Portland Pilots (5-3, 0-0 WCC) vs. #12 Michigan State Spartans (4-2, 0-0 Big Ten)
Date: Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022
Time: 2:30 p.m. (PT)
Place: Portland, Ore.
Arena: Chiles Center
TV: ESPN
Radio: 1080 The Fan
Live Coverage Links: Video I Audio I Stats

THIS WEEK
• The Pilots are serving as co-hosts of the prestigious Phil Knight Invitational and Phil Knight Legacy tournaments hosted in Portland at the Moda Center, Veterans Memorial Coliseum and Chiles Center.
• Portland is in the PKI bracket and bounced back from a hard-fought 89-81 decision to No. 1 North Carolina on Thursday to defeat Villanova 83-71 on Friday.
• UP faces No. 12 Michigan State on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at Chiles Center in the fifth-place game. This is the highest ranked non-conference opponent to ever visit the Chiles Center.

GAME COVERAGE
• Sunday's game will be televised live on ESPN with Kevin Brown and Robbie Hummel on the call.
• Radio coverage will be on 1080 The Fan with Jason Swygard and Joel Sobotka calling the action.
• Live coverage links for Portland games can be found at PortlandPilots.com.
• Follow @PortlandMBB on Twitter and Instagram for the latest team content.

ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Portland (5-3) have performed well at PKI despite missing starting PG Mike Meadows (groin). The Pilots have gotten big bench production in the narrow loss to UNC and victory over Villanova. Portland's reserves accounted for 25 points against the Tar Heels, sparked by 14 from Alden Applewhite. The bench added 27 points against the Wildcats with Vasilije Vucinic stepping up with 10.
• Four Pilots are averaging double figures led by Tyler Robertson (16.1) and Moses Wood (15.1). Robertson finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and eight assists against Nova, while Wood dropped 21 points against UNC and 16 against the Wildcats.
• Robertson was named to the All-WCC Preseason Team after garnering second team honors a year ago. Wood earned All-WCC honorable mention recognition in 2022.
• Last season, Robertson was one of only five players in the nation last year to average at least 15.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game and was also the only player to rank top 10 in the WCC in points (7th), rebounds (10th) and assists (4th).
• Starting PG Mike Meadows has missed the last four games due to injury and is questionable for Sunday… Sophomore transfer G Vukasin Masic had a waiver for immediate eligibility denied last week by the NCAA and will sit out the 2022-23 season… Freshman F Bol Dengdit and junior G Chris Austin (injury) will also redshirt this year. Austin started all 34 games and was second on the team in scoring (14.4) last season.
• Robertson broke the Pilot record for both free throws made and attempted in a game on Nov. 11 against Portland State. He made 22-of-24 overall to break the previous marks held by Jim Winters (20-of-23) which dated back to a matchup with Seattle U on Feb. 12, 1956.
• Head coach Shantay Legans was hired last March after he led Eastern Washington to the 2021 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. He is one win shy of 100 for his career.
• The Pilots finished last season 19-15 overall and sixth in the WCC, recording their highest win total since 2010 and their fourth-highest win total since joining Division I in 1958. The 7-7 record in WCC play was also their best since 2015 and the team recorded its first ever postseason victory at the Division I level (def. New Orleans in The Basketball Classic).
• The Pilots set a single game scoring record a year ago in a 122-78 victory over Willamette, eclipsing the 115 scored against St. Martin's in 1978. Portland also broke the program's single game three-pointers made record with 18 against VMI on Dec. 3, 2021, while the team's 264 three-pointers made marked the second most in single-season school history (289 in 2015-16).
• The Pilots finished last season ranked seventh in the nation in free throw percentage (.791) to establish a new UP single-season record. The team also finished 12th in free throws made (544) nationally last year.
• Portland returns all five starters and the top seven scorers from last year's team. The Pilots return 91.1 percent of the scoring production from last year, second nationally to Virginia (91.4). 
• The Pilots signed G Vince Delano and F Cyprian Hyde to National Letters of Intent in November. Delano (6-2, 170) currently attends Arizona Compass Prep, one of the top basketball prep schools in the country. Hyde (6-10, 220) finished last season averaging 16.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game.
• A total of 13 former Pilots 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 2021 title as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks coaching staff and is now an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics.
• A total of 17 Pilot games are currently scheduled for television, including a minimum of seven on national TV between the ESPN family of networks and CBS Sports Network.
 
