WSU up next

2-1, I'll take that. FAU and GSU were both long, athletic, senior laden and a good measuring stick for the Pilots. I would think both of those teams would be the equilivent to over half the WCC teams. Maybe not that many but somewhere in there.

So WSU is next, are we good enough to win? I think we are. WSU is no UW, they are a Pac 12 team no doubt but I dont think they dwarf us at every position and they arent as deep. We need to contain Motum and Faisel Aden. Brock is having a great start to the year but thats exactly why I think we can win. We match up pretty well against him, both Riley and Thomas can run the court, they have the length to contest and if we need to body him up and bang him around we put Nicholas on him.
If we can contain Aden and make the other players step up I think we have a pretty good shot.
As for what UP needs to do, get Nem off early. He has yet to find a rhythm and we need him to be a consistent outside threat. Maybe more dribble penetration by the point with emphasis on hitting Nem in the corner. All I know is that we spend a ton of energy running him all over the court over screens and that can be a tiring way to get your points.
Produce more points in the paint. I like how our bigs have played but we need to get Riley and Thomas a few more touches in the set offense and let them take some pressure off the wings. For that matter I think we could run more through the high post, Nicholas can hit the 15 footer or penetrate (or skip the pass to the opposite side of the court). Point being we need to create more sagging to the middle and open the wings a bit more for easier looks.
Effectively beat the press. Its early in the season I know and Rev said in one of his interviews that they havent worked on the secondary things like pressbreakers but we need to use our athleticism to make teams pay for pressuring us. Not just getting it over half court but create layins and easy buckets in breaking the pressure.
Boxing out- Our bigs do a great job of rebounding, they box out and we even outrebounded UW something like 43-38. What we need to do a better job of is boxing out the perimeter players. Our guards need to hit someone first before releasing to the ball or looking to leak out for a fast break. On TV I saw one play where a UW player went untouched from outside the three point line and almost dunked over three of our players. Have to put a body on someone.
Other than that I think if we score more points than WSU we will certainly come away with the victory.

Other than that I think if we score more points than WSU we will certainly come away with the victory.

Good analysis.

If we’re going to have a chance to win, we’re going to have to beat WSU’s pressure defense. We wilted under the pressure from Georgia State and were outscore once they started it. We’ll have an even more difficult time with WSU unless we’ve spent the last week working on it. Beating the pressure will open up some opportunities if ……
• If we can find another shooter to take the pressure off Nem
• If we can get the ball inside

Kenpom calls our game with WSU tonight a toss-up, predicting UP will win 71-70 with a 53% probability.
Kenpom also give our game a Thrill Score that rates it the 12/55 best game to watch today. In a nutshell, the Thrill Score rates games for competitiveness and level of play with a lean towards higher scoring games.
Let’s have a beer at the Alumni House , sit back, watch a good game, and see how accurate Kenpom is today.

73-83 loss. In a story that is all too familiar to Pilot basketball over the last few years, the Pilots fell behind early by ~10 points and kept pace for the rest of the game.

Luckily, the future is bright. In the short term, we look forward to the returns of Tanner Riley and Eric Waterford and in the long term, we have some great talent to develop. Kevin Bailey can fly! Now he just needs to finish.

Pilots fall to the Cougs 73-83 in front of a split crowd. A few too many silly turnovers and late challenges leading to and-ones. But nevertheless a good performance from a developing squad. I really wasn't expecting much out of this non-conference part of the season and was thrilled that we were able to make a game of it. The poor shooting killed us.

Kevin Bailey's steal and almost-poster-type-throwdown would have brought the house down had he been able to convert through the contact. Altogether a great atmosphere and a pretty packed house. The student section's enthusiasm left something to be desired, especially in light of the large contigent of maroon-clad fans outshouting Pilots fans with cross-arena chants.

The new concessions and multitude of TVs are a vast improvement. They certainly scaled back the Pilot Club, correctly assuming a large decrease in interest with the absence of a certain type of beverage . . .

ShipstadPilot11 wrote: Kevin Bailey can fly! Now he just needs to finish.

Reason to be hopeful for the future:

Kevin can also shoot free throws. He went 9-10. And we all love free throws.

Does anyone else think that Kevin's shot looks rushed/goofy?

RipCityPilot wrote:Reason to be hopeful for the future:

Had we won, someone could have made an ill-informed "Pilots Flyin' High" headline.

Entertaining! Exciting!

Many don’t expect us to win more than 11 or 12 games this year, but we'll be fun to watch as we get great experience against very good teams.

Yes, we had some silly turnovers from our guards and a ton of missed shots, but we rebounded well and showed immense energy.

Nem was very, very frustrated, and it showed.

Ryan again was the catalyst and energizer.

Thomas Van der Mars had his best game this season and is really beginning to show some toughness.

Kevin Bailey will learn to finish (and hopefully put a little arch on the ball); we just have to keep believing in him and all his young teammates.

Someone you know wrote this:

http://www.midmajority.com/p/2119

A few more of these and I'll have the cash to be a Pilot Club VIP.

Nice find. Just stay away from my Pliny when you go over to the VIP cooler.

I can't help notice that three of the four "veteran leaders" are starting their second season of college ball.

Nice. Post on Mid-Majority PPT. Do they need a correspondent for the Pilots vs. Wildcats game on Saturday?

I should have posted this sooner: Woodless, thanks for hosting your Pilot Nation brethren at the Alumni House before the WSU game, and thanks too for having my favorite beer in great supply.

I know there are plenty of beer snobs on this board who go to great lengths discussing their favorites; my favorite pre-game beer is still BridgePort IPA, brewed right here in Portland.

It is a fine beer that sparkles with effervescence, the result of natural-conditioning, a process where the beer is double-fermented in each bottle, keg or cask. Brewed with a blend of five hop varieties, BridgePort IPA presents a floral, citrusy aroma and full hop flavor, while downplaying the bitterness. The beer pours smooth in the glass, emitting its signature golden glow…………

Alright beer snobs, start piling on!