2-of-3 games at the Incarnate Word Thanksgiving Tournament last weekend. After dropping a 69-66 decision to Montana State on Friday, the team bounced back for wins against Southeast Missouri State (74-68) and host Incarnate Word (77-68).
• The 7-2 record matches the best nine-game start to a season in the last ten years. The 2014-15 Pilots also started with a 7-2 record to open that campaign. Only five Portland teams have started 8-2 or better all-time, with the last coming during the 1995-96 season.
• Shantay Legans has the best nine-game start among all UP head coaches since the Pilots joined NCAA Division I in 1958. Al Negratti also started 7-2, but the Pilots competed at the NAIA level during his first year (1955-56).
• The Pilots won their regular season home opener in record-breaking fashion by defeating Willamette 122-78 on Nov. 11. Eight Pilots reached double figures and UP set a new single game scoring record, eclipsing the 115 scored against St. Martin's in 1978.
• Mike Meadows also recorded the first triple-double in program history with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. Meadows and Wendell Moore Jr. (Duke) are the only D-I players this season with triple doubles.
• Meadows also became the first Pilot to record 10-plus assists in a game since Alec Wintering notched 11 assists vs. San Jose State on Nov. 15, 2016.
• Portland leads the nation in free throws made (165) and rank sixth nationally in FT percentage (.805).
• The Pilots rank second in the WCC and 14th nationally in defensive rebounds per game (30.6). Portland also ranks third in the league in defensive FG percentage (.389).
• Head coach Shantay Legans was hired last March after he led Eastern Washington to the NCAA Tournament. In his four years as head coach at EWU, Legans compiled the best overall (.605) and conference (.726) winning percentages in school history.
• Portland returns three players from last year's roster and adds seven transfers and seven true freshmen. The 14 newcomers are tied with UT-Martin for the most in Division I this season.
• The seven incoming transfers are fourth most in the nation, while Portland's 8.5 percent returner scoring production is second lowest nationally.
• Portland, Saint Mary's and Arizona have the most international players (8) among all NCAA Division I schools.
• The Pilots signed NBA Academy and Australian U-19 National Teamer Bol Dengdit to a National Letter of Intent and he will join the program for the 2021-22 season.
• 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.
• Portland has partnered with Portland's CW (KRCW-TV) to televise a number of home events this season while a minimum of 13 Pilot games will be aired on either Portland's CW, ROOT Sports Northwest or Stadium.


ABOUT VMI
• The Keydets (4-4) have a Division I win against Central Arkansas while all four losses have been by single digits with two coming in overtime.
• VMI was picked seventh in the Southern Conference Preseason Poll and senior C Jake Stephens was named preseason all-conference.
• Kamdyn Curfman leads four Keydets averaging double figures (18.1), while Stephens adds 13.1 points and a team-best 7.0 rebounds.
• VMI leads the nation in three-pointers made (105).
• Head coach Dan Earl is in his seventh season at the helm with a 61-127 overall record.

TIME TO RECHARGE
• Portland played nine games in the first 19 days of the season which began on Nov. 9 at Arizona State.
• After hosting VMI on Friday, the Pilots will take next week off as it is Finals Week on campus. The team will also take a 10-day break before hosting Cal Poly on Dec. 13.

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.

WCC OFF TO HOT START
• The West Coast Conference has gotten off to a strong start to the 2021-22 season with a combined overall record of 56-26 (.683) and rated by KenPom.com as the No. 7 league in the nation.
• Here are some notable wins through the first few weeks of the regular season:
Nov. 12: @BYU def. San Diego State, 66-60
Nov. 12: @Santa Clara def. Stanford, 88-72
Nov. 13: @#1 Gonzaga def. #5 Texas, 86-74
Nov. 16: BYU def. @#12 Oregon, 81-49
Nov. 22: Saint Mary's def. Notre Dame, 62-59
Nov. 22: Santa Clara def. TCU, 85-66
Nov. 23: #1 Gonzaga def. #2 UCLA, 83-63
Nov. 23: Saint Mary's def. Oregon, 62-50
Nov. 26: San Francisco def. UAB, 63-61
Nov. 27: #12 BYU def. @Utah, 75-64
Dec. 2: Saint Mary's def. @Utah State, 60-58

TICKET, VACCINATION & TESTING INFORMATION 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. All guests ages 12 and up must provide proof of vaccination against COVID-19 or provide proof of either a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours of the event or a negative lab-based rapid test taken within 48 hours of the event. At-home tests will not be accepted. Kids under age 12 can come to events without proof of vaccination or proof of a negative test. Masks are required for all guests attending Portland Athletics events.