PILOTS VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS
• The Pilots dropped to 7-74 all-time against opponents ranked in the AP Poll and 0-10 against team's ranked No. 1 with Thursday's loss to North Carolina.
• Portland has lost 18 consecutive games to ranked opposition with the last win an 82-73 defeat of No. 18 Gonzaga on Jan. 9, 2014 at the Chiles Center.

PILOTS AT PREVIOUS NOTABLE TOP-TIER TOURNAMENTS
• The Pilots competed five years ago at the PK80 event hosted in Portland. The team lost to defending national champion North Carolina (102-78) to open the event and also dropped games to Oklahoma (93-71) and DePaul (82-69).
• The Pilots took advantage of the opportunity at the 2009 76 Classic hosted in Anaheim by knocking off UCLA (74-47) and No. 22 Minnesota (61-56) before falling to No. 8 West Virginia in the title game (84-66). The Mountaineers would go on to be the runner up at the 2011 NCAA Championships. The bracket also featured nationally ranked Butler (No. 11) and Clemson (No. 19). Portland would be rewarded with the program's first Associated Press Top 25 ranking since 1959 the following week (No. 25).

PRESEASON RECOGNITION
• Portland was picked fifth in the WCC Preseason Coaches Poll, trailing only Gonzaga, Saint Mary's, San Francisco and BYU.
• Tyler Robertson was also named to the 10-player WCC Preseason Team.
• Andy Katz recognized Shantay Legans as on his Top 10 Rising Coaches nationally and the Pilots as one of the Top 11 most improved teams in college basketball.
• Kevin Sweeney of Sports Illustrated also named Legans as one of his 10 Coaches on the Rise, nationally.
• ESPN.com identified Portland as the surprise 'sleeper team' of the West Coast Conference.
 
RECORD-BREAKING ROBERTSON
• Robertson broke the Pilot record for both free throws made and attempted in a game on Nov. 11 against Portland State. He made 22-of-24 overall to break the previous marks held by Jim Winters (20-of-23) which dated back to a matchup with Seattle U on Feb. 12, 1956.
• He ranks third among Portland's career leader in free throw percentage (.868) and ranked second in the WCC and 22nd in the nation in free throw percentage (.883) last year including a streak of 34 consecutive free throws made.
• Robertson has been clutch in the second half this year for UP, scoring 92 of his 133 total points (69 percent) after the break, including 30 of his career-high 32 points against PSU on Nov. 11.
• Last season, he posted a remarkable 31-point, 11-rebound, 11-assist triple-double in a Feb. 12 win over LMU to join teammate Mike Meadows as the only players in program history to record a triple-double – Meadows did so against Willamette. Only 26 players in the nation last season had triple-doubles with UP and Western Kentucky the only teams with more than one player on the list.
• Robertson became the only NCAA Division I player in the last 25 years to log a 30-point triple-double, make 5-plus threes without a miss (5-for-5) and drill 10-plus free throws without a miss (10-for-10) in his remarkable performance against LMU. No other player has achieved all three of those marks throughout an entire career, but Robertson accomplished it a single game.
• He was one of only five players in the nation last year to average at least 15.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. The others were Alondes Williams (Wake Forest), Tosan Evbuomwan (Princeton), Ahsan Asadullah (Lipscomb) and Baylor Scheierman (South Dakota State).
• The Melbourne, Australia native was also the only player to rank top 10 in the WCC in points (7th), rebounds (10th) and assists (4th) last season.
 
BALANCED ATTACK
• Four Pilots are averaging double figures this season. Last year, the Pilots also had four players finish the season averaging double figures.
• This year's team has much more depth as the Pilots were playing a primarily seven-man rotation by season's end.
• Ten players are averaging 9.0 or more minutes per game this season thus far.
 
