Portland Pilots @ Kentucky (2): Game Preview

by Glenn Logan on Nov 26, 2011 5:22 PM EST in Kentucky Wildcats Basketball

Today, the Portland Pilots make the trip from way out West to return the visit the Kentucky Wildcats paid them last year in the Rose Garden. The Pilots are a much better team than the Radford Highlanders were, so we can reasonably expect this game to have some genuine value for Kentucky, even though the probability of an upset is vanishingly small.

Portland Pilots Quick Facts
Started Men’s Basketball:	1922-23
Joined NCAA Division I:	1958-59
Joined WCC:	1976-77
All-Time Overall Record:	1095-1183 (.481)
All-Time Division I Record:	615-842 (.422)
All-Time WCC Record:	181-305 (.372)/35
WCC Regular Season Titles:	0
WCC Tournament Titles:	1 (1996)
Chiles Center Record/Years:	213-156 (.577)/27
2010-11 Overall Record:	20-12 (.625)
2010-11 WCC Record:	7-7 (.500)/5th
NCAA Tournament Appearances:	2 (1959, 1996)
NIT Appearances:	0
CIT Appearances:	2 (2009, 2010, 2011)
Starters Returning/Lost:	2/3
Lett ermen Returning/Lost:	9/4
Newcomers (Including RS-Freshman):	5
Facility:	Chiles Center (4,852)
Head Coach:	Eric Reveno (6th Year)
Career Record:	80-84 (.488)/6th
WCC Record:	33-37 (.471)/6th
Conference	West Coast Conf.
Founded	1901
Enrollment	3810
Colors	Purple & White

Portland comes into Rupp Arena today 2-4, having won only against opponents in the 150 range. They gave Washington St. Cougars a good test at home, but weren't competitive against Washington Huskies on the road.

Because of the short time frame, I won't be able to do the full preview I normally do. I am too busy celebrating Kentucky's huge football win over Tennessee today, and that really deserves to be celebrated. But we will take a brief look at the players and statistics.

Players

Portland Pilots
#	Name	Height	Weight	Role	Class	Comments
15	Derrick Rodgers	6-1	210	Starter	Junior	2nd APG (2)
33	Nemanja Mitrovic	6-5	200	Starter	Senior	Co-LS (11.8), 2nd LR (4.6)
32	Ryan Nicholas	6-7	235	Starter	Sophomore	Co-LS (11.8), LR (8.4)
3	Tanner Riley	6-3	200	Starter	Sophomore
12	Thomas van der Mars	6-11	225	Starter	Freshman
11	Tim Douglas	5-10	160	Sixth man	Sophomore	3rd LS (9.8), LAPG (3.8)
1	Eric Waterford	6-1	180	Reserve	Senior
5	John Bailey	6-8	210	Reserve	Freshman
0	Kevin Bailey	6-5	190	Reserve	Freshman
21	Korey Thieleke	6-3	170	Reserve	Sophomore
35	David Carr	6-3	170	Major res.	Freshman
22	Dorian Cason	6-7	210	Major res.	Freshman
14	Riley Barker	6-10	225	Major res.	Sophomore
10	Taylor Mossman	6-2	185		Sophomore

As you can see, the Pilots have a bit of size in the interior in van der Mars, but are otherwise pretty small. They haven't been particularly deadly from the perimeter this year, either, with their best shooters coming in at around 33%. The Pilots are also pretty young, as you can see by the fact they start three sophomores and a freshman.

Four Factors to Winning:

College Basketball

As you can see, there is really nothing here to offer any concern for Kentucky. The Wildcats shoot the ball so much better that the rest of the statistics are effectively meaningless. Kentucky also has the best defense in Division I, so there is no real reason to expect the Pilots to rise up and threaten the Wildcats.

Conclusion

This is another mismatch that Kentucky is almost certain to win big, even though this team is far more competitive than the Radford Highlanders. The Pilots will give Kentucky a bit of competition early in the game, but it is pretty likely that the game will be over before the first five minutes of the second half have elapsed.

Kentucky needs to do nothing special against the Pilots. They will try to zone UK with a 2-3 set, and if Kentucky is shooting the ball poorly from the perimeter, they will hang around a while. If the 'Cats are making their shots, this game could get ugly in a hurry.

Look for a 30-point margin or more by the end.

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Comments

Purple is one of my favorite colors but I am not sporting it today.

Today I’m wearing blue for the football cats. Ayway, lookign for a good game – not too tight but with a few challenges. Looking for a 20 point win. Prediction: 84 – 64.

Kentucky Basketball - The Reason for Living

by GriffinRC on Nov 26, 2011 5:59 PM EST reply actions

The WCC

As probably the only WCC fan who participates on this blog, I give you this WCC factoid: the WCC remains the only D1 conference where all members are affiliated with a religion. There are nine members and 7 are Catholic schools, one Church of Christ and this year the newest addition is LDS. (BYU, duh.)

Going to be a great year for basketball in the WCC, but Portland will be near the bottom.

by darkandbloody@gmail.com on Nov 26, 2011 6:01 PM EST reply actions 1 recs

That is cool to know.

Thanks.

A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan

by Glenn Logan on Nov 26, 2011 6:02 PM EST up reply actions

Also very admirable.

Kudos to the WCC for keepin’ it real.

Kentucky Basketball - The Reason for Living

by GriffinRC on Nov 26, 2011 6:16 PM EST up reply actions

So now we know where ND is joining!

Thats actually neat to know. Do you have to be a christian institution to be considered for membership?

by floundringaround on Nov 26, 2011 6:45 PM EST up reply actions

Yes and no

Visiting the youngest at Santa Clara (defending CBI champs btw for what that is worth) I sat in on a lecture about the direction of athletics in the WCC. There is no official rule about being a religious institution, but they keep it that way in order to have shared values and similar budgets.

The budget was of course a major consideration for not admitting BYU but the Santa Clara official all but stated that getting more than one team into the tournament was a major factor in admitting BYU. Of all the foibles of the tournament officials the one that gets me year after year is usually one team from the WCC. The level of basketball is much better than that.

One last point, the argument about most beautiful or scenic campus is a matter of opinion, but in my opinion it is Pepperdine. Right on the coast in Malibu, CA. Unbelievable scenery. When visiting that area of CA it s actually worth your time to visit.

by darkandbloody@gmail.com on Nov 27, 2011 7:41 AM EST up reply actions