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Moses Wood and teammates celebrate after a victory against San Diego.
Evan Luecke

Men's Basketball

Portland Accepts Invitation to The Basketball Classic


Pilots will host an opening round game on Wednesday night at the Chiles Center

The Basketball Classic LogoPORTLAND, Ore. – University of Portland men's basketball has accepted a postseason invitation to participate in The Basketball Classic presented by Eracism, a 32-team tournament open to deserving teams not selected for the NCAA Tournament or National Invitational Tournament (NIT).

The Basketball Classic will begin on March 14 and the Pilots will host a first-round game at the Chiles Center on Wednesday, March 16 at 7 p.m. against an opponent to be named. Tickets for students and bleacher seating with be $5. Lower level reserved sideline seats will be $15 and upper level reserved $10. Tickets will go on sale Saturday at 11 a.m. at PortlandPilots.com/Tickets.

Each game of The Basketball Classic will be held on the campus of one of the participating schools. In lieu of a traditional bracket, the field and matchups will be set after each round. Portland has also put in for the opportunity to host a second-round matchup.

The complete field will be announced by the 20-member tournament selection committee after the NIT bracket is released on Sunday, March 13. The semifinals are scheduled for Tuesday, March 29 and the Championship Game on Thursday, March 31. All games will be broadcast on the ESPN+ platform.
 
Portland concluded the regular season with an 18-14 overall record and finished 7-7 in West Coast Conference play under first-year head coach Shantay Legans. The team's 18 wins are the most since the 2010-11 Pilots won 20 games, while the seven league wins matched the program's combined total from the previous five seasons. Portland finished with a .500 or better WCC record for the first time since the 2010-11 squad also finished 7-7.

The Pilot rotation at the end of the season consisted of all freshmen and sophomores, highlighted by All-WCC Second Team sophomore guard Tyler Robertson who averaged 14.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.4 assists. All-WCC honorable mention sophomore Moses Wood finished strong and added 14.4 points and 6.1 rebounds with a team-best 45.5 percent from three-point range. Sophomore guards Chris Austin and Mike Meadows contributed 14.0 and 10.2 points, respectively, while freshman forward Chika Nduka chipped in 9.8 points and 6.6 rebounds in league play.

This will be Portland's seventh postseason appearance since transitioning to Division I prior to the 1958-59 season. The Pilots have yet to win a game in postseason competition.

The Basketball Classic is being administered a seasoned panel of basketball coaches and administrators with deep roots in the sport that previously conducted the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) from 2009-19.
 
Portland Men's Basketball Postseason History (NCAA)
  • 1959 NCAA Tournament (1st Round Loss to DePaul – 57-56)
  • 1996 NCAA Tournament (1st Round Loss to Villanova – 92-58)
  • 2009 CIT (1st Round Loss to Pacific – 82-76)
  • 2010 CIT (1st Round Loss to Northern Colorado – 81-73)
  • 2011 CIT (1st Round Loss to Hawaii – 76-64)
  • 2015 CIT (1st Round Loss to Sacramento State – 73-66)
  • 2022 The Basketball Classic Presented by Eracism
 
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