THE NEWCOMERS
• Coach Legans brought in a talented recruiting class including four transfers and five freshmen. The additions of 6-foot-10 grad transfer Joey St. Pierre (Milwaukee), 6-foot-9 former WAC Freshman of the Year Wyatt Lowell (Utah Valley/BYU/Snow JC) gives the Pilots more size this season.
• Mississippi State transfer Alden Applewhite is good sized wing with a versatile skill set, while Maine transfer Vukasin Masic provides scoring and distributing ability as a combo guard.
• Freshman guard Juanse Gorosito is an elite shooter, while freshman Bol Dengdit has good size and skill for a wing at 6-11.
 
ROSTER NOTES
• Chris Austin (leg) and Bol Dengdit are redshirting the 2022-23 season.
• Mike Meadows missed the Air Force and Seattle U games with a groin injury.
• Vukasin Masic had an NCAA immediate eligibility waiver denied last week.
• Sixth-year senior Jack Perry returns after suffering a season-ending knee injury last season against Portland State after the Pilots started 5-1.
 
THE SCHEDULE
• The team has a challenging non-league schedule highlighted by co-hosting the PKI.
• Other notable non-league opponents include home games against Portland State, Seattle U and North Dakota State, as well as road contests at Oregon, Kent State, Air Force and UC Riverside.
• Portland will not host BYU or visit Santa Clara as part of the WCC's unbalanced league schedule.
• The Pilots are the only team nationally scheduled to play Gonzaga and North Carolina, the preseason No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country.
 
PILOTS SIGN TWO DURING EARLY NLI PERIOD
• Portland announced the signings of G Vince Delano and F Cyprian Hyde to National Letters of Intent this week.
• Delano (6-2, 170) currently attends Arizona Compass Prep, one of the top basketball prep schools in the country. Last season he competed for Phoenix Prep in the elite prep basketball circuit, The Grind Session. He broke the circuit record for most three-pointers in a game (10) and helped lead Phoenix Prep to the Grind Session Final Four.
• Hyde (6-10, 220) provides versatility from the post position with his size and athleticism. An elite shot blocker with three-point shooting range, Hyde was named the Vista High School Defensive Player of the Year last season. He finished the season averaging 16.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game.
 
HEAD COACH SHANTAY LEGANS
• Legans was hired in March of 2021 after he led Eastern Washington to the 2021 NCAA Tournament. In his four years as head coach at EWU, Legans compiled the school's best overall (.605) and conference (.726) win percentages.
• Legans finished third or better in the Big Sky Conference all four seasons, led the Eagles to the 2020 regular season crown and 2021 tournament title.
• His teams improve each year as the season progresses best illustrated by his 47-18 (.723) record in games played after Feb. 1 in five years as a head coach.
• All three assistant coaches are back this year for the Pilots. Bobby Suarez and T.J. Lipold came with Legans from Eastern Washington, while Jeremy Pope came on board after coaching most recently at Arizona Compass Prep.
• His staff is among the nation's youngest as all three assistants are under 35.
 
ABOUT MICHIGAN STATE
• The Spartans (4-2) are No. 12 in the AP Top 25 and No. 15 in the latest USA Today Coaches Poll.
• Michigan State recorded wins over Northern Arizona, Kentucky and Villanova prior to PKI. They opened the tournament with a loss to Alabama (81-70) before defeating Oregon (74-70).
• Tyson Walker (15.5) and Joey Houser (13.8) lead four Spartans averaging double figures.
• Hall of Fame head coach Tom Izzo is in his 28th year at the helm and has led Michigan State to eight Final Fours and the 2000 NCAA Championship.
 
PORTLAND SERIES RECORDS VERSUS PKI TEAMS (entering PKI)

Opponent	Record	H / A /N	Last Meeting
North Carolina	0-1	0-0/0-0/0-1	L, 102-78 (11/23/17, PK80)
Villanova	0-1	0-0/0-0/0-1	L, 92-58 (3/15/96, NCAA Tourney)
Iowa State	First Meeting
Oregon	10-51	9-25/1-26/0-0	L, 96-71 (12/15/21 at UO)
Michigan State	0-2	0-1/0-1/0-0	L, 82-67 (11/18/13 at MSU)
UConn	0-1	0-1/0-0/0-0	L, 69-64 (12/7/74 at POR)
Alabama	First Meeting

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