SAN MATEO, Calif. – The 16-game West Coast Conference schedule for the Portland Pilots men's basketball program was announced on Tuesday. The schedule features eight games each at home and on the road highlighted by home games against 2022 NCAA participants Gonzaga, Saint Mary's and San Francisco.

The 2022-23 Portland men's basketball schedule is now complete. The WCC television package and game times will be announced later. Season tickets can be reserved by visiting PortlandPilots.com/Tickets or contacting the Pilot Box Office at (503) 943-7525 or emailing taylord@up.edu.

Portland opens conference play at home against the Loyola Marymount Lions on Dec. 29 before making their way to Provo, Utah for a road showdown against the BYU Cougars on Dec. 31. BYU reached the quarterfinals of last year's National Invitational Tournament (NIT).

The Pilots will stay on the road for a matchup against the Saint Mary's Gaels on Jan. 7. The Gaels were an NCAA tournament squad last season, finishing 26-8 overall and 12-3 in conference to take second in the league. They advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after defeating the Indiana Hoosiers before falling to the UCLA Bruins, 72-56.

Following the bout against the Gaels, a tough stretch ensues for Portland, as they'll return home for their game against the San Francisco Dons on Jan. 12 before heading north to Spokane to play the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Jan. 14. The Dons were an NCAA Tournament team last year for the first time since 1998, going 24-10 on the year and 10-6 in WCC play. The Pilots beat the Dons on the road 69-68 in a thrilling showdown, jumpstarting a four-game conference winning streak for Portland.

The meeting in Spokane between the Zags and Pilots will mark the first of two games this season, the first time since the 2019-20 season that the two teams have faced off twice in a year. The Bulldogs were once again a national powerhouse, going 28-4 with a 13-1 WCC record to finish first in the conference. They made the NCAA Tournament as the number one overall seed for the second consecutive year, advancing to the Sweet 16 before falling to the Arkansas Razorbacks.

The Pilots return home after the Gonzaga game, welcoming the San Diego Toreros to The Bluff on Jan. 19 and the Pepperdine Waves on Jan. 21. Last season, the Pilots went a combined 4-1 against both of these squads, sweeping the Waves in both regular season contests and defeating the Toreros twice in three tries, including a 73-55 win in WCC Tournament to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2017.

Portland will be back on the road right after that for another showdown against LMU on Jan. 26 before welcoming the Zags back to the Chiles Center for the first time since 2020. The Jan. 28 game against the Bulldogs will be a doubleheader with the Pilot women hosting LMU the same day.

The Pilots then head south to Southern California to face San Diego on Feb. 2 and Pepperdine on Feb. 4.  

A three-game homestand begins Feb. 9 against Pacific and is followed by a Feb. 11 meeting versus Saint Mary's and Feb. 18 contest against Santa Clara, which is another doubleheader as the women host Pacific on the same day.

The regular season concludes with a road trip to San Francisco (Feb. 23) and Pacific (Feb.25) before preparing for the WCC Basketball Championships March 2-7 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

The Pilots are coming off one of the most successful seasons in recent memory under first-year head coach Shantay Legans. The Pilots finished 19-15 and finished sixth in the WCC, recording their highest win total since 2010 and their fourth-highest win total since joining Division I in 1958. Their 7-7 record in WCC play was also their best since 2015. The Pilots return the top seven scorers and all major contributors to the roster for this season.

2022-23 UP MEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE
Nov. 7  vs. Lewis & Clark^, 7:30 PM
Nov. 9 vs. Florida A&M^, 7:30 PM 
Nov. 11 vs. Portland State, 7 PM
Nov. 14 at Kent State, TBA 
Nov. 17 at Air Force, TBA 
Nov. 19 vs. Seattle U, 5 PM
Nov. 24 vs. North Carolina*, 10 AM 
Nov. 25 vs. Villanova/Iowa State*, TBA
Nov. 27 vs. TBA*, TBA
Nov. 30 vs. Multnomah, 7 PM 
Dec. 3 at North Dakota, 5 PM
Dec. 5 vs. North Dakota State, 7 PM 
Dec. 10 vs. New Orleans^, 5:30 PM 
Dec. 17 at Oregon, TBA
Dec. 22 at UC Riverside, 2 PM
Dec. 29 vs. Loyola Marymount, TBA
Dec. 31 at BYU, TBA
Jan. 7 at Saint Mary's, TBA
Jan. 12 vs. San Francisco, TBA
Jan. 14 at Gonzaga, TBA
Jan. 19 vs. San Diego, TBA
Jan. 21 vs. Pepperdine, TBA
Jan. 26 at Loyola Marymount, TBA
Jan. 28 vs. Gonzaga^, TBA
Feb. 2 at San Diego, TBA
Feb. 4 at Pepperdine, TBA
Feb. 9 vs. Pacific, TBA
Feb. 11 vs. Saint Mary's, TBA
Feb. 18 vs. Santa Clara^, TBA
Feb. 23 at San Francisco, TBA
Feb. 25 at Pacific, TBA

Home games in bold
^Doubleheader with the women
*Phil Knight Invitational game