Pilots @ USD, Thursday, 8pm

Portland (19-9, 6-6 WCC) at San Diego (6-21, 2-10)
February 24, 2011 • 8:00 PM • San Diego, Calif. (Jenny Craig Pavilion)
TV: CSN NW
Radio: 800 AM (KPDQ)
Live Audio: PortlandPilots.com
Series: USD leads 42-27
Last Meeting: POR 79, USD 64 (Jan. 27 at Portland)

This Week in Pilots Hoops…
The Portland Pilots close out the regular season on the road and with hopes of a fourth-place conference finish and opening round by at the West Coast Conference Tournament. The Pilots (19-9, 6-6 WCC) face San Diego (6-21, 2-10) on Thursday and then Saint Mary’s on Saturday. Portland is tied with Santa Clara for fourth place in the league standings. The Broncos host Pepperdine and LMU this week.

Game Coverage
Both road games this week will be televised live on Comcast SportsNet Northwest. All Portland games will be aired live on the radio on 800 AM (KPDQ) with Bill Johnson providing the play-by-play, including a 30-minute pregame show.

Portland Briefly...
• The Pilots split their final homestand of the season, following an 82-73 loss to San Francisco with a 78-68 victory over Santa Clara on Senior Night.
• Senior C Jasonn Hannibal recorded a career-high 15 points in his first start of the season on Saturday against Santa Clara. Senior F Luke Sikma added 13 points and 11 rebounds. Senior C Kramer Knutson (back) missed his first game of the season and is questionable for Thursday.
• Sikma is the school’s top all-time rebounder (949) and recorded his 1,000th career point on Thursday against USF.
• Knutson is the Portland career leader in games started (116).
• The Pilots are tied for second nationally in team 3-point percentage (.424).
• Junior G Nemanja Mitrovic is No. 2 in the nation in three-point percentage (.483) and senior G Jared Stohl is No. 17 (.440).
• Mitrovic (86) and Stohl (80) have combined to make 166 three-pointers which is the most of any teammate duo in the nation. BYU’s Jimmer Fredette and Jackson Emery are second with 158.
• UP is No. 22 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25.
• Portland’s 59 wins over the last three years are the most of any three-year stretch since the Pilots joined Division I for the 1958-59 season.

About San Diego (6-21, 2-10 WCC)
• The Toreros pulled off a shocker in their last outing, a 74-66 home win against conference leading and then No. 23-ranked Saint Mary’s.
• Sophomore F Chris Manresa had 17 points and 10 rebounds and senior G Matt Dorr added 17 points in the victory.
• USD’s only other conference win came against LMU at home.
• The Toreros were picked to finish eighth in the WCC Preseason Coaches Poll.
• Head coach Bill Grier returns one starter and five lettermen from last year’s 11-21 team. Five true freshmen are redshirting this season.

What: Portland (19-9, 6-6 West Coast Conference) at San Diego (6-21, 2-10)

When: 8 p.m. Thursday, Jenny Craig Pavilion, San Diego

TV/Radio: CSN (Comcast 37); KPDQ (800)

Probable starters: Portland -- F Luke Sikma (13.6 ppg, 10.7 rpg, 2.5 apg), C Kramer Knutson (6.6 ppg, 5.1 rpg), G Nemanja Mitrovic (14.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg)), G Jared Stohl (13.3 ppg, 1.9 apg), G Tim Douglas (7.6 ppg, 2.9 apg); San Diego -- F Chris Manresa (7.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg), C Chris Gabriel (7.4 ppg, 3.8 apg), G Davian Norris (10.5 ppg, 3.0 apg), G Devin Ginty (8.4 ppg), G Matt Dorr (9.4 ppg, 2.5 apg)

Noteworthy: Portland is tied with Santa Clara for fourth place with two regular-season games remaining. If the Pilots can maintain at least maintain their current position, they will clinch the 4 seed in next week's WCC Tournament and an automatic berth into the quarterfinals. ... Knutson is probable for Thursday's game after sitting out the Pilots' 78-68 victory over Santa Clara Saturday at the Chiles Center with severe back spasms.

Jasonn Hannibal replaced Knutson in the starting lineup Saturday and scored a career-high 15 points, going 6 for 6 from the field with two dunks and 3 for 5 at the free-throw line in the Pilots final home game. ... With Saturday's win, the Pilots reached 19 wins for the third consecutive season. Over that period, Portland has won 59 games, making this the most successful three-year stretch in terms of total wins since the Pilots won 63 games between the 1950-51 and 1952-53 seasons under coach Mush Torson.

With a victory tonight, the Pilots can sweep the regular-season series with San Diego for the second consecutive season. In the last meeting four weeks ago in Portland, Stohl scored a game-high 16 points and Sikma added 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds to pace the Pilots to a 79-64 victory. Garbriel led the Toreros with 13 points, and Dorr was the only other USD player in double figures with 12.

The Toreros are coming off last week's 74-66 upset of first-place Saint Mary's in San Diego. Dorr scored 15 of his team-high 17 points after halftime for the Toreros, who trailed 35-24 when Saint Mary's Mickey McConnell made a three-pointer 26 seconds into the second half.

-- Jim Beseda